Random moments of joy

I love making lists. I do it all the time. Not lists of things to do, but lists of subjects, like my life is one big game of Scategories. My wife talks about how my eyes widen and glimmer when I decide to make a list of (for instance) friends and words that only they use, etc.

I was thinking about my wife tonight, and how sometimes she will sing (if ever too lightly) a little harmony to whatever is playing on the radio, and about how that makes me smile, and about how that sounds quite beautiful to my heart, and about how I hope our daughter has the precious quality in her voice that my wife has when she hums, sings, the little harmony lines.

That little realization got me to thinking about other things that make me feel quite happy, that give me random moments of joy.

2. Group reactions to spectacular events at ball games. I love it when people who don't even know each other rejoice over a touchdown, a home run. How in that moment, we can make eye contact with total strangers, give them five, hug them, jump up and down with them. I love how that would never happen in real life, but how sports makes it acceptable. I wish we were the type of society where randomly while passing someone I could just hug them around their shoulders and jump up and down with them in celebration of a beautiful sky or a great song, but we don't. So I am thankful for the Packer touchdown, or the Matt Nickels grand slam which makes that moment of joy possible.

3. An unknown person doing a really good cover of a not so good song on YouTube and turning into something completely fascinating and entertaining. I love when trash can be recycled and if someone can turn Mike Posener's "bro"ish, false frat boy, over stylized sunglasses tunes into something interesting and jazzy (Look up Jayme Dee on YouTube) then that makes me happy. I imagine it is how Christ works in us, how the Lord will fix the world. Same sort of joy, just on a lesser level.

4. TV series on DVD. I know I should just Netflix them to my comp, but there is something sort of vacational, beach house summer, to watching a show from episode 1-34 in order. There is a satisfaction in sitting in your favorite chair, in the sliding in the round disc, in the saying the lines before character's say the line. I mean if not for Friends, I would have never had said "it was a moo point" and my wife wouldn't know what I was meaning when I do use it.

5. Drunken Celebrity Rants or even sober celebrity rants. I loved when Tom Cruise called Matt Lauer "glib". I used "glib" like forty times that following week, and it still makes me laughing thinking about Tommy's smug little face. Or Mel Gibson ranting about Jews, or Alec Baldwin calling his daughter ungrateful. I am sure lots of parents have wanted to do that, and were secretly encouraged by his drunken voice mail. It's nice every now and then that the world evens out the fairness by not letting celebrities be beautiful, rich, and talented, without having some consequences for such misfortune.

There are more things, some more sentimental than others, but here were the first group. I hope to add to the list throughout the summer. Feel free to share the randomness that makes you joyful.

Last minute addition. My wife has a good friend that works at a certain adult lingerie store in town, and she got a text that they received a three foot midget blow up doll today for purchase. This made me laugh out loud. How ridiculous. I hope one of you gets that for Christmas haha. Add that to my RMOJ list.

A Generation of Jersey Shore

In this my seventh year of teaching, it seems as if to me that The Jersey Shore has become a paradigm by which many young men want to judge and construct their lives. It is not just Jersey Shore, it probably started with Cribs, took a wandering through "My Life is Bro" and has progressed to the Jersey Shore. I am sure some new show will pop up that every teenage guy will want to emulate.

I understand the entertainment factor in "The Situation". I get it. "GTL" and the such are fun things to say and laugh about; however, many guys can't make that distinction that the show is entertainment, or that any show like that is entertainment. They don't understand how it is manipulated and produced to garner a certain reaction and rating. To lots of young men, who lack much example of adult men, they see those guys as the epitome of "man." Ronnie is their John Wayne, their Michael Jordan.

And, so what, right? Who cares if "My Life is Bro" or "Jersey Shore" or any of those shows or websites effect young men correct? But it does bother me. We are raising a generation of "bruhs". A generation of men who talk, but don't say anything. They speak in a language of brand names over the aroma of axe body spray. A generation that gleams orange like a jumpsuit worn my convicts picking up trash. It is as if they think think talking like a "bruh", using terms like "run this place" and "grenade" will make people think they are cool and have large members.

I find it sad. I find it irritating. I worry about how they will communicate and lead families and businesses.

We have guys growing up with huge friend groups that talk about nothing but noise. They speak cars, they speak who has the biggest boobs, but they can't simply express worry. They can't say, "Hey, I wish my parents wouldn't fight." They can't tell a girl, "I like you." They can make click noises, point at her ass to their friends; they can wear sunglasses at night and rub their genitals all on them when they dance, but they can't utter a true feeling in the poor girls direction...even if they did want to.

I am not one of those types who believes sheltering kids or guys from this is really a good thing. I guess I should hope that the hidden good qualities of people on those shows and web pages will some how conquer all the inane image stuff they portray. I mean, the Jersey Shore guys really do seem to care about each other, and maybe somewhere deep under all the fake tan, the hair gel, they smush room covers, be able to have conversations that matter to each other. Maybe somehow that will get through the boob tube to people watching?

I guess this phenomena is one of the first times I have felt a generation gaps between me and my kids at school, and it bothers me. Not that there is a gap, but because the gap exists because of behaviors and beliefs that I find fairly worthless and equally dangerous. If we raise boys, raise guys who can't express anything, who only can express affection through "smushing," who truly do love their "bros" more than their "hos" we are looking at a generation of dead beat dads, of broken families, of daddy issued riddled young women, and would it all be due to Jersey Shore???? If you believe in pop culture butterfly effect, then yes I think it could be.