Day Six

I was going to write about the older man I saw flipping someone the bird out of his van window because they were either to slow or didn’t put on their turn signal on. I was going to say something about what kind of example are we setting for our children when we do things like this and then ask what is wrong with the youth today. And these same people say that the kids have no respect for their elders and they should all be institutionalized.

But then I went to a winter concert at my son’s school. As I walked into the gymnasium, it took me back to my youth. There were metal folding chairs put out for all the parents and family to sit on, plus they had some bleachers against the wall. My son told me where he was sitting in the band, so I tried to sit on that side of the room to see him. The crowd for the most part was attentive, there were a few cell phones ringing and once in a while you can see the glow of someone texting on their cell phone. (The man sitting next to me!). The event turned out to be very nice, the band played, the choir sang and did a play and a young boy played solo on the piano. I truly enjoyed myself.

It made me think that we can not cut the arts out of our schools. Our children need to know about music, drawing, theatre and, if I may be so bold, cooking and sewing. In my opinion music teaches musicality and rhythm, drawing teaches about the movement of your hands (fluidity) and theatre teaches the ability to speak in public. I believe that the later two fall under the heading of good nutrition and taking care of oneself. All of these are needed.