Tuesday, November 17, 2009

And this smile is brought to you by...

I love these Flash Mob videos. Caught this one on the JMG blog and it made me smile and boogie.

It's one of two things that I came across today that was uplifting. And believe me when I say that they were really welcome.

The first happened while cappuccino-ing at my favourite Starfucks. I was meeting my BFF and while I was waiting for my cap. to arrive, the server (very cute blonde, very friendly) who took my order leaned over the counter and kissed his boyfriend (I assume). It wasn't a passionate tongue-fest, just a quick kiss that you would see a wife give her husband at the door, or a couple give each other as they return to work from their lunch date.

I found this very moving. This is a very busy Starbucks that is in the middle of a downtown campus. The place was crowded with students and other people of all nationalities, yet there wasn't a hint of hesitation as this young gay couple leaned over the counter and did what straight people do all the time without giving it a second thought.

Wow, we have come a long way, I thought. It made me smile.

Returning home from work, I was in my usual glum mood of late. It seems "Ray" had disappeared and in his place, this unhappy, sardonic shadow walked the planet in his place. I miss him and feel guilty about foisting this impostor upon my friends and family. So, as usual I sat at the computer to catch up on emails, send off a few "tweets" and check headlines when I came across this fabulous "flash mob" video shot at Sidney's Bondie beach this past weekend. (It's November for chrissake - I hate them!).

These youtube videos are great. It's like every musical fantasy I had growing up. You're in this pedestrian setting like a mall or church then suddenly everyone breaks out into a dance. ...who could ask for anything more?

I believe that I was born at a very special time in history. I experienced rock and roll & the Elvis craze, teened through Beatlemania and the sixties civil rights movements, disco'd and jazz-handed in the seventies, and witnessed the tragedy of AIDS and neo-conservatism in the eighties.

I never thought I'd live past fifty and now that I have, It feels that I spend much of my time facing life through a rear view mirror. My younger self was so busy running away that I was only too happy to burn bridges and break away from my past never believing in an instant that I would ever want to "go back". Of course, as we all know, home becomes more and more a magnet as you get older. There are some bridges that can't be rebuilt and some that shouldn't be but there is one that I would really love to fix. And that is the one leading to the person I used to be.

So, until I do,I'll take my happiness where I can find it; with good friends, good music, good scotch and a great big musical number led by a big old drag queen.


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