Stop and Hear the Music

I am sorry. I found this just so absolutely facinating and I just had to share. Some of you may know that I am a news junkie. I read it all from finances to entertainment but this one was really good. I don't know why it caught my attention but I felt it was worth sharing.




A Violinist in the Metro
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

I can't believe I did that!!

So I thought it would be fun to try this. My silly little sister suggested setting up a "truth box" on MySpace and having people anonymously sending in their most embarrassing stories. So feel free to do one of two things. Pop on over to my page and give it a go...OR, if you are not shy, go ahead and email them to me. I am going to post them every time a get a few. I will probably add some of my own. God only knows I have plenty! Hahahahahaha...Get your friends involved. Have them turn in stories or just do it for them. My page address is myspace.com/ambersmilz. Have fun reminiscing!

Awww....love is in the air!

So we are sandwiched somewhere in between my anniversary and Valentine's Day. Which got me thinking. You know about all the mushy stuff and the hard stuff. All the laughter and hard work that goes into long term commitments. So I am reaching out and asking....

What is your definition of :

Marriage

Commitment

Romance

I thought of a ton of other words but I think those three can be the most controversial and are some of the most important. I want to know how you feel and what comes to your mind when you think of these things. Memories, profound statements, deep thoughts. It would be wonderful if I could hear from you. Thank you.

Rest in Peace little Fish

My Valerie is such a wonderful blessing. She is my first born and is just like her father. My friend SuperMom discusses her middle daughter sometimes. She describes her daughter in a way that is very similiar to my oldest. She uses words like independant and stubborn and strong willed. I read her stories and think "YES! My daughter has done that, and that, and that, oh her daughter hasn't done that yet? Only a matter of time" So, I invite you to read an excerpt from my MySpace blog about my child's latest mishap......


Today Valerie decided that Vanessa's fish had died. So she climbed up to the shelf where I thought I had put the fish out of my children's reach and dug it out of the bowl. Then she unceremoniously dumped it down the bathroom sink. I come running at the sound of Vanessa screaming. After getting her to calm down enough to tell me what is going on I ask Valerie to explain herself. Well, he wasn't swimming and so I put him in the sink. I go running from sink to sink "which one?" praying, hoping I can save him. Valerie- "Oh, he went down the drain I put water on him." I explain in a very LOUD voice to Valerie that her sister's fish was asleep and that if there is something wrong with the animals you come and get Mommy first. Not try and take care of it yourself. Because now sissy's fish has most certainly gone to join the large fisbowl in the sky. Which, of course, made Valerie cry. I made her apologize to Vanessa. Valerie-"Mommy will buy you a new one Vanessa" Me-"Valerie say you are sorry" Valerie-" I am sosososososososososososososo Sorry!!!!!" Me-"Good, now go to bed. I need a break or perhaps a drink. All this before ten in the morning? It is going to be a good day!

Sometimes it makes you sad.......

So, some retard in New Jersey named their child Adolf Hitler. No freakin joke. Then he goes down to the local grocery store and says "Hey, my kid wants a birthday cake. Put happy Birthday Adolf Hitler on it. Thanks" So, of course, the store refuses. Man throws a fit makes a scene and then drives to Wal-Mart where they whip him up a neo nazi cake in five minutes flat.
So now there is a big fuss. He is yelling about a lawsuit and the supermarket is saying they defend their actions 100%. I love my mother who upon hearing about this said "That is probably the reason he named his son that. Imagine how much he thought he could get from the first business or school that refused him. Oh, and his siblings names? JoyceLynn Aryan Nation and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie.



"They're just names, you know," father Heath Campbell told the Easton Express-Times. "Yeah, they (the Nazis) were bad people back then. But my kids are little. They're not going to grow up like that."

"Other kids get their cake," Campbell complained. "I get a hard time. It's not fair to my children. How can a name be offensive?"

The kids are growing up in a home festooned with a swastika in every room. The father wears boots that once belonged to a Nazi soldier, and claims a relative was a member of Hitler's feared Schutzstaffel. They do not believe the holocost actually happened.
The parents insist they are not racist, although they don't believe in mingling the races.
And Heath Campbell claims he doesn't understand why people are shocked when they hear his son's full name.

Daily news writes" Someone get him a history book