(But accepting new members…)
You know that line from the Beatle’s hit song “Michelle”? The one sung in French?:
“Michelle, my belle, Sont les Mots qui vont trÈs bien ensemble. Tres bien ensemble.”
Well thanks to my good friend Babel Fish Translator, I just found out that it means almost the same exact thing as the line in English - “These are words that go together well. Very well.”
Kinda dissapointing, actually. I guess I just always assumed it was more romantic.
I was up the other night, thinking about my life, my writing and what was holding me back.. when all of a sudden I stumbled across an old book report I had written back in high school on the Catcher in the Rye, graded by the most influencial teacher I ever had in my life: Mr. George Blouin.
While looking over the paper, I instantly remembered our English class reading through The Catcher in the Rye
Mr. Blouin spoke about the story with passion, challenging us lost kids to face our own phoniness and sarchasm through the eyes of the controversial protagonist, Holden. He would write on the board so fast and with so much intensity, that usually I could barely make out most of his handwriting.
But it didn’t matter - he was getting the message across.
And when the smart-asses in the class didn’t quite ‘get’ it, Mr. Blouin would climb on top of his desk to avoid all the “bullshit that was filling up the room”.
That was Mr. Blouin for you. He was just one of those teachers that was so respected, by so many students, over so many years, that he could pretty much get away with anything and no one would ever say a word. It was an unspoken law.
He was a man that told us the truth and pushed us to think for ourselves. He was the kind of teacher that would literally get furious with you if he felt you were not living up to your potential. He was a man that truly cared about his students’ lives, and it didnt matter to him that he’d given those same exact speeches and introductions to generations of kids before us. He did it again and with the same passion.
So you can imagine why his comments and advice always meant the world to me.
And that night, in the midst of my writer’s block, Mr. Blouin had returned, through this lost and forgotten book report, to offer his words of wisdom once again.
I understand that I came across his words for a reason. I understand that it was meant to be.
What I still don’t understand, ironically enough, is his handwriting:
Any suggestions?
There’s nothing like good old spontaniety to brighten up an otherwise mundane stroll through the streets of Tel-Aviv.
It started with a friend of mine joking “Wanna go in?” and with me replying “You want to? Hey, maybe it’s free for women.”
Next thing I knew, we were grabbing each other and approaching the bored bouncer at the door of an Alenby Street strip bar.
“Can women get in free?” my friend asks him in her sweet, innocent voice and sexy foreign accent.
“It must be my lucky day,” he said, looking us up and down as he thought it over. “I’ll tell you what,” he said, “Go in for 15 minutes and take a quick look around.”
“Great! Thank you!” (I had always wondered what went on in these places…)
“But there IS one thing,” he continued, then leaned in as if to share with us a secret,”Try not to talk to the men. The girls get upset… like you’re competition.”
“Um, Okay…” we looked at each other, slowly processing what we were about to see.
And so we went in.
Once we passed the bar (which was strategically placed near the front entrance so that passerbys could withhold their curiousity) what we found was a small, dark and smokey room, with some cheap sofas spread throughout and a tiny dance floor with a disco ball in the middle of the room…
I saw a handful of men spread out throughout the room, either leaning against the walls or sitting on one of the couches with a buddy as if they were hanging out in their own living room.
And then about a handful of half-naked girls in thongs or some other sleazy outfits, were simply walking around, talking to each other, checking themselves out in the mirror, occasionally stopping by one of the guys for a little flirting and in certain cases climbing on top of a lucky member for some more teasing.
We just stood at the doorway stunned as we tried to take in the surreal scenario.
Every so often I would ask her: “Did you see that one?” or (nudge, nudge) “Look at her.. what is she doing?”
“She’s humping him, getting him horny” my friend said, matter-of-factly. “And then when he wants to have sex with her, he has to pay.”
I looked around at the men and wondered what exactly made them come to a place like this? Couldn’t these guys find free sex if they really wanted to? Was it really that hard?
Every once in a while I would notice one of the girls glaring at us and I wondered what was going through their heads… Where they mad that we were here? Did they really see us as competition? Were they ashamed of what they were doing? Or were they really enjoying walking around in their underwear? And how old were they, for christ’s sake??? Did their parents know where they were right now?
Eventually we got the message… got bored… and left.
Martina McBride’s live performance of “Anyway” on American Idol left me stunned, inspired and bawling my eyes out like a 6-year-old girl with pigtails. Not only were the lyrics so powerful and so intense, but that was nothing compared to the flawless way that she delivered them.
Perfect voice, stage presence… a true diva.
“Anyway” Lyrics:
You can spend your whole life building
Something from nothin’
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway
You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might never come your way
Dream it anyway
God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway
This world’s gone crazy
It’s hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
In a moment they can choose to walk away
Love ‘em anyway
God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway
You can pour your soul out singing
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they’ll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
Yea - sing it anyway
I sing
I dream
I love
Anyway
There are certain movies which you need to watch at least once. The ones that have a message. The ones where you need to surrender to the moment, dive deep inside the screen, into the story, into your soul. The ones you need to keep within reach.
The Secret
The least you could do (for yourself) is watch it. The most you can do (for humanity) is pass it on.
Note: You’ll need to clear up about an hour and a half from your busy, busy schedule.. but I guarantee you it’s worth it.
I would love to hear your thoughts about the movie. I would love even more to hear stories or opinions of those who have actually tried the secret on themselves.
How has it worked for you? Inspire and be inspired!
