Just frolic, ya’ll!

Hello All,

Thought I would lighten up a little bit this week! Especially now that I know that the asteroid streaking towards Earth is not a cause for immediate danger! Honestly – the “celestial object known as 2018VP1” is coming close to earth on November 2nd, the day before the election. (Somehow that seems like an appropriate day in this crazy year.) The asteroid is evidently very small – only about 6.5 feet in height – and would burn up entering the atmosphere. Thank goodness for “small” favors!

And evidently nursing has a new pain scale. Gone is the “How would you rate your pain on a scale of 1 to 10?” The newest scale goes from 0 to 2020! LOL! This certainly is more descriptive, and is something every one of us can relate to.

Thought I would share people who brought me joy this week – and one of these people brought joy to millions and his impact will well exceed his short time on Earth.

I have borrowed with dignity (sounds better than stolen) from the Twitter feed of Malik. Malik posted “I frolicked for the first time ever today bruh. ya’ll ever frolic before? why no one ever tell me about this? ” This was accompanied by pictures of Malik cavorting in a field, jumping, spinning, skipping, lying in the grass and looking happy. (I thought cavorting was a great word to go along with frolicking.) He followed this up with a tweet that announced “If you are having a bad day. Just frolic. I promise you’ll feel better.” Malik did make me feel better! Just reading the tweets made me smile. I think he has made thousands of people smile.

Sheinelle Jones on the Today show shared a great story this week. In case you did not know this “Oreos Matter”!  I love the cookies. I really love the two young friends – Demetrius Murray and Marquis Williams – who opened their new food truck business called Gurlie’s Lemonade and Sweets in Tallahassee last year. (Can’t wait until we can travel again and I can check this out.)  Gurlie is the name of the grandmother whose lemonade recipe provided the foundation for their new adventure. One of their signature desserts is deep fried Oreo cookies. They were discovered by the Tallahassee Foodies – and that team posted a note about the Oreo dessert. The post went viral. Customers began to flock to them.

They were so busy that on an extremely hot day last July, Demetrius passed out from heat exhaustion. (Marquis said he “passed out from dedication”.) The customers got Demetrius help that day. Then they went a step further; they raised money to buy Demetrius and Marquis an airconditioned truck! Demetrius said that with an Oreo “the black and the white matter” – that you can “see the value of each”. A cookie and two talented young men helping to provide a forum for open communication – for helping others to see each other’s talents and value – for helping bring people and a community together.

The last person, who brought me and millions of others great joy, made me think about a quote from the play Hamilton: “Legacy. What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.”

We lost Chadwick Boseman this week. At the age of 43, far too young, from colon cancer. What an incredible actor – Black Panther, 21 Bridges, Marshall, 42, Draft Day, just to name a few. More importantly, what an incredible person and role model. He had been battling colon cancer for the last four years, while also creating movie magic (and often in physically challenging roles). He did this while visiting children with cancer, often the very cancer that he was bravely fighting. He did this while embracing his friends in words and deeds. He did this while maintaining privacy for himself and his family. What strength – physically, emotionally and in character. What spirit. What grace. What dignity. A superhero on the screen and in real life. Rest in peace and power.

Chadwick Boseman has planted millions of seeds. His garden has been and will continue to be filled with blooms of strength, kindness, grace, dignity and honesty. I believe he got to see many of these blossoms while he was alive. I know he will be able to look down and enjoy the incredible array of the bright, beautiful, riotous colors of his legacy.

Savor the taste of an Oreo. Plant a seed. Smell the roses. Get your screening colonoscopy done.

Just frolic!

Phyl