Random Thoughts

What if great art – brilliant art – were right in front of you?   Would you care?   Would you NOTICE?   Would you stop your busy, rushing about life for at least a moment or two to take it in and appreciate it? That was the premise behind the Washington Post experiment in 2007 – would morning Metro commuters in Washington DC take the time to listen and appreciate the music of one of the world’s best musicians, Joshua Bell?  The piece Gene Weingarten wrote in the Post on the experiment enthralled me at the time and also won a Pulitzer Prize.  (Article here:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/pearls-before-breakfast-can-one-of-the-nations-great-musicians-cut-through-the-fog-of-a-dc-rush-hour-lets-find-out/2014/09/23/8a6d46da-4331-11e4-b47c-f5889e061e5f_story.html As you can see if you read Weingarten’s piece, the experiment that day at L’Enfant Metro yielded dismal results:  Bell played his violin for 43 minutes. 1,097 people h...

Let me say first - I do not write this piece to “brag” or to point out a good deed – good deeds do not need to be broadcast to the world.   I write this to remind you to LOOK AROUND and notice people. I got home from a weeklong trip late last night.  And I was cranky (“cranky” is probably putting it mildly…).  I didn't get my preferred 8 hours of sleep before the alarm went off and I had to jump in the shower and get ready for re-entry to real life, a morning job.  Luckily my husband rearranged his scheduled a bit so he could drop me off at the metro, and the day began. The job was only one hour.  I had several errands on my to do list, so when I was done I decided to  metro around town to see what I could accomplish. But in the back of my mind, I was still cranky.  It was HOT.  I was carrying a HEAVY BAG that kept getting heavier as I purchased more items and had to CARRY THEM because I didn’t have my car.  My shoes were comfo...