Nostalgia

Indeed, most of us wish we're born in another time.  Maybe you didn't have the best childhood.  Maybe life seems a bit simpler in a time in the past.  The reason for that, is you weren't exposed to the things that you are now.  A jungle gym seemed like a skyscraper, a bicycle was super jet, a basketball court was a stadium, a dance recital was a stage at Carnegie Hall.   We yearn for the past, wishing we could live it once more.  You can do just that.  Spend time with your kids, your students, your nephews, nieces, cousins, grand children, you get my point... Your only as young as you make yourself.  Once again, grow down my friends.

What did you want to be when you you were six?

An astronaut, a rocket engineer, a chef, a famous actor... these are a few things I wanted to be when I grew up.  Now, I'm not revealing my age but I still want to do most of these, minus the astronaut and the engineer.  Those have been replaced by musician and massage therapist... The thing is, try to find something that lets you be those things but without the school and the finances.  Take astronaut for example, I could go to a target, get a package of glow-in-the-dark stars, some aluminum foil a popcorn bowl and the Sci-fi film "Alien".  I am an astronaut ... BAM!!! I dare you to be what you dreamed of.

Music That Defines And Reminds Us.

Whether we you listen to Radiohead, Shakira, Taylor Swift, or Jay-Z, the music we used to listen to as kids has a special place in our minds and heart.  Yeah that might sound mushy, get over it.  For me its was  everything from The Real McCoy, George Straight, Blind Melon, Our Lady Peace, BareNaked Ladies, and Incubus to many Grunge, Sock Hop, Flower Power hits, and a few other bands that weren't to popular.  The point is, really think about what you listened to as a kid and see if there's a correlation to what you listen to now.  If you have an eclectic taste... or not, ... maybe its made you feel certain emotions about things that have happened in your life; walking down the railroad track with a stereo going to the gas station to get an ICEE and a burrito jamming to Weezer..... Yeah.....  Its just another way of embracing your inner child.

Think Outside The Sandbox.

Did ya like that... I thought it was pretty clever... not really.  Anyway, the reason I'm writing is because I was in a meeting yesterday and there was a problem trying to figure out why people don't like to work in groups.  Usually one person ends up doing all the work and the rest take the credit.  (Of course, until the anonymous evaluation shows up and then you get to have your revenge.)  The answer is simple, think of whatever your trying to do .... a game.  I know this might sound a bit childish and odds are its probably not going to work.
       Make it into a dare.  You might get a few bad looks, a few less than nice words, however... it could get your group to take on the challenge.  Sort of like how kids pretend to be a group of spies, or explorers, or a pack of wolves; it really is the same concept. The people that your working with are acting like lazy teenagers anyway, why not take away a few more years.  The point is that sometimes the most complicated situations can be solved in the simplest of ways... the same way a child thinks of a piece of paper as a space shuttle... like how I like to think I saved the world last thursday... with a plunger and two sugar wafers.  Grow down my friends.  (Happy Emoticon)

Nightmares!!!

Almost everyone I've come into contact with has had a nightmare at least once in their life.  The clown that locks you in a cage and torments you.  The falling dream, the underpants in the classroom, etc... Then you run to your parental figures room to ask if you can sleep with them.  Its the same scenario over and over again.  Try this... (its sort of a reverse psychology technique) if there's a scary thing thats bothering the child in the nightmare, try to convince them that they're an ally,  almost a team as it were to do a task that is positive.  Maybe they pretend its an old friend thats bothering them and you're telling them "Not today man, I'm really tired.  Isn't the wife wondering where you are."  Things of that sort.  So you don't end up an elder person asking for their mommy.  Its not a pretty scene... any other advice, feel free to ask Tickle the Hand...  Pleasant dreams....

Family Events- Checkin Out The Album.

So Easter just came around, and we have a few younger peeps and I just enjoy seeing the things they come up with... I swear, if kids made plot lines for movies they could make some cash... It brings me back to our sense of play, remembering what it was like.  So if you don't want your kids or little folk to forget their child hood.  Take some photos, shoot some film, do thing with them... Play!!! For Pete's sake PLAY!!! It may be tiring... but it the end... it really is worth it.

Going to the Movies

I remember the first time I saw my first movie.  It was the Lion King at a dine in theater at a mall.  I remember it was the most amazing place I've ever seen.  I even got to eat chicken nuggets with star shaped french fries.  Anyway, I recall when first seeing it I'm pretty sure I just liked the funny parts and the songs.  Moreover, as I've been experienced other things throughout my life, friendship, love, loss, hatred, fear, and everything else in between, the Lion King has no longer been the same.  Nevertheless, it always reminds me of a time when I wasn't so knowledgable.  I think sometimes its alright to not be an adult.  True, people might tell you to grow up, cut your hair, get some new pants... but you know what?  I like to wear shorts... especially on the weekends.  I don't know what that has to do with anything. BUT I do know that even the simplest of things can take us to the simplest of times.  I say its alright to be a kid... and ... ... ... Go To The Movies.  Sorry if you were expecting some philosophical enlightening words of wisdom.  Just let things become simpler, don't try to grow up to fast kids... you'll regret it.  KEEP GROWING DOWN!!!!

Treat Yourself

As we go throughout our daily lives we tend to have "off days".  Days when we try do every possible thing right and it just doesn't happen.  Bad day at the office, failed a test, forgot homework, etc.  Whatever the cause, think of something that takes your mind off of it.  Maybe an ice-cream that you love, or watching a old movie, playing a game of basketball.  Treat yourself to something to get your mind off of it.  You can't change it, move on and seek out the moments to make you feel better about yourself and that will eventually make everything around you a lot better.  Try it for yourself if you don't believe me.  I dare you to make yourself feel better.  I dare you to treat yourself.

Can't Sleep?

     If your like the many people who have busy lives and have taken a break; perhaps on holiday, or sick, or maybe even taken a break from a relationship.  Whatever the cause, one thing that really does work is reading to fall asleep.  Your body gets used to the rhythm of the words flowing across the page, your probably laying down, and we're force to concentrate to get a mental picture of what you are reading.  Your focus uses what energy you have left  and with the combination of all these mentioned before, your body tends to relax into a sleepy state.

    This is why when we read to children (at least for me) They are up for about ten pages then.... POOF! they're out.  This is another reason, besides the short attention span, why children's books are so short.  
                  
     Now, why am I blogging about this?  To invite you to grab your favorite children's book, and in times of insomnia, read a few pages, see if you can recall what it was like to have someone read to you.  Maybe it was your Mom reading "Green Eggs and Ham", your brother reading "Goosebumps" , your grandfather telling his favorite folk tale, and Aunt giving voices to "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: or maybe a teacher showing us pictures in "Where the Sidewalk Ends".  For me It was my brother reading "Everybody Poops".  A classic tale of literature about potty training.  Ahhh... never gets old.

     So, again, whether you or your loved ones can't sleep, try getting an old story to pass the times, it may take a few pages, it may take a few stories; whatever the case it really does do the trick.


Perhaps a late snack and glass of water wouldn't hurt either.  Happy reading!!!

Origin of a Name, Origin of a Game

    It's Tickle The Hand again, and I bet you've been wondering what exactly does my name mean.  We'll when I was a lad, my brother and I used to hang around each other because we lived in the middle of nowhere, so on the times where we couldn't go outside and when we would get bored of the house, we would create imaginary, yes, indeed,... "Imaginary Friends".
    However, this was more of a personification to an inanimate object.  Tickle The Hand was indeed one of our hands that would become a third party as it were to our dynamic duo.  He could go from one hand to another and it didn't matter who's hand Tickle decided to take the life of.
     Tickle The Hand was, is, as I look back on him, the equivalent of a hand puppet, literally... It dawned on me that Tickle actually showed us ways of creating different emotions with our hands particularly puppets.  This lead to creating voices for Tickle, which lead to the essentials to give life to almost any kind of in animate, or muted object.  It really came in handy when it came to reading stories.
     Now, i'm an Communication Arts Major with a minor in theater, hoping one day work and perform with puppets.  It may be a bit strange, but I find it a little humorous of what benefits of creating an imaginary friend at home can lead to in one's future.  So don't discourage kids from making one up, it might help them later in life.  It sure helps with being bored. This is Tickle The Hand saying, "Go forth, and share your stories with any imaginary friends you've created."

How Do I Remember What Its Like?

     If your one of those people who claim that once your a certain age, that you need to put away childish things and grow up.  Here's my rebuttal to those people;  "GROW DOWN!!!" True that there may be a time to put away childish things but if your going to bring down moral in that process; We'll then, What's the point? Think about it? And if you also claim that you can't remember what its like to be a kid, I may have some hope for you yet.

     So, I took the initiative to ask people about how they remember "The Good Ol' Days" of what takes them back to their childhood.  Here are some some of their answers:

S'mores
Playing soccer in the rain
Rainbows
Melting toy soldiers in the microwave
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Hot Cheetos and a Pickle
Playing Piano

The Brady Bunch
Saturday morning cartoons - Looney toons
Playing football in the street
Coloring Books
Pressing Flowers
Squishing coins on the railroad track
Run DMC
Barbie dolls
Transformers
Barbacoa and Big Red
Cowboys and Indians
Batman and Robin
They're Back! A Dinosaur Story
Michael Jackson
Making homemade Ice cream and cookies
Grandma's strawberry rue bar

Chuck Talyors
Camping
Playing basketball at night
Pearl Jam
Franki Valli and the Four Seasons

And for me I'd have to say walking to a gas station on a hot day for a slushy and bean burrito.

So unless you have short term memory (I'm sorry if you do), some kind of a complex (I'm sorry if you do) or not a thought in the world,... make something up.  It brings us back to laughter.   Its the key to a fruitful and promising life.  If you don't believe me, just ask someone. They'll tell you.  I invite you you post some of the things that make you remember your childhood and any stories you may have.  This is Tickle saying, "GROW DOWN!!!"

Playing and Laughter

      This is the first of many blogs soon to come.  What these will mostly be about are ways to recollect and embrace or "re-embrace" the child that resides in our busy day to day lives.  I'm 21 years old and I've recently worked at a theatre for children as an intern.  During that time I guided children from the ages of 6 - 15 to produce short as well as feature length plays.  As I was moving from the different age groups I came to notice the age that we as humans tend to "forget how to play".
    Now as an actor its not as hard for me to know how to play but between the improve games, stories during snack and recess time, and just chilling in the lobby waiting for the parents to take their children home, "playing" is not as easy as it once was.  We go through our lives begin told to "grow up" hindering our ability to become anything that we wanted; an astronaut, a doctor, a movie star, a super hero, etc.  Its almost as if we're in that scene of A Clockwork Orange where "Our Humble Narrator" is being exposed to all those images and music, so much that after its all done we cringe away from how we used to be.  People become afraid of making a fool of themselves in order to make someone laugh.  So that brings us to one way to embrace our inner child, to play around, to be that kid in a field of grass looking at the clouds.

   Here's what you do:

1. Laugh
2. Laugh
3. Laugh
4. annnnnnd.... laugh some more.

    It's almost like the Green Eggs and Ham scenario in the sense of laughing "Here, there, or anywhere."  Try laughing in the most unpredicted of places, to the most random person or people.  My personal favorites are in public places such as elevators, restaurants, in line for a movie, and in the restroom.  The last one especially because its the most weirdest of places to laugh, but that makes it all the more funnier.  So start off with a soft giggle, then get a little louder for a reaction.  Once you get a few looks at you, look back at those people and laugh at them.
    Now, don't do it like a lunatic, but as if you were genuinely laughing so that way when you leave that elevator, or buy your movie ticket, you've made someone's day a little better  and who know's you may even start a conversation with someone quite interesting like how we used to when we were kids.  It didn't matter who you played with but the fact that you were playing and taking yourself away from the everyday world, even if it were just for ten minutes.  I think what they say is true, "Laughter is the key to any kind of relationship" whether it be your special person, your teacher, your students, your boss, you get my point.  We're on this earth for who knows how long, so why not make that time the best and humorous as possible.  Go now, start laughing, I bet you can't do it.  In fact I challenge you.  Respond with your own stories,...www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1dkTrNH92Y Laugh!!!