Days of (More) Joy
It is January, and we need More Joy.
I do believe the originator of the tradition, sdwolfpup, has designated tomorrow as More Joy Day proper -- but I have a few things planned, and it will take more than tomorrow to finish them. So...
More Joy Day #1: Unexpected Joys, requested by mobile_alh
And so, 14 Joys, some unexpected, some sought for --
1) Hearing an old AM radio favorite in an unexpected place, like Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds in the grocery store, or "Brandy You're a Fine Girl" wafting out of a gas station, melody and the scents of greasy food and motor oil and the sound of the bell on the door, a perfect half-moment in a day.
2) Yesterday, in a winter-blue sky, a contrail shaped like a quill pen.
3) A checkbook that balances. (Do other people still use checkbooks, or is it all online accounting now?)
4) A butterscotch hard candy in a sea of peppermint. Vice versa, too.
5) Hopping up and down when one should be too old and dignified to do so.
6) A purged and organized drawer.
7) In this subtropical season of motorcycles, yesterday a man in bright yellow on a bright yellow lowriding cycle. He and the bike had silver spikes running from helmet to tailpipe, all glinting in the sun, and in sum he looked like some exotic dinosaur-human creature roaring down the street.
8) The pop and hiss of an opened Diet Coke (with lime).
9) The pop and hiss of a new-lit candleflame.
10) Random quotations of delight, as in this from The Pickwick Papers (which I'm reading off and on): He (Mr Pickwick) would not deny that he was influenced by human passions and human feelings (cheers)-- possibly by human weaknesses (loud cries of 'No'); but this he would say, that if ever the fire of self-importance broke out in his bosom, the desire to benefit the human race in preference effectively quenched it. The praise of mankind was his swing; philanthropy was his insurance office.
11) "I am 32 Flavors, and then some."
12) The swing of a lean man's loose overcoat as he takes the first leaping step up a staircase.
13) The delicacy of a prima ballerina's hands as she swims through the air; the leap of a danseur noble as if to crest the surface between here and too-high.
14) Taking a corner just a shade too fast, feeling the sway of car and body, feeling the road.
What's your joy today? I hope there are far more than 14! Cheers, and more joy soonest.
I do believe the originator of the tradition, sdwolfpup, has designated tomorrow as More Joy Day proper -- but I have a few things planned, and it will take more than tomorrow to finish them. So...
More Joy Day #1: Unexpected Joys, requested by mobile_alh
And so, 14 Joys, some unexpected, some sought for --
1) Hearing an old AM radio favorite in an unexpected place, like Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds in the grocery store, or "Brandy You're a Fine Girl" wafting out of a gas station, melody and the scents of greasy food and motor oil and the sound of the bell on the door, a perfect half-moment in a day.
2) Yesterday, in a winter-blue sky, a contrail shaped like a quill pen.
3) A checkbook that balances. (Do other people still use checkbooks, or is it all online accounting now?)
4) A butterscotch hard candy in a sea of peppermint. Vice versa, too.
5) Hopping up and down when one should be too old and dignified to do so.
6) A purged and organized drawer.
7) In this subtropical season of motorcycles, yesterday a man in bright yellow on a bright yellow lowriding cycle. He and the bike had silver spikes running from helmet to tailpipe, all glinting in the sun, and in sum he looked like some exotic dinosaur-human creature roaring down the street.
8) The pop and hiss of an opened Diet Coke (with lime).
9) The pop and hiss of a new-lit candleflame.
10) Random quotations of delight, as in this from The Pickwick Papers (which I'm reading off and on): He (Mr Pickwick) would not deny that he was influenced by human passions and human feelings (cheers)-- possibly by human weaknesses (loud cries of 'No'); but this he would say, that if ever the fire of self-importance broke out in his bosom, the desire to benefit the human race in preference effectively quenched it. The praise of mankind was his swing; philanthropy was his insurance office.
11) "I am 32 Flavors, and then some."
12) The swing of a lean man's loose overcoat as he takes the first leaping step up a staircase.
13) The delicacy of a prima ballerina's hands as she swims through the air; the leap of a danseur noble as if to crest the surface between here and too-high.
14) Taking a corner just a shade too fast, feeling the sway of car and body, feeling the road.
What's your joy today? I hope there are far more than 14! Cheers, and more joy soonest.