Kid's Prayer

Saturday afternoon, December 15, 2012. I was strolling through Smith Haven Mall alone while my wife shopped. Something I have done many times before, but this day was different. This was the day after the events of 12/14/12 in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. It’s the height of the Christmas shopping season and I noticed little children more than I did on previous visits. I see parents holding little hands and carrying their kids, some even cuddling. I imagined, many of these kids wondered why the attention level on them had suddenly increased.

The massacre that occurred the day before had affected me, like many others, on a gut level, not only as a parent, but as a human. I see kids in the age range of the dead and I can’t get my brain around the thought of what those families are going through. Unable to leave the house, turn on the TV or the radio. Christmas and Hanukkah decorations still up. Struggling to keep it together for the sake of the other children they may have in their family. The focus going from unwrapped presents to a closed casket. Knowing the world is grieving with them now, but within a week, the attention will be gone and they will be left alone with only memories.

Social media is lighting up with candles, prayers, political debates for gun control and people just looking for reasons. There are no reasons. It’s time to admit the human race is a flawed experiment. Laws, technology, education will not change our makeup. We are just as primitive as the caveman. Still killing each other, no matter where or how we live, or what God we believe in. Each person has free will to act in good or evil. We can change our mind at any moment.

People are concerned that the world has gotten worse. It hasn't. I grew up in the 60’s. The decade of drugs, racial tension, political turmoil, the Vietnam War, the threat of communism, the Cuban missile crisis, etc. The world was not a better place back then. There is no such thing as the “good old days”. Every decade had challenges from the Civil War, The Great Depression, The Dust Bowl and The Holocaust and we got through it. Many people died. There was evil back then too. The number of deaths has not increased, it just got redirected.

I would like to believe that we have the power to change this pattern. I have hope for a new generation. At the age of 55, I fear I may never see it. I have a sinking feeling that things will get worse before they get better. However, relying on politicians, religious leaders and educators to fix this is not the answer.

There is only one possible answer.

 

US

WE HAVE TO DO IT
 

Through our children.

They are the ones who can save us from ourselves. They are the only hope for civilization.

BUT HOW?

SIMPLE
 

There is a relatively unknown singer/songwriter named Dan Bern who wrote a song called “Kids Prayer”. It says it all. Here is just an excerpt from it, followed by the entire song. Have a listen, have a good cry, then change the world.

Dan Bern - Kid's Prayer

Talk to your kids
Play with your kids
Tell them your dreams
And your disappointments
Listen with your kids
Listen to your kids
Watch your kids
Let your kids watch you
Tell your kids the truth
Best as you can tell it
No use telling lies
Your kids can always smell it
Cook for your kids
Let your kids cook for you
Sing with your kids
Teach your kids the blues
Learn their games
Teach them yours
Touch your kids
Find out what they know
Be sad with your kids
Be stupid with your kids
Learn with your kids
Cry with you kids
Be yourself with your kids
Be real with your kids
Embarrass your kids
Let them embarrass you
Be strong with your kids
Be tough with your kids
Be firm with your kids
Say "No" to your kids
Say "Yes" to your kids
Take it easy on your kids
You were a kid
Not so long ago
There are things you know
Your kids will never know
There’s places they live
Where you will never go
So dance with your kids
Paint with your kids
Walk with your kids
Tell stories to your kids
Watch movies with your kids
Eat popcorn with your kids
Tell secrets to your kids
Stop for rainbows with your kids
One day your kids
Won't be kids
And maybe they'll have kids of their own
Let’s hope they talk to their kids
Play with their kids
Tell them their dreams
And their disappointments

Dan Bern - Kid's Prayer http://youtu.be/uSke5BSzSjk

 

 

 

Another smart move

I have moved this blog to
www.stevieinsuburbia.wordpress.com

follow me over there...I'll put on a pot of coffee

Thank you for sticking with me.

Who Put The Bump

Who puts these speed bumps in parking lots? I understand the purpose is to keep people going at a reasonable speed.   Some are like little rides, kind of fun and they tickle my tummy. I wonder if less fortunate people tell their kids they are going  to an amusement park and just drive around Stop & Shop and hear the kids go "wheee" in the back seat. Some are too high and result in a thud that I am sure has destroyed the undercarriage of my car.  On occasion I hit it too hard and I am expecting to go home and discover a dozen broken eggs in my shopping bag. Let me just say, they don't really work. They frustrate people and inspire them to speed up in between the bumps, which is usually where I am walking. Most of the time they are painted yellow, so you can at least see them, but sometimes they aren't. Have you experienced the unforseen speed bump? That's the ride I don't like going on. It's the Space Mountain of speed bumps. I'm always thankful I didn't eat a hot dog before hitting one of those.

Daily Theme Song:
Barry Mann - Who Put the Bomp http://youtu.be/lXmsLe8t_gg

Got The Time

The world runs around late people. If the show is scheduled to start at 8pm, why doesn't it start until 8:15 or even 8:30? Because we have to wait for late people to decide to show up. If someone wants me to be somewhere at 7:30 do you know what I do? I leave early and get there at 7:15 and I wait for them to show up. This creates anxiety because I look at my watch every 30 seconds as it passes 7:30. It's rude and obnoxious, but yet so common. What really pisses me off is I actually sit and calculate what time they left. If they are 30 minutes away for a 7:30 appointment, they should have left at 7pm the absolute latest. I am sitting here at 8:05 thinking, they left later than the time they are actually supposed to arrive. Who does this? A lot of people. You have to make a conscious effort to actually show up that late. What are they thinking? Oh screw Stevie, he will wait. Maybe not next time.
Daily Theme Song:
Joe Jackson - Got The Time http://youtu.be/XTIPCc1nKYQ

Misery

We all wake up everyday with a decision to make. Are we going to be happy or miserable? I understand both of these emotions because I make the same decision. What bothers me is some people want you to feel the same as they do. If I choose to be miserable for the day the last thing I need is some happy peppy moron in my face trying to cheer me up. I am miserable, leave me alone, unless you want to join in on my misery. I have no problem with people who want to be a part of my gloominess. Nothing makes me feel better than another person complaining with me. It actually feels better than being happy with someone. I also find misery gets my creative juices flowing. Deep depression has given birth to my best ideas. That explains why most of my best writing took place in my 40's. That was one miserable decade. People try to fight depression with drugs and therapy. I say bring it on. It's important to feel like crap. It's good for you. If you feel depressed or sad, there is nowhere to go but up. If you're always happy, that's the best you are going to feel. What good is that? There are enough books about how to be happy to fill the state of Kansas. Who wants to be happy all the time. That is just boring and stupid. You are in a happy mood today? Get the hell out of my face. Happy Tuesday? Screw that. Miserable Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday sounds much better to me. Talk to me on Friday. Maybe then I will smile, but don't count on it. I feel better already.

Daily Theme Song:
The Beatles - Misery http://youtu.be/YSUz9iNVU7Y

Welcome To My Nightmare

Another fantastic week of comedy gigs has just passed. I have a dream, just like anyone. It's nice to have a dream of something bigger than yourself. I am not sure how to live without some goal in mind. The curse of having a dream is watching it start to come true. Whenever you have a little piece of your end goal come into fruition, it's nearly impossible to resist the urge to go "all in." There are days when I wish I had the guts to just pack it all in and get an RV and just travel around broke and free. I am in the entertainment field and it's difficult to concentrate on anything else. Performing is my drug of choice. The problem is I can't do it all the time, yet. I am not sure if I want to for fear that it may become that four letter word, "work." My dream is making the rest of my life a nightmare. I can't go a day without thinking about a future performance date or dates. I get depressed if I don't have enough dates booked. I have a fear that it may all come to an end. People don't understand the torture I am going through. Part of me wants to quit and end the madness. Funny thing is every time I think about quitting, something good happens. I like to think it's somebody up there keeping it going. Some divine intervention. It might be Freddie Krueger.

Daily Theme Song:
Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare http://youtu.be/IKpEoRlcHfA

Everyday is Like Sunday

Sunday is supposed to be the day to stay in bed until 11am. Wake up leisurely to the smell of bacon and coffee, just like in those commercials. If you have kids, forget waking up anytime after 7am. And even after the kids are gone, the automatic clock in your brain still wakes up well before 11am. Dogs have clocks too, in their bladders. How about lying around all day just reading the New York Times? They do it on the commercial for the New York Times. Not in my  house. First of all, I have no desire to read that liberal rag. Second of all, it's like 12 bucks now for the Sunday Times. Oh, I know. How about cooking the Sunday sauce while listening to Italian music on the radio? Football? Nope. Not in my house. For me, Sunday might as well be Tuesday. Sunday is just another day to get crap done before the weekend is over and turns into Monday. Monday, yeesh. The mother of crappy days. Life.

Daily Theme Song:
Morrissey - Everyday is Like Sunday http://youtu.be/nHBZFSYA12A