Why I Cry

So I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting lately. My time in this current space is an unfamiliar place, one that affords me the time to look deep inside my soul. Call it a crossroads, call it a mid-life oasis, I call it a gift. I have been given an opportunity to look in the mirror of my soul and say, “who am I?” What do I stand for and what will I be remembered for. What legacy will I leave and will the people who love me and close to me really know who I am? Well, the one thing I’ll say is that looking back at my life, and I do believe I would make one hell of a movie— “An American Story, Unedited,” there seems to be a theme amplified in my life that’s represented in a series of movies. Now maybe this is a gender thing, a guy thing to be more specific, but I can watch the same movie over and over again, and not get bored. It doesn’t matter that I know the ending or the plot or what comes next even to the extent of mouthing the words before they’re said. But each time I watch one of these movies the same feelings, the same soul searching, self-reflecting outcome bores to the surface. Oh, I’ll admit some of the movies I’m talking about I’ll intentionally put in a DVD, but how cool is it when you’re flipping through the channels and oh, there it is on some obscure station that you don’t even recognize the call letters, one of your favorite movies is airing now! That makes it even better— the spontaneity of it all, the immediacy, the surprise, the self gratification. So what movies am I’m talking about? Not necessarily in this order but some of my favorites are: “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Cinderella Man,” “Pursuit of Happyness,” “Invincible,” “Rocky lll” and “Remember The Titans.” Yeah, there’s another tier, like “Gladiator,” “Shawshank  Redemption” and “Philadelphia,” but the first tier has everything that life has to offer. They’re microcosms of life as I know it, with the pain, hope, adversity, perseverance, agony, defeat, victory, happy endings and a spirit that rings true with all of us. So yes, I could watch them 100 times, again and again and I will always cry when Jimmy Braddock (Cinderella Man) wins the heavyweight title, against all odds, and the part when he’s asked “what’s different this time around, “what are you fighting for,” and he answers “milk.” Because he knows the pain, he remembers where he came from, the struggles that he went through, the despair, the hope the endurance of the human spirit. That is the common thread with all of these movies. That is why I cry. That is why I can watch them again and again. Because as James Bailey says, ” I want to live again.” So what does all this have to do with anything? Because it is life’s experiences that makes us who we are, how we live our lives and what our values are. And if you happened to be in the communications business, I believe it is the makeup of one’s self that allows us to connect, to experience, to understand and to communicate. Take away all the bells and whistles and what we have is our basic human emotions. I can connect with that.

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Am I in Kansas yet?

Sometimes I wake up and wonder, where am I? Where does this road lead to and where the hell am I going? This road I’m on called Avenue of the Earths— don’t know if I am the human or the Alien. It feels vaguely familiar but then again so surreal. I think I’m in Kansas, but everyone is speaking a different language. Blogs, posts, tweets, RSS feeds (do birds eat that), stumbleupon, diggus, discusus, forsquare— shit I thought that started Gettysburg address— Oh I’m so confused! Everybody in this new world is an “expert,” “author,” “publisher,” “reporter,” “songwriter,” “creative genius,” etc., etc. And the sad thing is if I don’t blog, publish, report, author or express my “expert opinion,” I get so lost by waves of noise and technology that I become obsolete. I wonder what my peers are doing about all this— some of the greatest minds in the advertising industry, people who have done breakthrough creative, work that is alive from the neck up, zig not zag, take a risk, be accountable, buck conventional wisdom, strike a cord, YES A HUMAN CORD (boy that sounds good, HUUUUMANNNN CORD), not a wavelength, sound bite, blurb, blob, or viral hiccup, — a good ole fashioned “visceral,” “take your time to bake,” “penetrate from the inside out”, “warm and fuzzy”, “move me” cord! What is happening to us? Oh don’t get me wrong, I kind of dig this technology thing— so many cool stories, so many paths to choose from, so many opportunities to connect, reach out and be heard, seen or even swallowed— kind of like “The Who” “See Me,” “Touch Me,” “Feel Me,” “Hear Me,”— all of the senses at the touch of a keyboard or touch screen— yes, all very cool things, but don’t people think anymore? Are we all so smitten by the “stuff” that we forgot the basics of what’s between you and me—and that human emotion that needs to be feed, nurtured and celebrated? Do you remember your first kiss? How did that feel? Any touch screens around? And would I want to broadcast it or cherish it?

Has anyone seen my red slippers?