Americana...A Little Different, But Still Out There

 We pulled up to the diner, put the van in park. We weren't there but a minute when the young girl emerged from the building and came to the driver's side window, which I lowered. I asked for recommendations and ordered a shake, just a shake. As we waited, I gazed into the the diner, at red and white benches, formica-covered tables, and chairs unused to a year.

It was a snapshot into what life used to be, the way things once were.

In that space--at those tables--people fell in love, and hearts were broken...all over greasy food and ice cream, served in a myriad of colors and flavors. Teens met friends and parents ordered food at this singular location, a place replicated all over the country, thousands and thousands of destinations, in every city, in every state.

And it's survived for decades.

I haven't spent much time outside the United States, though I did live in Europe for a few years back in the 1980s. They can build a Pizza Hut in Copenhagen, but it's not the same. You don't have a wicked big-block 1970s muscle car pulling up, reviving the engine, and having both teenagers and the adults turn their heads in admiration or disgust (but, really admiration...). It can never be the same thing.

I don't know the history of Brigham City's Peach City, but I can imagine it's similar to that of all the other places in big cities and small towns across America. Thousands upon thousands of people consuming tons and tons of food...and the memories that endure.

We weren't allowed in the building, so we joined the other auto-bound patrons waiting for our food. I know somethings will never return to what we once considered "normal," but when all this crap has settled, I hope at least the neighborhood diner can return...to what it once was.

One Thing We Haven't Lost...Is Our Sense Of Humor

 Like many of you, I've done my fair of internet surfing. Of course, there's the crap posts out there that try and divide and pick fights, but what I've been most impressed with, are those that do the opposite.

The ones that make us laugh.

And there's no end of material to chose from.

I found a post today, I took a picture of it and sent it to friends and family. It blends the Star Wars universe and the pandemic.

Humans constantly surprise me. We are going through a tough time, some have it tougher than others. I'm amazed how some people will do what they can to make the best of things, even when it seems everything is on fire.

Yes, it's a simple and funny meme, but it reminded me that no matter how bad things get, there's always someone who will do something to make us laugh. We need more of those people.

Are "U" Ready For Some Football? Um...Yeah

 Back in March of this year, I don't think any of us understood how much things were going to change in 2020. They said "Two weeks to flatten the curve." That turned into nine months with really no end in sight.

As far as sports, covid changed everything. Immediately, they canceled the NCAA tournament and postponed both the NBA and NHL seasons. Surely though, it wouldn't affect college football, right.

Wrong.

But wait! They bring back NHL and NBA games. They play baseball and soccer. Surely, they can make sure college football won't get canceled, right?

Wrong...

Well, kind of wrong. Depends who you are and where you are.

For a University of Utah football fan, this fall has been brutal. One by one, conferences canceled seasons. I chalked up the non-season as another crappy part of the year. Then, a ray of hope pierced the clouds--conferences were changing their minds. They would play! Games would happen! Football was not dead! Right?

Wrong...

Well, kind of wrong. Depends on who you are and where you are.

Conferences begin scheduling games, hype builds. Other schools begin playing. It's tough, but okay, because eventually my Utah Utes will take the field to the delight of me and many others. Weeks go by, other teams play...Game Day draws near. But, then I hear of scheduled games that don't happen, games canceled due to positive covid tests. Oh no, I think. That won't/can't happen to the Utes, right?

Wrong.

Okay, game one canceled--that sucks, but it won't/can't happened twice in a row, right?

Wrong again.

At this point, I'm about to hang up my Utah hat for the rest of the year. Now Game Day is scheduled for this weekend, Utah vs. USC. Will it happen? No clue. I'm almost afraid to get my hopes up. Salt was poured into my wounds when I found out two California schools decided--on the fly--to play each other last Sunday because both of their opponents had their games canceled, one of those teams was Utah.

In no way am I implying these decisions to play/cancel are not important. My wish to watch is less important than the health and safety of the players, coaches, and personnel involved in these games. It's just been a pain as a fan to ride this roller coaster.

When we look back on this year, for me not watching a couple of games shouldn't be that biggest issue we remember. I'm hopeful they'll play this weekend. I'd love it f they could get a win. And if they do--and especially win--well...that'll be one of those good days.

My Nephew...Telling It Like It Is

I found out today (as did everyone else...) my nephew was interviewed on the local news. He is a person who is in the thick of it, working in a hospital under those conditions those of us who don't work in hospitals only hear about.

He and thousands of others are dealing with covid patients.

I can't imagine what his day is like. I can't image what many people who are dealing with this every day (and have dealt with it for months...) what their days are like. And I hope I don't find out. For my immediate family, there have been issues, but this situation has not affected us like it has so many others. I've kept working--never lost a day of work, and even though I know people who have contracted the virus and even had friends who have passed, my family has been spared.

I pray it remains that way.

That goes for my nephew and his beautiful family as well.

The news story's not a happy one. As the title suggests, many are considering leaving the state because of the situation, and many are considering leaving the profession because, where are they going to go that isn't dealing with the same thing? If you'd like to watch the report, click: HERE for the link. I hope those with covid can recover and those treating them can be free of it, and that it can be something we think about only in the past.

My First Virtual Writing Conference...Made Me Miss The Real Thing Even More

 I watched as the attendees logged off. One-by-one, the rectangles that represented a viewer disappeared until only John and I remained.

That's when it hit me.

That's when I really missed attending conventions in person.

Fyrecon 4 ends today. The past three years, the little gathering has always been a place geared toward both the novice and experienced writer, artist, editor, creator. It's a great little convention usually held in the summer. But, that didn't happen, so they scrambled, went virtual, and put it on this weekend. I've been fortunate enough to be involved in the previous three Fyrecon events. 

This year, my class dealt with using the power of social media to help you as a writer. As I explained to start the class, I'm no expert. I wanted to set up an environment where we could discuss the topic and try to find ways to improve. Hopefully, we did that. I know I found some new perspectives to try.

After the meeting a good friend, John Olsen (current President of the League of Utah Writers--a little "name drop" for you...) and I stayed and chatted. John and I have had the opportunity to be published by the same publisher not once, but twice. One thing that you don't see if you go to conventions and meet the authors is that many of those authors are friends and we love to sit and shoot the bull in between sales and sales pitches.

It's usually the small things that you miss when events are taken away. Yes, we remember being on panels and sometimes meeting our writing heroes at these conventions. But, what I really wanted to do as my class shut down, was find a corner of the Davis Campus building and sit with John, Kelly, Jay, Julie, Dave, Craig, David, James, Holli, Jason, and so many others.

Thanks DawnRay and Jenna for ALL the work you put in for us, and to John for sticking around.

Until next time, when we can be together...

For real.

How To Ruin Halloween...

 You many have seen this meme...it's been making the rounds.

Because it's funny.

Other than Christmas, I can't think of a holiday kids look forward to more than Halloween. It's a day/night when a child can pretend to be something other than themselves. And the possibilities of what or who that child would like to be are endless. At least, they used to be.

I grew up in a safe neighborhood. We roamed the streets Halloween evening unafraid and unaccompanied. Fun sized candy bars, suckers, Sweet tarts, and Toosie Rolls...all renumeration for a hard night's work.

We recently moved. We have no idea how the night will go. We bought a big bag of candy, just in case. We may get a lot of kids...we may get very few. Then, there's covid to consider. I think if we had not moved, the turnout would be lighter, but not by much. We weren't inundated by kids where we used to live.

So, to answer the question posed by the meme, how to ruin Halloween?

It's not by handing out mini packs of vegetables.

It's to have a world-wide pandemic that's swept the globe.

Missing My Friends Tonight...

 As far as covid totally disrupting our life, we've been pretty much unaffected. I telecommuted for a year before this hit and we've homeschooled for twenty years. Plus, we don't go to see many movies in theaters--average about one a year--and we don't do vacations.

Yup--the virus didn't affect us very much at all.

I know how fortunate we've been. I know people have lost jobs, careers, and even loved ones to this terrible disease. I don't wish to make light of it, but for our family, a lot of things didn't change. Many people felt the virus's impact immediately. For me, it's hitting me hardest this time of year.

Because of covid, two of my favorite things were canceled--FanX Comics Convention, and doing the Séance show at Lagoon's Frightmares.

My daughter is still doing shows at Lagoon--her shows were not canceled, but Séance is a more intimate experience. And we crammed in as many people in that little room as possible. It added to the awesomeness of Séance. They just couldn't pull it off with all the restrictions.

FanX should have taken place last month--we were so busy getting ready to move and prepare for a wedding that I didn't have time to think about it, but now, things have slowed down. I watch my daughter get in her little car and drive to Lagoon on the weekend and I miss it. I miss the screams. I miss Stephen's creepiness, Lucy's scariness, Curtis's "everything under control"-ness, and my victim-choosing-ness. We make a great team, a team I'm missing today.

We all hope this terrible time will pass and we'll be able to gather together as convention guests, as "can't wait to the get crap scared out of me" victims. It's hard to imagine these things will be canceled next year, but it was hard to believe last March that we'd miss out on FanX, Séance, August U of U football among other things. 

And yet, here we are.

At least, this year, anyway.

From Boom...To Bust

 With no power at home, I had to dress professionally (collard shirt, no jeans...), get in my car, and drive to the building where I once worked, where I used to dress professionally, get in my car, and drive every work day.

It's been a while.

And, boy--how things have changed.

My first thought, as I turned at the traffic light on my way to the office is, "I'm going to have to park in the far lot." I was several hours late. We hoped the power would come back on, so I waited a few hours in the morning before I decided to drive into work.

When I pulled into the parking lot, I realized I didn't have to park far away. In fact, I could park almost anywhere. The lot was practically empty. And when I went inside, the shock continued. The place was a ghost town.

That particular call center and I have an interesting history. Back in the day, we could work in local offices, so I worked in Woods Cross, the office closest to me. Then, I moved to Clearfield--the office next closest to me. After executive changes were made, we had to choose to work in one of the newly-created call centers, in Ogden, Salt Lake City, or Provo. Since I live equidistant from Ogden and Salt Lake, I chose Ogden. I had visited the Salt Lake Call Center only a few times and the place was a zoo. So many workers were packed in small cubicles--and the noise. It was just so busy.

Those days may be gone forever.

It was so strange to be in a building that only months earlier was active, busy, involved...basically alive. Now, they even had the lights dimmed for most of the floor. There were a few people working there, but row after row of cubicles were empty. The weirdest thing was passing a cubicle where the worker left all their personal items on their desk and on their walls. The only thing missing was their computer and monitors. It was like they just vanished.

Almost like a corporate rapture had taken place.

Part of what I love about telecommuting is the serenity, the quiet, the peacefulness I experience at home. I've got to say, working in an empty building matched most of those qualities. Still, I don't know if I could get used to it.

It was just too weird.

What Might Have Been...

So, if the world had not been shut down, I would most likely be either watching a DVR-d game of a Utah win, or deleting the recording. I'd either be a happy fan, or hopefully bummed but respectful of a quality opponent. 

But, as it stands, I'm neither.

I'm numb...

And considering what might have been.

Decisions have been made by those who feel they are doing what's best. I'm not going to argue the decision, mostly because it doesn't matter what I think. It won't change things or make a canceled game suddenly appear. No, the score will not be in the history books, players will not become heroes or anti-heroes, and parents and fans will not be able to brag or suffer.

The funny thing is, I probably wouldn't have even watched tonight's game live. It's been a system of mine for the past couple of years. I'll DVR a game and either watch it if it's a win, or delete it if it's not. It saves time and I find I'm a much calmer and well-adjusted person by doing things that way. Two years ago, I was forced to watch the game live--because I was actually in Rice-Eccles Stadium on a very cold November evening when Utah rallied and beat BYU in the final minutes--one of the greatest games I've ever seen, live or otherwise.

Every Utah fan (it seems...) believes tonight the Utes would be celebrating their tenth win in a row. Fans for BYU feel differently. Personally, I'm not sure #10 is such a given. The biggest disappointment is we'll never know what would have happened tonight, other than one fan base would be happy, the other not.

What might have been.

Time IS Running Out...To Save So Many Things

I saw a post from my sister tonight on Facebook. 

She, and millions of others, need help.

Time is running out.

Unlike many, I've been incredibly fortunate and blessed this year. I was telecommuting for a year before covid hit. And we've homeschooled for a couple of decades so we've avoided all the headaches and hassles accompanying so many parents.

Fortunate and blessed.

Others, have not been so lucky.

My sister works in the entertainment industry. Having been involved in community theater as well as paying gigs since the late 1980s, I have many many friends that make their living providing entertainment for others. There's a lot of talk about how covid has affected the airline industry, or the real estate market, or higher education, but I can't imagine a group of people harder hit than those in the entertainment services.

My sister posted a link to: Save Our Stages, a movement to help and draw attention to their plight and the plight of what she calls, "the invisible people" behind the scenes. Click: HERE if you're interested in checking out the site.

I'm no scientist or doctor or lawyer or even businessman, but you cannot convince me otherwise that people are being used as pawns to satisfy a few's selfish concerns. You look at other nations--other countries that are not involved in a national election--and they've made different decisions. Yes, we are learning as we go, but I know in my gut decisions are being made by those in authority to benefit themselves more than others.

We will look back on 2020 and realize those mistakes. Weak-minded people will deflect responsibility for those mistakes, instead they will still blame others til the bitter end. And the biggest tragedy will be that those decision makers will not have lost their jobs, or their businesses, or families, or in some cases, their lives, but they'll have the gaul to still demand allegiance from those they've used, they've abandoned, they've ignored.

Time is running out. The question is, will changes be made in time to literally save these people? I'd like to think so. I guess we'll see.

Just. Me, A Mask, And Empty Train Car...And An Unseen Enemy

I anticipated a lonely ride.

Even though things in my state have somewhat opened up in some areas, many people don't like the thought of traveling in a closed train car (I guess the open-air train cars are not really around anymore...) with covid seemingly around every corner.

So, when I boarded the southbound Frontrunner train Tuesday morning to attending a meeting with my supervisor, I didn't expect there to be too many others on the train.

I was right.

In fact, in my particular section of the train, I was all alone.

It wasn't until I was more than halfway into my trip that I realized I had my mask on. Now, I'm not going to debate the effectiveness of masks--there's pros and cons for each side and everyone seems to have an opinion, but I knew if I wanted to take the train, I'd have to wear a mask. Sure, I could have drove, but I didn't, which means = masking up.

I looked around and all the other people not on the train with me and I wondered if I really even needed to have the mask on. I'm sure someone with knowledge of the ventilation systems of the modern Frontrunner train and first-hand knowledge of the transmission methods and effectiveness of said transmission methods of the covid virus would be more qualified than me to definitively determine if I even needed to have that thing on.

Personally, I think there are very few people--if any--who have both those qualifications.

I wondered if I ought to de-mask. I thought about it. Every ten minutes or so a UTA employee would walk past. They did this before masks were required. I'd imagine, that if I had dropped the mask/bandana, he would have asked me to put it back on. And, as I explained earlier, I would have because I already accepted the agreement...must wear a mask to ride.

Since none of us know what's ahead for commuters, UTA employees, basically everyone, there are a lot of questions for us to think about. How long will this go on...another month, a year, forever? I'd like to think we'd be long past this by now, but I keep getting surprised...

Like the time I looked up in an empty train car and remembered I had a mask over my face.

Syracuse Vs. Farmington High School Football...The Only Game In Town

I have no connection, really, to Farmington High School, except that we live in the same town. Our neighbor's kids attend the school. My son would be attending, but we homeschool and he likes his teacher.

In the past, I'd watch a local high school game now and again. They broadcast them on Thursdays and Fridays in our market. They've been fun, but as far as on-field talent, let's just say, it's lacking, but that's as far as it goes. Those kids, coaches, and fans love their teams and you can see players play with passion. It's refreshing.

It's also the only football to watch right now.

Since my favorite college team has canceled the season until spring (I'd be surprised if they play at all...), there's high school ball. Other colleges are planning on playing this fall (again, I'd be surprised if they play at all...), and the NFL is planning on having games.

But, the upcoming games, pro and maybe college, will come with attachments. Will it come with passion? Time will tell, but on a warm summer Friday night in Farmington Utah, the boys in teal and black were victorious against their cross-county rivals.

And it was a lot of fun to watch.

To Hymn, Or Not To Hymn...That Is The Question

Do you remember the movie, Footloose? I remember the original Kevin Bacon 80s flick (can't say that I've seen the re-make...) for several reasons. First, it was filmed two counties south in Utah. Second, I knew at least one person who was in the film, and third, it was a huge hit.

And in it, they outlawed dancing.

Now, they've basically outlawed singing.

There's many things we used to do that we no longer can. Singing seems like a minor thing, but it really isn't. It's a big deal. Some of my most spiritual experiences have come from music, listening to it, performing it, singing it. There's a reason music and religion are so closely intertwined. 

Where I live, we've been allowed to return to church, but under many conditions. One is our congregation cannot all be in the building at the same time. Another is no singing. They even took away the hymnals. I understand why--even taking away the songbooks. But it still hurts.

There will be a day, hopefully soon, when everyone can worship they way they want, with friends, neighbors, and family...and singing. Until then, the songs will need to stay in our hearts.

Attending A Drive-Thru Wedding Reception...

Humans are amazing adaptors. They can adjust to situations that we may think impossible. Ever since the pandemic hit, people have had to change plans, tweak situations, and roll with the punches. If you're on social media, you know what I'm talking about--people posting about, video meetings, mobile graduations, and even drive-by wedding receptions.

On Thursday, we got to experience the latter.

We arrived early and decided to walk the grounds. The wedding party was finishing up dinner inside the venue. Eventually, everyone came out and prepared--not for a line of people, but a line of cars. Fortunately, the reception center had a paved driveway allowing well-wishers the opportunity to remain inside their cars while the wedding party practiced social distancing.

I know millions of people have had to change their plans during this time, none more than the bride who has been planning her wedding and reception for years. In all the stories I've read of altered plans, the brides have faced the challenges wonderfully. And if they haven't, I haven't heard about it.

Hopefully, when couples and their loved ones look back on this crazy time, they'll realize theirs is a special event, one almost no one can match. Let's hope their experiences will be even more rare and we can get back to normal soon...

The old normal, and not the new.

This Time...We Dined In

In the past couple of months our family has made an effort to eat out more often. Before, we'd eat out maybe once a week. We're now trying to help out local businesses at least twice a week. It's not much, but we hope we're helping out.

But, even with this change, we always took the food home with us at ate it in our own kitchen, away from people. Today, my wife and I went on a drive and on our way back, we stopped for Vietnamese food.

And it was good.

Thing is, we weren't home, or close enough to get the food to go, so we took a seat in a nearly-empty dining room and ate in. We were with two other groups (all, spaced sufficiently apart...), one a woman and who I assume was her mother. They chatted about this and that--obviously a need for one of them to vent about things to the other. The second group sat further away--couldn't tell what they talked about. The whole time we ate, the restaurant kept cranking out take-home orders for people like us--those who ate at home.

This was the first time we at a meal inside a restaurant since this began.

If you follow the news--which I try to avoid--you'll see reports of how cases of Covid-19 have increased across the country. It's hitting our state, too. I have no idea what's going to happen in the future. There's no way I could have predicted the events of the past few months. In some states, businesses are again being closed due to the increased cases of infection. 

Even though we ate inside today, I still prefer picking it up and taking it home. And that works...

As long as we're home.

An Historic Parade...

Tonight, high school seniors in our neighborhood participated in a parade, a way for them to celebrate the accomplishment of graduation. For graduates and their families, continuing in the age-old tradition of graduation is a big deal. And because they piled into pick-up trucks festooned with balloons and banners and drove through the neighborhood, we all got to celebrate with them.

In speaking with my kids over the past couple of months, I've told them how we are living through history. I've told them that their grandkids are going to ask them what it was like to basically stop all activity and stay home for a couple of months in the spring of 2020. I don't think, when this all hit, that high school seniors believed the shutdown would cancel the last three months of their high school career. The things we didn't know...

As they trucks drove by, the guys looked cool, and the girls were all smiles...I guess some things never change.

It was fun to see neighbors, to share in their their joy, and experience an historic parade. Let's hope we never have to do it again.

Sports Are Back, Baby! And I Even LIKE Soccer...

I heard the news a few days ago--soccer would resume...

In Germany.

In Des Bundesliga.

Now, I am a soccer fan. At this time of year, I'll watch MLS games, especially when the local team plays. And early Saturday and Sunday mornings, there's always British Premier League games. There's also German Bundesliga games on and I usually don't watch those. I haven't followed the teams or the players in that league the way I have in America and Great Britain. But now, because pretty much everyone else is shut down, I'll watch German soccer.

Of course, there were no fans. After the soccer, I caught part of a NASCAR race in North Carolina--again, no fans. I thought, since I wasn't at either event, the experience should be the same for me. But, I was wrong. Yes, the games were played, the race was run, but it wasn't the same. The games need fans. 

Still, any game is a start. I know millions--if not, billions--of people are scared of the prospect of opening things up too soon. The race in North Carolina will most likely not impact me whatsoever. It may impact others, however. I believe those involved in these events know what they're doing and they're taking every precaution they can take to make it as safe as possible, just like workers in grocery stores and hospitals.

I'm one fan, just a single viewer living in Utah. Watching a game on TV played half a world away made the world a little more normal. And, that's a good thing.

For Dinner Tonight, We Thought We'd Try...German

We saw the notice and I thought, "Brilliant!" Of course they should be open. I mean, why not?

Lagoon's Biergarten is now open for business.

This is almost as big a news story as when it opened up for the first time.

Why?

Because surrounding the restaurant, there's rides, and games, and eateries, and other adventures just sitting there...waiting for people.

Of all the places to eat in Utah, this may provide the most unusual path for you to get your food. Drive to Lagoon and pull into their huge (and, unfortunately...) mostly empty parking lot. Normally, getting a spot so close to the front entrance is next to impossible. Tonight, we were all so lucky.

Getting to the restaurant is a hike, but it's not bad. Seeing beautiful flowers and sights most people never see (an empty park...) make the walk a nice diversion.

We ordered to go, which probably doesn't happen much at this particular restaurant. We also didn't order any beer--we were in the minority with that one. I think most people, when they found out the Biergarten was open, they thought...BEER. Not us, we were there for the food.

After a short wait, we left with sacks of food, back the way we came and into the car. If you're looking for a change in the usual places to eat, check out Lagoon's Biergarten. They're open this weekend Saturday and Sunday 11am - 7pm. Es ist wunderschön!

I Will No Longer Live In Fear...For That's Hardly Living

In Michael Crichton's novel, State of Fear, the author imagines a world where, after the end of the Cold War, leaders needed something to replace the terror the world felt for decades, a fear that at any moment nuclear war could destroy us all. Crichton chose environmentalism as a way to scare people to death. The book failed to receive the critical praise enjoyed by his other works, mostly because he portrayed some environmentalists as having motives other than just saving the planet.

Can't do that, not in our modern politically correct world.

Another author, Victor Frankel, in his book, Man's Search for Meaning, details the almost unimaginable horror humans can inflict on each other. Frankel survived WWII by realizing--and putting into place--the notion that no matter what others do to you, no matter how terrible life is, the individual is in control of their reactions to what life gives them. 

Both literary examples show how fear is used to control others, fear of death, fear of pain, fear of illness, fear of others. A scared person is a person controlled. Today, I came to the realization that I'm sick of being afraid, or being told I should be afraid. I'm done with being manipulated to believe other's conclusions, to believe the facts others have chosen--facts filtered through their ideologies (while ignoring facts that disagree with those ideologies...)--all in an attempt to make me do/think/believe as they want me to do/think/believe.

If a man can see evil almost eliminate an entire race from the face of the earth--including his wife and family--and he triumphs, then I can face the uncertain world that exists today. After all, I'm not guaranteed a pain-free life, a life without death or trials. Just the opposite, in fact. To quote an incredibly impactful movie, "Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something."

They're selling fear and I'm no longer a customer.

My proclamation changes next to nothing--the virus still exists. People will continue to get sick and die, maybe even me. Then again, a man in his mid-50s with no knowledge of family health problems, could go at any time...virus, or not. The simple act of living by default increases the likelihood of death. 

As with anything, this is my goal. There are things that scare me and will continue to scare me. But, I'm going to try and look at things differently, do better, be less afraid. Because living in fear...well, that's hardly living at all.

Everyone Needs Some Good News...

By now, most have seen the YouTube videos from John Krasinski and his friends under the headline Some Good News. If you haven't, you really need to stop what you're doing and watch them, watch all four of them in a row. It will take about an hour, but it won't feel like it.

It's obvious, we--as inhabitants on a planet in crisis--need good news. We need it when it comes to the virus, we need it when it comes to jobs, to families, to our health, to everything. If you can see through the negativity, you'll find millions of people doing things for others...

And it's wonderful.

Because we all access to people, our reach can be global, or affecting only a few. Mr. Krasinski, due to his fame and talents, has tremendous reach. Sure, anyone can make and post a video on YouTube, but getting people to watch is another story. Thankfully, if you've followed popular culture for the past fifteen years, you know who John Krasinski is and because of that, if you know/like him, you'll watch Some Good News.

Impactful media makes you want to take action--good or bad. After watching the latest episode of Some Good News, a couple of things came to mind--I wanted to find more good news stories, I wanted to be someone who did good things for others, and I wished I had the kind of reach Mr. Krasinski has earned. But, the more I thought about that last point, the less it mattered. I can do what I can do--I can affect a few people (even one...) more than the masses. The important thing is doing something, anything for others.

Another point struck me, after watching these videos--that is Mr. Krasinski's motives. There's a quote from a little Hugh Grant film, The Rewrite, where a college student tells the inexperienced newly-hired college professor (Grant) that celebrities are like Greek Gods in our modern society. The student explains that celebrities are larger than life--they're literally Gods. I apologize if I'm getting the lines wrong; it's been a while since I saw the movie. Using this definition, what celebrities say or do has weight...massive weight. Because of this insane time we're in, we are inundated with the actions and words of celebrities, whether we want to see and hear them or not.

But what did Mr. Krasinski choose to do and say? He chose to be positive, to do good. I've never met Mr. Krasinski (though, it would be fun to do so...), his actions speak volumes as to the type of person he is. I'm sure he has opinions about the world situation, our leaders and what they're doing, and if he chose to voice his opinions, many would listen. But, he chose good. Good is universal, good is truth, and right now, good is desperately needed.

Thank you, Mr. Krasinski for what you're doing--for your choices--and I look forward to more.