The other day I had the privilege of seeing three individuals using music to Escape Adulthood. I saw the first person on the highway during the morning commute. She was driving along in her cute VW Beetle, with her flowers popping up over the dash. Even though I couldn’t hear her, she was obviously enjoying singing her tunes as she drove along. It was cute! The next person I saw twice in one week at the local grocery store. I think he works for one of the bread companies and he's there early in the morning stocking the shelves with fresh loaves. Both days I saw him he was sporting his …
Adultitis
Staples is a Stupid Doo Doo Head
A childish title, I'll admit. But not nearly as ridiculous as the experience I just had at the local Staples office supply store. I patronized the store this afternoon to purchase Post-It Notes and some paper folders for this week's Cartooning Boot Camp. Figured it would be kind of nice for the kids to have a handy place to store all of their handouts and drawings. I looked all over the store for paper folders. Finally, I find them on an end cap for a penny each. Sweet. I am a happy customer. So I proceed to the checkout. The girl at the register begins ringing up my items, and then informs …
Good Game
This afternoon I had the chance to play a competitive game of balloon volleyball with Jason, my niece and brother-in-law. My poor niece didn’t have a chance with me on her team. It did bring back some great memories of high school sports, though. The excitement of a great play, the sting of defeat, the teamwork… sports are awesome for teaching so many life lessons. I didn’t even realize them all as I played as a kid, but now the metaphors are pretty obvious. …
Use it or Lose it
Apparently many American’s do not take all of their allotted vacation time. What’s wrong with us? I just read a very interesting article about this on WashingtonPost.com, called “Vacation Deprivation: The Lost Art of Taking Time Off.” The article pointed out, ‘workers are expected to give back 574 million vacation days in 2006, depriving themselves of much-needed breaks, according to Expedia.com's annual vacation deprivation survey. The number of vacation days employees are skipping this year increased by one over last year. On average, Americans leave at least four days unclaimed annually. …
Rejuveniles
Ian Ybarra was the first of many to point me to a new book called Rejuvenile, written by Christopher Noxon. Noxon has written for the New York Times Magazine and worked as a costumed character at Universal Studios. He defines rejuvenile as "People who cultivate tastes and mindsets traditionally associated with those younger than themselves." Christopher has done quite a bit of research on this burgeoning phenomenon of grown-ups who refuse to "grow-up." I am anxious to get my hands on the book for a closer look. It appears that his writing paints a wide brush of the entire movement, …
Six Years of Childlike Wonder
As Kim mentioned in her latest post, we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary yesterday. After picking up some delectable morel mushrooms at the Farmer's Market, we had lunch at Ian's Pizza (Mac and Cheese pizza for Kim, Philly Cheesesteak for me.) Then we toured the new Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and the Olbrich Botanical Gardens -- both free! -- and capped off the evening at The Eldorado Grill for dinner and the Hilton's Olive Lounge for some dueling piano action. It was a beautiful day, packed with new adventures and a cornucopia of childlike curiosity. Ever since we spent a …
Leader of the Free World
I'm not sure that's a responsibility I'd like to take on. I can't imagine a more stressful job than being President of the United States. Think about it. The decisions you're forced to make have big, life and death consequences. 24-hour news stations and countless radio hosts analyze everything you say and do -- every single day. No matter what party you hail from, or how popular you are, there will always be a big chunk of the population that flat out dislikes you, no matter what. Whether you're Carter or Reagan, Clinton or Bush, it's quite common to have your accomplishments ignored and get …
A Priest, Armed and Dangerous
So the other day Kim and I were in Indianapolis and we came across the most childlike priest I have ever seen. I'm not sure if anyone is completely Adultitis-free, but this guy sure was as close as they come. At the beginning of his sermon, he had all of the children (probably close to 90 in all) come to the front of the church and sit on the steps near the altar. Fr. Paul's back was to the congregation as he addressed the kids. He began talking about water. Then he went off to the side of the church, temporarily hidden by the baptismal font. He emerged, to the delight of all of the children …
Found It
It was brought to my attention recently that I do not have a hobby. Not a "real" hobby. I have never really noticed, to tell you the truth. I like to walk, take baths, listen to music, take naps, and sometimes I like to read. These are things I like to do, but they do not really fit as hobbies. After a little research and reflection on what hobbies really are, I would have to agree that I really do not have one. So, I went in search for something that I could do to relax that I would be passionate about. This was a harder task than I thought it would be. Of course I had some outside factors to …
Just a Little Rusty
In my book and in my presentations, I speak at length about the eight "secrets" that children naturally possess. One of the reasons that adulthood can often be so stress-filled and life not nearly as fun as it was when we were kids is because we have forgotten these "secrets" we once knew so well. I was re-reading Thinking For A Change by John Maxwell (one of my favorite books) and was ran across an interesting excerpt he included from Skipp Ross: …