Perceptions

My life has been moving at a pace faster than I can deal with. That is why things are falling through my fingers. I will go back and pick up those things, and repair them the best that I can, but until then all of you will just have be satisfied with all that I can do. (even if "all" means part of my list). I saw this today, it bothered me. I borrowed it from a friend, who borrowed it from Jeff Bridge's Website.


Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children.. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly..

45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, and people's priorities.

The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made...

How many other things are we missing?





I hope I am not missing anything.

Danielle

Vacation 2011

I know there has been a break in my blogging, we were out of town, and I didn't think ahead and schedule posts for while I was gone. So, rather than advertise that we were gone, I opted to just pretend to be too busy to blog; which in fact, I was! We had planned on leaving on a Saturday, but the Wednesday before our planned departure I got sick. Truly, amazingly sick. I don't get sick very often, but when I am laid flat with a fever and cannot fold more than one or two pieces of laundry without a nap, you know there is problem. Anyway, since I would be travelling mostly alone, I decided to wait until Monday to leave so I was fully recovered. Good thing I did! I still wasn't really 100% by the time we left, but I was doing much better. But, that illness stole two very three very important vacation days. Boo.

We arrived in San Diego on Tuesday, and rested. Well, I also took Dallin to the Mall. He has completely outgrown EVERYTHING. They have 'cooler' clothes in California, so he was happy to make due with just a few articles of clothing until we could get there and get a whole bunch of good stuff. It was the first time I refused to pick anything out for him. It was really fun to see his own sense of style come out. Of course, there were lots of pictures as I picture messaged everything back to his sister for approval. In the end, he was feeling pretty confident. Wednesday I visited my ultra-cute grandma. She has just gotten out of the hospital, so everyone is watching her like a hawk right now. She winds her way through the house with her oxygen tube. I don't know how she doesn't get tangled. Anyway, when we showed up, my Uncle who was her current caretaker was out at lunch so she and I got to visit all by ourselves. We don't get to talk alone much, and she has always been someone I can tell everything too. Not to mention she is just darn smart. She is one of the best people-analyzers I have ever met. It was nice to speak freely without a lot of people around.

On Thursday I took the boys to the chicken Pie Shop. Both cheap and yummy; a wonderful combination. Then we went to the Zoo.

 We stood in line for the pandas. It had been a long time since we had done that. I think I am part panda. They are vegetarians and spend their days napping. Yep, although I do like my meat, I tend to eat a lot of salads and a nap a day would make me a happy woman. We also seem to have the same figure. Unfortunately.

 Then a trip down Horton's Way. It is the Elephant exhibit, with a nod to Dr. Seuss who lived in San Diego and donated generously to the Zoo. LOVE the lions. They were EATING. It was scary and exciting. This guy is so big. It is hard to see from this perspective, but seriously, Lions are HUGE!

 This is the Lioness. Well, one of several. Lions are happy at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Parks. They make a lot of babies. Here is some perspective; her TAIL is at least the size of my bicep. She is all muscle. I wish I was all muscle.

 Big guy.

Seriously, she is lean and sexy. 

And the elephants. We also saw the leopard, the secretary bird and numerous snakes and lizards. Not to mention several displays about the fossils in the area.

 You know how you always saw cartoons where elephants put their noses in water then squirted the water into their mouths to drink? They REALLY do that! And it is SO much cooler to see in person.

Mac rediscovered his camera, and I again was followed by my own personal paparazzi.

And the meerkats were just lazy. I was feeling that way about then.

This was a new one. It was a baby Kimodo Dragon. The guy was in the top of the tree! I guess that is how you keep alive when you aren't big yet.

And then, our traditional picture. Dallin in his new clothes; the big, grown up guy that he is.

And McCade is, well, McCade.

Danielle

Look at this big guy!

Wow!

I took these pictures the day before Dallin got braces. I wanted his dance pictures to look like he did during recital, that would mean no braces.

What a big guy he is.

What a seriously handsome young man he is.

(Not that I am biased or anything. . .)

I am sure that in less than a year he will be taller than me.

All I can say is . . .
WOW.