SoCS: Ode to Joy

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “ode.” Find a one- or two-syllable word that rhymes with “ode,” or use the word “ode.” Have fun!

Ode. Mode: most frequently ocurring score (from statistics) which I guess is what makes the hill in the bell curve. “Ode to Billy Joe.” Maybe someone else will do that. How about “Ode to Joy?”

Here’s a flash mob.

I’ve been in small dance mobs, more like acting mobs or mime mobs. I bet I have a picture somewhere……

Very improv. That’s me on the right with the red hair about 10 -15 yrs ago.

It was a fun time when I was much more social, not romanticly, and finding myself while focusing on friendship with a very accepting group of people.

I’d like to sing in a flash mob some day. I would want to enunciate because I can’t really hear the words in the “Ode to Joy above.” I worry about that in choir – that the organ could overpower the lyrics. Maybe it’s my hearing? Anyway, I’m going to find the words to “Ode to Joy…”

So there are many differernt versions. There’s the original poem written in German, the hymn, and here’s a simpler version, well, the lyricis are simple, the music not so much. (Maybe I couldn’t understand the words in the flash mom version bc they were singing in German?)

In all the mess and confusion of the world,

I hope you find many moments of joy!

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For more stream of consciousness posts, visit our host, Linda Hill at:

https://lindaghill.com/2021/08/20/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-aug-21-2021/

Good News Tuesday: Helpers, Fur, and Friendship

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

Helpers after the Storm

This BBC article highlights some of stories of those who helped after Hurricane Dorian including six year old Jermaine Bell  who used  money he’d been saving for Disney to help feed evacuees.

Many cruise ships diverted to the Bahamas to become relief vessels after Hurricane Dorian. Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean provided supplies and free transportation to evacuees and those returning home. The Equinox, of Celebrity cruise lines, interrupted their Caribbean itinerary so that their kitchen staff could serve 10,000 meals Cruise guests volunteered to plate and pack them. Here’s their story.

And don’t forget Chef Jose Andres is one who jumped right in and went the extra mile.

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California Bans Fur Trapping

California has become the first US state to ban trapping mammals and other non-game animals for fur. Not only is trapping animals for fur cruel to the “target” animals, but also to dogs, cats, and birds who accidentally get trapped. This article from The Good News Network shares how the ban will save taxpayers money.

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High School Seniors Step Up in Friendship

High school freshman Cale Wrenn, 14, had a rough time on his first days. Classmates made fun of him for being short, and he ate lunch alone. After his sister, Leah, asked for help on twitter, high school seniors, including Demontez Canada, who is a member of the football and basketball teams, became his friends. Watch the video below and imagine a world where compassion and friendship flow easily.

 

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Good news is out there!

Feel free to share yours in the comments

or write your own Good News post and link it back here.

Reaching Out to Newbies and Loners

Since my dad was in the Marine Corps, we moved around a lot. I went to kindergarten in Newfoundland, Canada, attended elementary school at Camp Pendelton, California, then on to the Philadelphia naval base followed by Michigan, New York, and Quantico, Virginia when Dad was in Vietnam. His final assignment was to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where he retired from the Corps. Then, I went to a civilian school a short distance away which seemed almost like going to another country.

You’d think I would have gotten used to being the new kid in school, and I did learn to adapt, but it was always hard. Wondering who I’d sit with at lunch was always awkward at first. Being naturally shy, I learned to depend on myself for company when necessary. But sometimes, students reached out to me in friendship giving me the confidence to eventually reach out to others. Maybe that’s why I was moved by this news story about a student who started a club to reach out to newbies and loners.

Do you remember being the new kid? What helped?

 

 

“You’ll be my arms, I’ll be your eyes.”

Two “handicapped”men in their 50s help heal the earth with inspiring determination. I hope you enjoy this heartwarming video about friendship and perseverance.

It took me a minute to get used to reading the subtitles, but I’m so glad I watched this!

    “If we work together physically and unite spiritually, we can achieve anything.”

Friendship First!

Badge by: Doobster @ Mindful Digressions

Do you ever wonder about how we get to be friends with some people. Those seemingly random encounters, when you find an immediate connection, make me wonder. A past life relationship? Or does God want us to learn something from each other?

Does God set up blind dates for us with people we can learn from?

Friendship was paramount in my teen years. Then family became the focus, along with work relationships.

As I’ve gotten older, with the kids grown (mostly) friendship becomes more important.

After the divorce, after the crappy rebound, and the not quite right re-re-bound, I constantly reminded myself:

FOCUS ON FRIENDSHIP!

  FRIENDSHIP FIRST!

I befriended myself. And of course the dogs were the most constant friends of all.

Then there was the reunion with the high school girlfriends, after 30 plus years, we got together for a long weekend.

Friendship with those special ladies led to my high school sweetheart finding me again.  I won’t give you all the details, because they’re in the memoir I’m working on.

But the key was friendship first.

I still cherish those friendships. And I cherish the friendship I have with my husband.

We talk a lot about love, but the best kind of love, I believe, begins and ends with being friends.

Even my love for God is enriched by a component of friendship.

 

This week’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt was acquaint/friend. If you’d like to join in the fun, visit:

Special Edition Friday Prompt for SoCS February 28/15

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. Have fun!