Monday, February 20, 2006

Laugh Lines




On her 69th birthday,actor and singer Julia Andrews appeared at Manhattan's Radio city Music Hall for the bebefit of AARP. One of the songs she performed was "My Fav things" from the classic movie The sound of music but with new lyrics:-

Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
walkers and hardrails and new dental fittings,
bundles of magazines tied up with strings,
These are the few of my favourite things.

Cadillacs and cataracts and hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers,golf carts,and porches with swings,
These are.........

when the pipe leakes,
when the bones creaks,
when the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favourite things
And then I don't feel so sad.

Back pain,confused brains,and no fear of sinning,
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinning,
and we don't mention our short shrunken frames ,
When we remember our favourite things.
When the jounts ache,
When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Courtsey: Harmony Magazine.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Monday, February 06, 2006

Of living and Non-living Things

To explain “Living and Non-living Things” I made a collage for the 5 year olds I teach.
A simple concept but they felt enlightened when told how non-living things do not feel,grow and breathe as we do.
“After few years u all be tall and grown up but do u think this chair wd also grow tall like u all?” With mock seriousness I asked .
Noooooo ma’am. They laughed.
They answered enthusiastically the questions I asked based on the topic.
Just before winding up I asked casually:
“Which one do u like best? Living OR Non-Living Things?
Most of the children chose Non-living,thanks to the attractive pics of aeroplane , toys and eatables etc.
But when I said I like living things best, pointing at the cute cats, trees and humans, half of the class followed me.Rest of them were still for non-living things.
I asked a child,
“Sam ,I’ll give you two options:
1. Your best friend Sidhant will come to your house for a day .You can play and hv fun.
2. I’ll give u a nice ,a very nice toy to play with for the day. What wd u choose?
Sam rolled his big eyes behind his tiny specs and blurted…”I want sidhant!! And exchanged smiles with his dear fren.
After a pause he said.. “Ma’am I too like living things”

It is indeed a difficult question to answer even for an adult. Every sensible person wd answer “Living things.”
What do you say?
But then Non-living things don’t hurt your feelings unlike humans.Sigh!