Amusement For Simple Minds

15 "Wasted" Minutes of My Life

You know as well as I do that there's just no pleasing some people. No matter what one tries in the way of entertainment, it's always "That movie sucked," or "The Zippin Pippin isn't HALF the roller coasters at Disneyland," or "That's what you thought I'd like for an anniversary gift? Are you a stranger?" or even "A trip to Italy? I want to go to Paris." you get the idea...no matter how Herculean the effort made in hopes of getting someone else to enjoy the moment, there are some people who just refuse to accept the fact that joy comes from giving as well as receiving. fortunately, there are folks to whom that response doesn't matter so much: the people who are easily amused and entertained by almost anything.
I have to admit that I've gotten my share of sweaters as gifts and spent many an afternoon wandering through nurseries looking for a specific plant we just HAVE to have (only to decide we didn't really need it and leave...returning the next day to get it after all!) In spite of that, at least I understand that the giver as well as the doer needs to feel the joy of acceptance so mostly I go along and try to engage. Luckily, though, I have the capacity (as do many others: toddlers, for instance) to amuse myself. Such amusement is generally cheap and easily available even though what I think is amusing sometimes embarrasses those around me...singing out loud, for instance, or trying to imitate the "gangsta" walk when I'm in the mall with my kids. Oh, the list goes on, but today I discovered an incredibly amusing activity that is, apparently, sweeping the nation...and I just now heard about it.
Perhaps it won't be YouTube-video-posting popular, or hula-hoop popular or even Slinky popular, but planking certainly provided me with more than a few minutes worth of intellectual stimulation as well as at least 15 minutes worth of preparing my presentation.
Simply put, this current fad involves lying board-like (hence "plank"ing)on odd objects and having a picture taken for publication. I found literally dozens of these photos on the internet...much to my surprise. The only problem for me involved what object I could use as support. After my dental checkup today, I was berated by the dentist...not for having cavities, but for forgetting to bring my camera so I could "plank" in the dentist's chair! I had to admit that I slapped my forehead over that mistake...but I didn't let it deter me. Discarding one ordinary idea after another, I finally landed on the one that truly typifies me: shoe boxes. Of course, getting my sweetie to forego gardening for 5 minutes to do the photo was tricky as well: I got that "Who ARE you?" look again.
Worth every minute of it.