Magical Moment 396, "The Wiggly Ones are the Happy Ones"

I learn many things from observing ballet class behind the comfort of my piano. I learn some french words. I learn how to play a "square" combination. And I learn what not to do, to get little girls to behave.

The instructor told the girls in the beginner's class to pay attention. "Calm down!" She said. "Stop wiggling!"

A spark of amusement rippled through the line of young girls. "Wiggle!" They laughed. What a silly word. What a silly, fun movement it implied. They of course had to demonstrate a wiggle. They squirmed their shoulders, bobbed their heads, and rocked their knees, all in an effort to create the perfect "wiggle."

The instructor immediately realized her mistake. She rolled her eyes in defeat. It was hopeless now.

Later, after the instructor successfully got them half way through bar exercises, she noticed they were bunched up in one corner. She attempted to space them out evenly. "Girls, slide down."

Slide! Oh, that's fun. Let's slide! Ballet slippers on top of a smooth floor work perfectly for sliding. Let's see who can slide the furthest!

Oh the poor instructor. She had her hands full that day. If only "calm" was a funny word. Let's see who can be the calmest. But that doesn't work for little girls. They are too happy, too innocent, too vibrant, and much too wiggly.

How to leave a comment:

-Type your comment in the comment box.

-Click on the drop down "comment as" box and choose a profile.

-If you're not sure which one to choose, OpenID will probably work if you have an account with google, yahoo, blogger, myspace, and other common sites.

-Type in the OpenID URL (ex: www.yahoo.com), and you will be prompted to enter your account name and password.

-Continue to follow the prompted steps and confirmations.

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-

Search This Blog