Thanks to COVID-19, we’ve all had a lot more time to… think. At least, that’s the case if you’ve been living in a “shelter in place” / don’t leave home situation — thinking is the one thing you’ve probably had too much time for. That said, I wrote this list before the outbreak… and, today’s post is really more of just that: A list of short thoughts.
They Were Wrong About…
1. Pens vs. Pencils
“When you grow up, adults use pens… not pencils.” WRONG… And, NEITHER. The most common way we write… is with our fingers… in the sand — I mean, on a screen.
Grown ups don’t write in cursive with a fountain pen… they mash on letters with their thumbs. You know… because, I said so!
2. “When you grow up, you won’t be carrying a calculator everywhere you go.”
Guess teachers didn’t see that coming when they made us buy TI83s! ?
3. “Video games will melt your brain.”
Playing Video Games Really Does Make You Smarter, Study Finds. Not to mention, most of our learning software and e-learning platforms are essentially video game platforms in their own way… they may not exactly look like a real time strategy game or a scrolling game like Super Mario — but, it IS a digital interface with rules, goals, and aims.
The thing is, you aren’t going for coins or points — your gaming for grades and degrees.
4. Cartoons Distort Your Sense of Reality.
There are waaaay too many examples — but, I have to say that productions in the 90s were WAY ahead of their time. My example of the day: X-Men, with great social lessons on discrimination, women in leadership; “different yet same” as with the character Master Mold, stating that there are humans that hate mutants — this is an oxymoron as mutants ARE human.
“So often in our history, unhappy misguided people have created scapes goats — blaming those that are different for the problems in their own lives.
Professor X, X-Men The Animated Series
Wow… right???
5. Sci-Fi is Pure Fantasy.
First off… in Star Trek, everything became real or is becoming real… and, very likely will otherwise be as such in due time… mostly. Maybe not Q… maybe? Who knows! But, here’s something for consideration:
ALSO: The Next Generation (TNG), Deep Space Nine (DS9) and Voyager also had some of the best “early” examples of inclusivity; strong female characters, women in leadership/career paths, diversity driven story arcs, females in story arcs that don’t necessarily involve a romantic interest, etc.
So yeah… They were wrong 😉
Just because something worked for one generation doesn’t mean that such success will transplant across to the next.
We were supposed to go on a two week vacation — well 10 days. Something like this not to unlike this…?
Then… this happened…
COVID-19 … aka: Coronavirus
And then, sadly… all of this:
Which meant… our 10 year anniversary trip to Disney World which had literally been 10 years in the making… was cancelled.
Social Distancing Began…
Wait… one meter??? They said 6 feet… ?
Where… if you got lucky, the aforementioned achievement now became a game of…
Which fortunately, at least in California… you were allowed to do so long as you stayed 6 feet away from folks.
Nevertheless… while disappointed, we were determined not to be defeated by the happenings. So, this is how it all went down.
1. My First True Straight Razor Shave
Why not? I had been shaving with a straight razor shavette for a while; and, felt it was appropriate to be cleanly shaven for my anniversary. Wifey likes. Hint to the wise, be what wifey likes 😉
In any case, having been shaving with a shavette for about a year and half, I felt it was high time to invest in a high quality straight razor and all the accoutrements — brush, bowl, canvas and leather strops, and pyramid of whetstone grits… after all, I wasn’t going to send in the razor… I was going to be my own honemeister — especially having a side hobby of sharpening knives and axeheads, why not???
And, I must say… it was a joy and a success. No cuts!
2. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse… I mean, Take House… I mean, Take OUT
We WERE going to have Teppan in Japan, ECPOT, Disney World. But yeah… NOPE! So, we did the next best thing which had become a micro-tradition for us: Ruth’s Chris.
And, truth be told: We were in it for the Creme Brûlée.
As I ordered everything over the phone, stuff was ridiculously half off for most orders. In retrospect, that was because 1/2 the experience at the restaurant is truly the plating. So, Chilean Sea Bass… 1/2 off — and also really made realize I just prefer fish raw. Sushi is my kind of seafood.
A bunch of sides… 1/2 off. Bone in Filet Mignon. THEN, two orders of Creme Brûlée. Half Off. Weird, right?
Well… that’s because they don’t have any plating or containers for the dessert… so it was 50% OFF…… served as a “bless their hearts” trying Creme Brûlée in a Cup… well, takeout box… all smashed up .. LOL. meh. what are you doing to do?
Answer: NOTHING.
3. “We did nothing, we did NOTHING!”
A hilarious bit by John Mulaney… we did nothing. Life has been so ridiculously busy. It was actually a spiritual reprieve to just be… to rest… to be still.
4. Play with Nathan for hours.
I’m not even kidding on this one. We’ve been playing for HOURS. I’ve been exhausted lol… it’s striking how much energy children have, how vibrant their imagination is, and how genius they can be in their thought.
I was also reminded of this one meme I came across… and, has since changed my ideation of “PLAY” forever. And so… we played. For hours 🙂
5. No Disney, No Cry!
Because… we have Disney+. LOL, but really… I have been quite up and down since coming to terms with the fact that our epic 10 year anniversary trip is dashed… ours and everyone else. And yeah… I’ve seen that Canadian kid. But, I’m not Canadian (and unlike popular opinion)… I’m not that nice! hah.
But, one night, I was browsing Disney+ content and found this “Melody Time” medley and stumbled across a wonderful bit that I had plum forgotten — Johnny Appleseed.
I cried. No seriously… it made me cry and remember how much I truly have to be thankful for.
Then… it reminded me of the other day, watching X-Men The Animated Series… content which was DECADES ahead of its time. That and Star Trek TNG. Trust me on that one, I think it’s still on Amazon Prime.
Oh, and… I hadn’t really known it but I was honored and pleasantly surprised to be named a Top Dad Blogger 2020. I know, right?!
Down for some lessons learned? Down?? DOWN!!!
LESSONS LEARNED
1. Wait For Nothing
I am so blessed — even relieved… that we took that spur of the moment trip to Disney World as a family, and, that we recently had gone to Disneyland AND was able to (through a very generous series of events) experience Rise of the Resistance. Yeah… we did, it happened, and it was amazing. #SorryNotSorry
This even ties in with getting my straight razor. With the COVID-19 situation, shipping has gone to putt… unless it’s deemed essential, you won’t be getting your purchases for WEEKS…. not the usual 24-48 hours you’re accustomed to.
Want swag? Get it. It’ll be gone. They won’t make any more. We see this happen all the time at Disney Parks.
Want to achieve something, work up to something, try something out? Start now… RIGHT NOW. If anything, write it down in a piece of paper and tape it to your refrigerator.
If you write it down, you’ll be that much more likely to do it.
2. It Takes Strength To Be Kind
For reference, click here to view this Instagram story I posted. TLDR…er. Watch..??… it was about me buying a basket of food for someone who needed it. The amount of shock to kindness received was reward enough. It was my turn to be kind.
I can only imagine how the world would benefit in this outbreak of COVID-19 in such a time when fear is running amok, kindness would be that much more wonderful.
At risk of hijacking my own thoughts… let’s just end this all with: Be Kind. Be Generous. Give Often.
3. Resilient. Relentless. Resolved.
The world is a rough place. Life isn’t fair. People aren’t always nice. And, there’s but a small group of people you can truly count on to watch your back.
Therefore: Be resilient in your walk. Be relentless in your pursuits. Be resolved to finish your path.
I teach my son as much and as often as I can about grit. I told him…
During this time when we all seemed to be shelter in place…
ONE: I was thinking of doing a regular dad hour…. eh… dad 10 minutes broadcast/video-podcast/raw thoughts. Daddy In The Raw Food For Thought? LOL… yeah it’s late and it’s been a week… we’ll come up with a better name for this hair-brained-idea.
And, TWO: I was thinking about taking up comedy. I realized in all my public speaking, I tend to embed quite a bit of humor… dad jokes…… I got a great one regarding body chills, but, I’m not allowed to tell it (yet).
