E.G. Bell
There is an old joke about someone going to a fight and a hockey game broke out. I’ve never been a hockey guy. The game moves too quickly and the crowds seem rowdy. Same with football. I’ve been to professional baseball games including one treasured afternoon with my grandfather at Forbes Field.
My grandfather and Forbes Field belong to the ages now but not lost for me because of this single afternoon. Fights break out at baseball games too but they are very much the exception. Sometimes the actions of a few can spoil the experiences of the many. I hear more and more the expression “That is why we can’t have nice things!”. It is a shame because I believe the human heart craves nice things. Things like fond memories and happy experiences.
These days there are a lot of things spoiling lives or outlooks. Many of them are on scales larger than a sports arena. Politics are boiling amid a young election season. A story in Israel is saturating the news. Whatever our take on the situations unspooling, there are elements in the stories that are heart-rending. Unpleasant. Outrageous. Unspeakable. They wrap things political, religious, personal, and military in shadow. Darkness. Make hearts feel earthbound. Heavy.
I have written before (Iconoclast) that I’m not one much for certain traditions particularly around this time of the year. About the disconnect between the ‘spirit’ advertised and the conduct displayed. I like the spirit said to permeate the season; The idea of it. It is good feelings. I just often feel jaded that it seems to exist only in television commercials, storefront displays, and the occasional Christmas classic movie. I enjoy the commercials. I enjoy the movies even without embracing the figures and traditions. I LOVE the original version of Miracle on 34th Street which regularly appears around this time every year. It is a feel-good fantasy that has aged well and evokes happiness regardless of the time of year I watch it. But, except for the brief break these moments provide, a lot in the real world weighs the heart down. And yet….
People are still capable of things that make the heart soar. Some time ago, someone sent me a link to such a moment. A moment involving our military. A moment timeless that ages well. It is an escape like a favorite movie or moment but involving real-life people. Young. Old. I lost the link when I switched from Yahoo to Google, but I discovered it is easily found and something to be shared. I provided a link below, a QR code for smartphone users, and a search string for phoneless Google users. Often I provide links to show the source of my information. Reference citations. This time, it is just to share something worth experiencing. The target of the link (“USAF Flash Mob”) is not intended as a surprise:
“Starting with a single cellist on the floor of the National Air and Space Museum’s Milestones of Flight gallery and swelling to 120 musicians, The United States Air Force Band exhilarated museum visitors yesterday with its first-ever flash mob. The four-minute performance featured an original arrangement of “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring/Joy to the World,” led by the Band’s commander and conductor, Col. Larry H. Lang. Unsuspecting museum visitors including tourists and school groups were astonished as instrumentalists streamed into the gallery from behind airplanes and space capsules, and vocalists burst into song from the Museum’s second floor balcony. Also available in high definition”
This really is a must-experience experience. If the world has you a little heavy-hearted with its drumbeat of dark news, take a moment to see what good a ‘mob’ can work; To reaffirm that hearts can also soar. Even in an iconoclast. I promise you will feel better while you watch this event.
Merry Christmas and I hope the new year holds promise of better for all of us!
**The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.**
