On a Good Day...

Aloha,

Have you noticed there’s a lot of bad stuff going on – or going wrong – with the world?

This week alone, a nationally known politician was sentenced to 2.5 years for skimming campaign funds.

Overseas, Egypt is going to hell in a hand basket, and who knows what’s going to happen there?

And, in general, I don’t know my neighbors the way I knew my neighbors as a kid.

Why is that?

I don’t have any answers, except to suggest we should all consider paying it forward instead of looking back.
At least we'd be heading in the right direction…

But, let me tell you three good things that happened to me this week. (As I wrote this post, a fourth happened, but that's for Monday:)

Sat in a McDonald’s the other day, struggling with a certain scene, I looked up from my laptop in real frustration. In my direct line of sight was a father and his son (?) doing a Bible study.

In a McDonald’s. At 9 a.m. On a Wednesday.

It was awesome to witness and it absolutely gave me a shot of positive thinking to where I figured how to get my annoying MC to the end of the chapter. (She won’t listen to me…it's so bothersome...)

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My wife, a U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. is in Rhode Island for three weeks, so SuperGrandma is in town to keep me sane, (which is in itself a good thing.) Hearing that my wife reconnected with a friend at the course is awesome news. Knowing the two women can socialize and share their downtime is a big relief - now that I know she's not "alone."

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And, finally, I didn’t officially misplace my son...

No. 3 Son, nineteen months old, thinks he is six (or at least three) and wants to do everything like his two older brothers.

This past Sunday, he finally conquered the kid’s playground at the Honolulu Zoo.

I was delighted for him, especially when I saw him come off the slide, waddle around to the steps, climb, slide again (and again... repeat to infinity and beyond.)

So, I took a picture and sent it to my wife via smart phone. This is the picture:

It took about 45-60 seconds to upload and send with a quick note. When I looked up, I expected No. 3 Son to be back on the slide.

No Son. Empty slide.

I leaned to the left.

No Son on steps.

Okkkk…

I circled the (very) small play area.

No Son…

My inner Freakoutometer automatically kicked in as my writer’s imagination sent various scenarios to the front lines.

I walked to the busy main playground (100 feet away). SuperGrandma had No. 2 Son, and No. 1 Son was busy with his new friends.

No waddling little boy in lime green Hawaiian shirt/shorts combo…

The Freakoutometer moved to DEFCON-2…

After the third complete revolution around the playground, I noticed several parents sat up to watch me - my facial expression would have worried me, too.

The Freakoutometer clicked to DEFCON-3…

And, then from over my left shoulder I felt something. I whipped around, and about 100 yards away was afore-mentioned No. 3 Son (now since grounded until he’s, mwahhh, say 35.)

Comfortable in the arms of a young man (late teens), the mini-Houdini waved as if to say, “Boy, did I have an adventure, Papa”

Meanwhile, the Freakoutometer switched over to BlabberMode in preparation of its non-essential shutdown.

I thanked the young man and his friend – a lot – and they explained how they found Little Ninja wandering around the corner.

I shook their hands, thanked them – again – and mentioned that they have done me a great service on a good day.

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But what's this got to do with writing, Uncle Mark?

Well, the next time I'm doing a horror or terror scene, I'll be able to pull from personal experience :)

One final thought: Smart phones may be smart, but I’m not sure about the people (ME) using them.

Remember, kids: Parents don’t let parents email cute pictures – until later :)

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PS... This is "On a Good Day" by Above & Beyond.

The English dance music group held a 2009 competition for fans to see who could create the best music video for their next OceanLab single.

The winning video by Ashley Tritton is amazing, and if the homeless are in any way important in your life, you'll appreciate this anytime, but definitely on a good day :)