Surprise… It’s bubble gum!

April 15, 2009

Have you ever had a day when everything seemed to be going great? You were in the zone; everything was going according to plan. From one project to the next meeting to the grocery store without a hitch, and you are feeling good. Today you are not Clark Kent you are Superman! No meeting is too long, no project too big, no grocery aisle too strong to make you buy one thing not on your list; you are King or Queen for the day.

Just when your confidence is at it’s peak, surprise… you just stepped in bubble gum! I tell you few things will kill a buzz faster than bubble gum on your shoe. I believe there is a universal reaction to stepping in bubble gum. First your motion is slowed because your foot is stuck to the ground. Then there is the look of pure repugnance, the hatred for not only the gum but also the person who left the gum. Followed by the social commentary on the quality of the offenders’ parents, specifically the mother that did not teach this inconsiderate person not to throw gum on the ground!

By now your pulse is racing and you are frantically looking for a curb or something that will allow you to scrape off the gum without actually having to touch it. Everyone knows that the number one gross-out item is touching someone else’s used bubble gum. Yuck times three! You’ve found an edge and are now scraping the shoe with such force that sparks are coming off the rubber. It’s starting to smell like a NASCAR race! Convinced that there is no longer gum on the bottom of your shoe you try to move on.

But you can't. Everyone also knows that the gum does not come off with the first scraping, so you repeat the NASCAR step and continue to repeat until most of the offensive substance is removed.

You started the day as Superman and now you’ve gone right past Clark Kent and straight to Pigpen. You’re breathing heavy from all the anger and scraping, you’re disheveled and you have probably ruined a good pair of shoes. You’re exhausted you’re confidence level is lower than the curb you’ve just been scraping and you make a decision to go back into the grocery store and march directly to the ice cream aisle. For if ever a day deserved ice cream, it is today!

Lucy & Ethel
3/25/09

The greatest comedic duo in TV history has to be Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz. What a dynamic pair. How is it even possible to laugh so hard at other people’s mishaps? Everyone has his or her favorite episode and for me it’s a toss up between the job at the candy factory and selling the Vitameatavegamin. Both are classics and even after watching them again, I still can’t decide between the two.

It’s so much fun to enjoy the old clips of the escapades but even more fun to reenact them. I am fortunate enough to have friends in my life that when we get together it is hard to tell us apart from Lucy and Ethel. I’ve just had the great joy of returning from a trip with one such friend. This friend is beautiful, smart, funny and a great travel mate. The longer we were away the more we became Lucy and Ethel. The funniest part however, is that we took turns being Lucy. In one instance I was the bubblehead and she the straight woman trying to clean up after me, and in the very next moment, we reversed roles.

One afternoon after working and studying very hard we had a break and went back to our room to rest. We weren’t in the room five minutes when one of us did something goofy (I don’t even remember who or what it was) and the next thing we know we are laughing hysterically. You know the kind of laughter that you cannot stop, nor can you explain it to another and get them to laugh. But at that moment you feel certain that nothing will ever be this funny again. The tears were flowing the pain in the cheeks and jaw line was real and the beautiful release of joy filled the room with a peace that cannot be explained. It can never be recreated, it is not funny to explain to someone else and thinking about it later it doesn’t seem that funny at all. But for that one brief second of time, it was pure joy. I felt like a kid again without a care in the world. What a glorious moment.

So to all the Lucy’s and Ethel’s out there embrace your friendship and cherish the special moments; and to my own little Spucy, this is for you. Thanks for being my friend and for lengthening my life with laughter and joy.