Awkward

Laura, an old friend, passed away last week and Maristella (a close friend of Laura) decided to throw a religious death ritual. The intention was good but (unless Laura recently converted to another religion) I was pretty sure Laura did not believe in this tradition. Awkward, huh? Unfortunately for Laura, she had no say in the matter. A funny thought came to mind: I imagined Laura rolling out of her grave and appearing in the middle of all the long prayers demanding whose bright idea this was and everybody pointed to Maristella. Snap! That Kodak moment would have gone viral.

Have you ever been so embarrassed that you wanted to melt like ice cream in the Sahara desert? Let me share one awkward situation several years ago.

My family was assigned to read a few verses in church during Advent of the Christmas season. Our 3 kids were still very young and it was always a gargantuan effort to arrive in church on time. That fateful morning all hell broke loose: my wife was doing her makeup and I was packing up the diapers and milk bottles while memorizing my line … all the while counting down the clock before departure. It was a miracle that we got to the church with moments to spare.

The stage director motioned to us to get backstage and prepare to deliver our lines. Looking down to pray that everything would run smoothly, I noticed my shoes were of different colors. To my shock, one was brown, the other was black. Horror of horrors! My wife noticed it too. We looked at each other in disbelief. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Go! Go!” cried the stage director.

We catapulted into the middle of the huge congregation with our red tomato faces. We never dared look down. Thank God the kids were adorable and got the attention. We said our lines. We walked out biting our tongues with serious piety. No one even noticed. Then we laughed and laughed.

Ahh life … and death. With our sense of humor, the bloopers and traditions make living as exciting as … as a Fiddler on the Roof!

TGIF People!

“The less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it.” – Mark Twain

“In my culture, there’s a tradition that when you’re in an overwhelming situation and you don’t know what to do, you put yourself in a woman’s shoes.” – Ang Lee, director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, California

Parting Shots

Thanks to Mike of New York

Thanks to Maling of New Manila, Philippines

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre. CA

Thanks to Garie of Paranaque, Philippines

I found these

The Traveling Boy

My good friend (and jokester) Terry and I came up with these.

Got any good jokes? Come share it with rest of us!
Send me an email.

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Ziggy Marley took the stage around 8 pm and proceeded to dance with his backup singers to the song Change Your World, which is on his new album  Rebellion Rise. As he was dancing and getting into the flow of his music, I realized that the show wasn’t just about him, but it was about the reggae music.  The crowd and I had come expecting to capture a feeling of unity through the music. So, as Ziggy grabbed the microphone and started singing a new song, I wondered what magic he was going to conjure to unite us all. I heard his lyrics loud and clear and they were perfect for the moment. 

Work in Synergy 
Feel the Energy 
Groove with me 
We’re gonna’ change the World 

This first song was an invocation to come join the spiritual family and together we are going to change the world. From that first song and through the 19-song set, Ziggy built a cohesive foundation of trust and love with the audience. You could feel the good vibe flowing back and forth between the band and the crowd as we all sang Love is my Religion.  By the time he got to the classic reggae anthem, One Love, the crowd was singing louder than the band. You get the picture.  

The spirit of the reggae music that his father Bob Marley created in the 70s was now flowing through the crowd. As Ziggy closed out the night with another song off the new album called Circle of Peace, I realized that we had changed the world. Yes, we changed our small part of the world in Del Mar but think about how Reggae Music has grown into a worldwide phenomenon since the 70’s. All over the world people are grooving and moving to reggae music. The music has become the message and the good vibe is infusing people with the hope that they can change the world.

As I looked at Ziggy’s children singing on stage with him, I had a good feeling that they and others from their generation will realize that they have the power to stand up and change the world, too.

The post Ziggy Marley: A look back at his Rebellion Rises 2018 Tour  appeared first on Traveling Archive.