The Juvenile POV

It isn't really a secret to anybody that I don't particularly enjoy the company of children. Sure, if your offspring is especially bright in a well behaved and non-clingy sorta way I can handle the company, but otherwise; it's a no-go. Mark of course is the exception, that should go without saying. What I do find fascinating and often times endearing is the perception that children have of the goings ons around us; their simple dissection of what we on the most part deem extremely complex or thought provoking is usually explained perfectly and quickly in a naturally "Layman's" vibe, frequently unbeknownst to them with a punch-line we just can't resist sharing. Not too long ago I was out to dinner and a movie with a friend who has 3 daughters under the age of 4 and she relayed to me a funny little happening. Her eldest wanted to know her 'other name' and so the families surname was given. This was not the answer the child was seeking. After a few exasperated attempts the daughter finally gave in and defeatedly asked for her 'time out' name. She was simply looking to be reminded of her given, middle and last names. Her only correlation at the age of 3 to the title on her birth certificate was that her full name was one associated with punishment. I grew up in a household where the values and beliefs of the catholic religion were followed; not preached or forced and for that I thank my mother, because Gawd knows what religion and the perception of it's expectations can do to an untainted child's psyche...but I digress. Before going to bed I was not made to pray, but knew the torment of other children who had to recite the 'If I die before I wake' sermon and it absolutely drove me insane. You know the rhyme I refer to, and seriously, can you just imagine the stress that puts on a child trying to simply make it through the night to see morning? Jeesh. Whoever thought to playfully invent the Boogie Man who lives in the closet or under the bed...I could murder him/her. Rot in hell. Okay, I'm over it...kinda. There are of course also the monumental moments in some of their little lives that I can't imagine even having to try and put into perspective. In the same way that we say parents should never endure outliving their children, there is an unfairness when someone not yet into adulthood has to face the death of a parent. It's not right. I confuse the ever living crap out of children when they are trying to categorize my gender and sexuality. In their small world where they are usually only taught and have had exposure to A and B, it's admittedly a wee bit loveable to admire their ability to blatantly poke and prod for an answer to the yet unknown while their parents awkwardly beat around a bush trying desperately not to offend. It all comes down to the honesty children are willing to show, their ability to often have us simply accept and see the gray in a black and white universe some are far too accustomed to. My aforementioned thoughts here on the tykes don't mean I am warming up to them in any capacity, let's keep this clear, however it's safe to say I can appreciate their blunt and simple angle towards all things lifelike...not dissimilar to myself.

Toodles

Dream Big

An accquaintance of mine stopped by my desk a few days ago and told me that the night prior I was in her dream. Of course, this got me all excited; because...well I love to be talked about, thought about, bottom line I'm an attention whore. We all know that. She's a native of Columbia and while I was expecting her to tell me I was involved in some elaborate coffe bean or cocaine smuggling ring, alternately it was described to me that instead I was somehow hanging out with Harry Potter while her and I were travelling around her native land etc. etc. etc., and well, I lost interest. But I told her that at least it was inspiration for my next blog entry. So then I got thinking about the literal and figurative tenses where the simple word can evoke a thought taken into so many different directions. Our neighbours to the south, they just love to coin the term 'American Dream' which for all intents and purposes usually refers to the perfect little cookie cutter 4 person family consisting of their children; a boy and a girl, living in a 4 bedroom tudor style home behind a white picket fence on a tree lined street in a middle class neighbourhood. Jr. goes to college and plays football, Missy loves Barbies and has the posters of the latest pop icon adorning her walls. You get the idea. I'll tell you, my dreams are a little more exciting than this, and while I forget them once waking up, I can also tell you that my ideal is also not likely this scene; and certainly I can't be alone in this thought. Now, let's take Missy. She's always 'dreamed' of being a bigtime actress and has picked up, moved from her home in the midwest in a beater of a car and driven 3000 miles to Hollywood to be a highly proficient waitress. Disappointing. And well Jr. there...maybe just maybe he is so influential that he can attract the attention of an entire nation, be written into the history books with a single solemn anthem stating "I Have A Dream". History buff I am not, and honestly I couldn't tell you who that dude was that chanted the famous words at the bottom of an obelisk beside the giant wading pool in some parliamentary city, we'll call him Malcolm Vandross King IV. Bottome line, the big 'D' word can be taken any which way. Is a dream imagination, fascination, or realism? In the truest sense of the word, it's something only seen in the make-believe instead of reality...unless you're lucky. I even looked up 'Requiem for a Dream' and while I had no idea it was a novel/movie, stars a great actress Ellen Burstyn and revolves around addiction, it was also news to me that the word requiem is a Roman Catholic reference. Oh dear. What I do know at least is that it's a movie I definitely want to see...and soon. Recently a friend of mine went through the loss of her father, and while I wanted to extend to her a fitting quote I had heard at a funeral just 6 days prior regarding an account on grief and it's purpose; I was unsuccessful in my thorough online search to recapture the simple piece but came across this one instead. Approrpiate for this little writing at least, I leave you with this. "I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge -- myth is more potent than history -- dreams are more powerful than facts -- hope always triumphs over experience -- laughter is the cure for grief -- love is stronger than death." ~Robert Fulghum~

Toodles