-Oh, what a day!- that’s the sentence I heard on the way out from the Oakwood Hospital, where we had lunch today.
We were supposed to perform there today, but, due to some misunderstandings, we performed somewhere else, but still, we went to the hospital for lunch.
It was a big celebration in the hospital, since on this very day, 85 years ago, Martin Luther King was born. They even had cookies with M L K. I still can’t get over the fact that I didn’t take the picture of them. I should’ve known that once I take them, it’ll be too late to capture them…
Well, anyway, some of the speakers at the conference in the hospital were students who are interested and active in debate, as well as their teacher. It was very nice to listen to them speaking, because they genuinely believe in what they do and have strong reasons for doing that. And from what I understood, they use debate to make a difference. So their words and beliefs were very appropriate for today’s celebration.
Later, we had lunch with them, so we talked, exchanged some experiences, shared some ideas, it was beautiful. And now I feel obligated to share one of the ideas that I heard today, because it’s such a wonderful idea. Uh! The teacher who we met today, Holly, talked about books. Well, actually, Gabe asked her if she read Jonathan Livingston Seagull, because he did a couple of times, and every time he reads it- in a different stage of life, the book affects him in a different way. The reason why he asked her that was because she said that we think of our countries differently, when we’re not there.
-It’s like you’re in a pool and you’re looking for some coins that you might have lost and you can’t find them! Because of all the water, you can’t see them. But once you step out of the pool, there they are!- she said. (Ahhh, I loved that conversation)
Anyway, back to the wonderful idea, ‘The Floating Library’. Holly said how she always borrowed books to her friends, and usually wouldn’t get them back… so, she ended up buying 4 or 5 copies of books she wanted her friends to read. She writes her name on the first page of each book and passes it on, and she asks the person to who she gives the book to, to do same- to write their name, when they read the book and give it to someone else. And then you get the whole list of people who were influenced by that book before you got it. I don’t know, when I think of it, it immediately makes it more personal. Gosh, I love love love that idea, I can’t wait to give away some books. (Expect to get cook books. I’m not really a chef, so that’s exactly the reason why you’ll get that type of a book. So you can cook for me- aaaaaaaall day long. Lol. Jk. Save some time for baking…)
-So, I call it a ‘Floating Library’. It’s not actually a library that floats… although that would be very cool.
(That part really disappointed me, so I had to pass it on… the name is a total spoiler…)
Well, after the nice conversation, we actually did give a (private) concert at Oakwood Hospital to our new group of friends in the hospital’s chapel, which is a unique space, because of merging the symbols of some of the largest religious groups into one room.
And about our actual performance… we sang in a nursing home. Since we performed in schools for the passed 10 days, this was very different. For me, it was very hard to perform there. On Thursday we performed for 640 children in the same auditorium, and today, there we were- in front of cca 20 people in the nursing home… and it was harder. It was so hard for me to perform there, because, probably like most of performers, I like to get some feedback, and, as you can imagine, there was very little feedback coming from the people in the nursing home during our concert. But, you know, ‘I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure (…)’ (I know it’s a cheap sentence, but it makes my flaws seem admirable, because that’s something that Marilyn Monroe said) so I was even a bit mad at the audience, for not saying anything or reacting in any way, except for this one lady who would say something nice after every single song, but of course, that and a few smiles wasn’t enough for me.
Well, we packed our stuff and on our way out, the nurse asked one man in the wheelchair if he liked it, and he just nodded.
-Carl has a family full of musicians- she smiled at me, saying that, and then she looked again at Carl- oh, Carl, it brought tears to your eyes.
Carl was crying.
And then I was left ashamed with my recent thoughts.
They didn’t react in any other way, because they couldn’t. They just couldn’t. It made me realize that they were, possibly, the most grateful audience we had. Simply because they managed to get out of bed to listen to us. And it reminded me to be a bit more humble and sensitive. I was so moved.
And now I just got back from the cinema. Judy, Andy’s host mom, took us all there to see The Book Thief. I rarely watch non-comedies in the cinema. I don’t feel like spending money to get myself depressed because of watching sad movies. Scary movies are not an option. So it leaves me with trash comedies. I always regret that in the end… So I guess it’s good I didn’t pick the movie. It’s a beautiful movie. And just like everything else today, really speaks to me and reminds me to use every moment in life wisely.
Oh, what a day, indeed.
Now, if you, for some reason, read all of this, I’ll leave you with some words of a greater individual:
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”
I wish you many great things, happening in great ways.
Happy Martin Luther King’s Day!
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