There’s dozens of reasons I often prefer the company of kids to adults. But high on the list is … laughter. Many claim children laugh some 300 times a day. And adults? A mere 20. (That could be a fun sociological study to participate in, hanging around kids and counting their laughs.) But regardless of the precise numbers, it’s clear— kids laugh a lot and make me laugh as well.
For example, today, playing HORSE with Zadie with an inflatable basketball hoop that floated in the pool basketball. We started getting into challenging each other in unique and creative ways.
“For this shot, you have to hop four times on one foot, close your eyes and dunk the ball.”
“Okay, for this one, you have to jump up three times, do the hokey pokey, turn yourself around and then shoot with you left hand.”
“ For this one, you have to sing the whole Frosty the Snowman, make a funny face, recite the opening lines of the Gettysburg address and burp when you shoot!”
You get the idea. We were cracking up! Then my daughter Talia teamed up with my grandson Malik to play 2 on 2 basketball against Zadie and I. We all were making up the rules as we went along and laughing for some 15 minutes straight. Now that was a cleansing experience, better than any spa treatment, your troubles thoroughly washed away by the frothy bubbles of laughter reaching all the corners of our much-too-serious-selves.
When life weighs us down, when adults disappoint us, when we just take ourselves and our problems too seriously, I highly recommend just finding a bunch of kids and hanging out with them for a couple of hours. Follow their lead, laugh often and from the whole body and emerge a new person. The best therapy. And it’s free!
Absolutely incredible. So in your last post you revealed that you permitted (and even applauded, I think you said?) a rich and entitled student for using a “Borat accent” in a San Francisco School Christmas production? Is that right? And is that what you meant when you said you’re raising the next generation of community leaders to respect social justice? If so, then excellent work Doug!! And yes, I’m being sarcastic. I know I don’t appreciate when people mock my family’s accent, and so it’s good to know you have accepted and encouraged your elite students to do exactly that. So wow, just wow. What do you have to say for yourself? I’m sure more narcissistic excuses will be coming down your pipeline … but let’s hear them all the same!!
ReplyDeleteThis blog is my garden, where I lovingly tend the flowers that I care about. Because it’s public, other people can enter, but I imagine that if they come in and decide to stay (229 followers have), it’s because they find something interesting or fragrant or useful. Not perfect— what place or person is?— but something they choose to return to of their own free will. And as all of the 500,000 people over the years minus one have entered with politeness, civility and care, I have welcomed them all. Anybody is welcome to critique my flowers and my gardening skills and in your first few comments, you did and I respectfully listened to them and responded without undue defensiveness or upset.
ReplyDeleteBut now you are just coming in to shit in my garden and trample my flowers. Why? What is your obsession that borders on psychopathic stalking? What is missing in your life that you have to look for every word in my sharing that you can misinterpret and make ugly? You don’t know me and are not qualified to judge me. Of course, you’re welcome to tell me what you have done that is worthy in this life and I will shit all over you, but that’s not healthy for either of us and certainly nothing anything anyone else needs to witness.
But let me be clear. Stay the fuck away from me. This is my space and you are not welcome. You can go ahead and rant and rave but I assure you I will not be reading a word of your ugly and deluded comments and will be deleting them immediately. And please get some help. You’re a sick, sick man.
Wow, that is horribly vile language Doug. Horribly vile. Is that the way you typically respond to criticism? If so, then I respectfully suggest that you should have no place near children. Ever. You are an absolute maniac and menace! Anyway, you would be well served to do some Zazen soul searching in this New Year, as it seems to have eluded you for so very long. And not sure about the late 70s, it Christmas Eve isn’t really a thing in India. Anyway, I understand this may be your “garden,” but when you put yourself out into the world and deny the world a response, then what is that called?! Hypocrisy!! So if you’d prefer to write a private diary, then please do so. But as long as this “garden” of yours is public (as clearly racist and outdated as it is!) then I will call you out on each and every act of your hypocrisy. I would think you would expect and hope for exactly. I’m just sorry that you’re making me work so hard!! Happy holidays!
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