Saint-Saëns - Carnival (#14) ~ by the Kaneh-Masons

 

Camille Saint-Saëns : Le carnaval des animaux (#14 - Finale)
~ by The Kanneh-Masons ~ 

 

Giving ~ by Katherine Hepburn

 

 "Giving "

~ by Katherine Hepburn ~

      From Katharine Hepburn’s childhood; in her own words ...

“Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.  Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter.  This family made a big impression on me.  There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12.  The way they  were dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money, but their  clothes were neat and clean.

The children were  well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their  parents, holding hands.  They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns,  animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night.  By their  excitement you could sense they had never been to the circus before.  It  would be a highlight of their lives.

The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be.  The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say,  "You're my knight in shining armor."  He was smiling and enjoying seeing  his family happy.

The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted?  He proudly responded, "I'd like to buy  eight children's tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family  to the circus."  The ticket lady stated the price.

The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to quiver.  Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you  say?"  The ticket lady again stated the price.  The man didn't have enough money.  How was he supposed to turn and tell his  eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?

Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20  bill, and then dropped it on the ground.  (We were not wealthy in any  sense of the word!)  My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped  the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket."

The man understood what was going on.  He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing situation.  He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a  tear streaming down his cheek, he replied; "Thank you, thank you, sir.  This really means a lot to me and my family."

My father and I went back to our car and drove home.  The $20 that my dad  gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with.  Although we didn't get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside  us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.

That day I learnt the value [of Giving.]

The Giver is bigger than the Receiver.  If you want to be large, larger than life, learn to Give. 

Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything.

The importance of giving, [and] blessing others can never be over-emphasized because there's always joy in giving.  Learn to make someone happy with acts of giving.”

 

Teamir Gizaw (ተዓምር ግዛው) ~ by TPO

 

Teamir Gizaw (ተዓምር  ግዛው) 

~ by TPO ~

 Her name is Teamir Gizaw (ተዓምር  ግዛው) !
... She's endowed with great voice and good looks !
~ ድምፅ ብቻ  አይደለም  ያላት  ውበትም  ጭምር  ነው ።

 

Richards and White : Time Travelers ~ by TPO

 

Richards and White : Time Travelers 

~ by TPO ~

Keith Richards (born 1943) :

- grizzled and gnarly rocker,

- has lived  a life full of hell-raising and bizarre antics,

- a miracle where he gets his stamina even in his elderly years !

 Betty White  (born 1922) :

- irrepressible and  uninhibited comedienne and show-biz perennial,

- full of vim and vigor,

- on the cusp of attaining centenarian status and still going strong !

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Richards & White :

- They're made of rare stuff,

- ... and they're irreproducible ! 

 

 

In the last four years ...! ~ by Hénock Gugsa

 

 In the last four years ...! 

~ by Hénock Gugsa ~

Not that there are any new revelations, but we are now more aware of the flaws in American Politics. 

1 - The weakness of the First Amendment, i.e. Freedom of Speech
- free pass is given to bullies, normalization of outrageous speech and acts
- the timidity of the media in not steadfastly challenging lies
- the propagandizing (by some sectors of the media) of conspiracy theories
2 - The role of money
- corrupt media,
- corrupt political parties,
- and corrupt interest groups (churches, and corporations)!
3 - Cynicism everywhere else !
- Defeatism
- Lack of Faith and Will to stand up for Truth
_______________________________________
*******************************************************
Some Practical Tools we almost forgot we had for combating  bullies and demagogues ! ...

1 - Taking away their platforms (i.e. social media presence) when necessary.
2 - Muting bullies when they attempt to disrupt orderly debates and conversations.

 🤔 🤭 🥴 

 

Ain't got no ... , I got life! ~ Nina Simone

 

Ain't got no ... , I got life! 

~ Nina Simone ~

 

So What ~ By Miles Davis

 

" So What "

~ by Miles Davis ~ 

 

" LIMITED " ~ by Carl Sandburg

 

" LIMITED " ~ by Carl Sandburg 

 

China's Airlines Rules ~ by TPO

 

China's Airlines Rules 

~ by TPO ~

" DEPENDS", anyone ?!

 

On a Bridge Strategy ~ by Frank Stewart

 

On a Bridge Strategy 

~ by Frank Stewart ~