Wonder, Magic, and Imagination

A man who flies. Without a plane,without wings, he floats above us all and his performance entrances us by achieving what most would deem impossible. While I know deep down there is a 'trick' to this David Copperfield performance, I can't help but be entranced and feel a kinship with him.

Not just with Copperfield's performance but his ideas about dreaming and imagination. You see, I was that little girl who wanted to 'fly.' I wanted to live my dreams. I still do.

I grew up rich in many things, but most of all rich in imagination and dreams. I'm not sure what was richer, my dreams or my real life. But my dreams helped me through times when like most children I felt alone, lost, or forgotten in the world. My dreams were my own personal therapist and my own personal guidance counselor.  They supported me and guided me whenever I needed it. 

This is probably why I devoured books - any kind, any length, any topic. I admit,I grew up with my nose buried in romance novels. Not that I didn't know they weren't 'real,' I did. I knew nothing was THAT perfect. I just believed in the magic in them. Most of all I believed in the magic of love, friendship and caring. I believed that by giving love to others I could work to effect change.

What was your dream? Have you achieved it? Did you grow up and lose your dreams? Or are you one of the lucky few who are living their dreams?

I believe in living your dreams. It's what makes life full and worth living. It challenges me to be the best I can be in life.  It's what I challenged my daughters to do.  What people in my life challenged me to do.

And while I never saw this video before today, I always knew for me one of the most important life lessons I learned is to try to achieve those dreams and to never lose them. It keeps the magic in my life and in my soul.  What would life be without magic, wonder, and imagination?

History and contemporary life both are filled with men and women who are living their dreams.  Are you one of them?

No Guts, No Glory -- Or Testing Products Sold On TV

Kudos to Holly and friends for even attempting to use this weird contraption called the Aqua Skipper. They not only were brave enough to spend their hard earned cash (hopefully it comes with a money back guarantee, or Holly will improve her skill on it) but they were brave enough to post a video of them as they 'test drive' the Aqua Skipper online, showing they at least have a sense of humor.

I can't quite figure out how the people who produce this product ever got it into production. Who do you suppose looked at it and said "Oh yeah! We'll sell millions of these and get rich!"? I'm not sure which is scarier, the brave attempt by Holly et. al. to ride this contraption or the person who designed it to begin with.

But here at Defeating The Squirrel we applaud those who show us that it's not wrong to laugh at yourself sometimes, and that taking life uber seriously all the time won't necessarily make you happy. We also applaud anyone who thinks outside the box and inspires othes to do the same.

If you have a great video of you doing something brave, foolhardy(Without risking your neck, I don't want any lawsuits) or just gutsy, send it to me, I may make you famous!

The Jersey Shore of the Geriatric Set?

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One of my daughters (much to my dismay) admits to watching Jersey Shore!  I am appalled.  I can't believe she admits to watching this TV trash!  For this I sent her to college? (Bad enough to do it in secret, but to admit you do? Face it, The Jersey Shore is the equivalent of soap opera watching but with a trashier twist!) Even though I grew up in the 70s in the era of free love and drugs, the antics of the characters on that show are embarrassing...especially since I am originally from New Jersey. 

But when I go out to visit my mom at the retirement community where she lives, I realize that she (and many of her neighbors) watch the antics of another group that are just as bad, if not worse, than Snookie or The Situation and friends.  All right, maybe they're wardrobe is a bit more sedate (all that gray fur that actually covers most of their little bodies wouldn't work for the Shore group), but their antics and swinging certainly make them closely resemble the Jersey Shore characters.  And the days of watching the squirrels offers the geriatric set the same sort of anthropological and cultural studies that Jersey Shore offers the MTV generation.  Scientists have spent years observing wild life in the same way future communication studies majors and psychologists will watch and observe the antics of reality television stars of The Jersey Shore. 

These gray haired players (the squirrels, not the residents) jump from eating at one feeder to attacking yet another feeder or one another in much the same way the Jersey Shore favorites bar hop and bed hop.  The squirrels go from apartment to apartment, checking to see who is willing to put out more food for them. They swing from feeders in outrageous ways much the way the Snookie and friends bar hop and they fall almost as often as the drunk Jersey Shore-ites.  And they are watched just as avidly by their fans -- the over eighty set at the retirement home. 

In the dining hall, ladies with perfect blue rinsed hair and gently balding gents in wire rimmed glasses avidly discuss watching their favorite squirrels in hushed tones over the dinner table (well maybe not such hushed tones when hearing aides are left at home).  They talk about their ingenious attempts to foil the squirrels who are attacking their feeders with the same gravity of solving weighty political problems.   

Is it as embarrassing to have a mother who's a squirrel watcher as it is to have a daughter engrossed with the Jersey Shore characters? Not quite--I can always ascribe the squirrel watching to scientific observation.  But it makes me wonder, what will I be doing in thirty years?  Hmmmm...