THE OBSERVATION BOOTH / By Andrea Dialect OP-ED
It was early morning, and I was rolling through my beloved Native Paterson the other day, coming down Broadway. Right there in front of the check-cashing place when I spotted him. He was wearing one of those PVC bright neon yellow rain suits with those reflective stripes. He was at the time, as they say, chopping it up with his boy, and the two were also engaged in a bit of chit-chat with a vendor as he unpacked his ware. The guy I come across often when I’m heading back to the workplace.
As observing the three, I soon noticed a pair of the most enchanting fairy wings strapped on his back. They look as if designed for a little one. They were small, but they lay perfectly on his shoulders. The swirls of purple, blues and pink with glittery gold etchings alongside the stark yellow rain gear made the sun’s piercing rays magnify its shine, making for the perfect mix.
I rolled down my window and summoned him to a mini shoot. My newfound friend much obliged posed as I lifted my camera for those close-ups. My favorite stance was fist clasp forced into sides, legs apart, and head up with the dead-on stature of a sightly king. I laughed and laughed deep belly. We laughed at him, his boy, the vendor, and me, as exchanging small talk all before the red that had halted traffic flow turned into green.
The highlight of the moment is the two crossing in front of the van; our rain man commences running with a pounce fist clasped, one going in and the other out, forwards, the other back.
At the switch, while he pounced, bouncing on his feet as if skipping on the tops of mushrooms, He scooted between cars. At passing, I laughed, and I laughed as calling him an idiot and confessing my love for them all in the same breath. He cheesed in agreement, and I beamed as gazing into the rearview mirror until his presence faded away. At 9 am in the morning, he had made my day.
Thank God for the Hood & Those Hood Boyz. May God continue to bless us with such beautiful souls. There are so many of those unsung heroes I come across these types almost every day. Now That’s Entertainment!
en·ter·tain·ment
- The action of providing or being provided with amusement or enjoyment.
- An event, performance, or activity designed to entertain others.
- The action of receiving a guest or guests and providing them with food and drink
I found it necessary to define the art of “Entertainment.” Seemingly we often misconstrue its meaning as being a bit one side when it comes to partaking in it and more so when we ain’t gotta pay a dime for it! So the next time we do choose to give up that dime, we’ll get more bang for our bucks!
Ironically Michael Jackson’s “Remember the Time” video came to mind as an excellent example of how limited our scope can be when Iman (The Queen) informed (Eddie Murphy) the King that she was “bored!” Be sure to roll your tongue during the ‘bored’ part, which is my fav if you’re not familiar as Andrea Dialect says Google That!
Humor me? Not… This challenge is a win, win across the board that I’m confident will be pretty helpful. For those who are unaware, this is the Entertainment Section, and there are Zillions of ways to fill this space every week besides utilizing the norm; as so in our lives. Amusement, aka Entertainment, is all around us 24/7 if we can see what we see. That is a quote that I coined many years ago. It is quite en vogue today and will remain timeless as it is fashionable. C’est très en vogue en ce moment. (It’s very fashionable at the moment.) I couldn’t help myself with that one. I must hear its pronunciation, is that fab or what?
Let’s just say that we can use it stylishly now!
For this week’s challenge, let’s seek out all that enjoyment that is out there vying for our attention as hiding in the open. Those experiences that we stumble upon may be similar to my meeting that rain man playing dress up as a rain man fairy or not, and I sought out the Go to Squad to lead the way…
It is not about what someone else finds entertaining; it’s all about you. It is about what you like. I have a bit of a drive to and from work. So during that time, Gospel music is that thing for me. The way they sing those songs is amusing. I am listening and taking it all in. I’m not just hearing music and singing; I am absorbing the words and everything else.
Another thing that is very entertaining for me is that walk in the park. I also find sitting with my husband as he’s watching the game to be quite fun. I like seeing his reactions as watching him being entertained. Being with my children and playing with my grandchildren can also be quite entertaining. I really enjoy the amusement of my family. (Pamela Mitchell – Minster)
Entertainment for me is when I can simply be watching my daughters in a conversation and get so much amusement from the way they express themselves. I also enjoy watching people interact with each other; their laughter is entertaining. I love watching children play. I love giving them things to play with and watching how they play with them. Also, I love to hear people sing from the depths of their souls, even when they can’t sing. I love that even more. (Recording Artist Gail Campbell)
I am a big fan of watching people’s reactions to the outlandish. I love to see the ridiculous and unbelievable things going on around them and how they respond. I love the shock factor; for instance, this kid on tick-tock did a prank on his father. He had a prop with a tongue with a fork sticking through it. When placing it in his mouth, it looked natural. Then he called in dad, and his reaction was hilarious.
Then after the person realizes what is happening or had happened, the shocking decline, the comedown is priceless. I love the spin of wheels on cars. Like if I am riding as a passenger, I look at the wheels on those passing cars and for some reason. It has a hypnotic effect. I m pulled into a heavy daydream. As if I’m out of that place mentally, out of the car. Something like a low-level out-of-body experience! (Corey La Porte- Record Producer)
I love watching couples interact when they’re having that cup of tea or eating out, the eye contact, their body language. I love watching my son in class interacting with his classmates during a camera log-in while I’m at work. I love when we’re doing his homework, and he tells me that his teacher doesn’t want it done that way, funny. I love when he writes his letters backward, saying that he wants it that way. I love how my son tries to hide from me in plain sight. Recently he fell in the snow while clowning with him as helping him up; I fell in the same spot.
I was his Entertainment at that moment. I get amused by my students when they’re trying to outwit me as trying to get out of consequences once they know that they’ve done something wrong. I also get a kick out of watching as my daughter navigating throughout her parenting journey, when throughout her life as my child, she’d been itemizing all my so-called mistakes as a parent. Hilarious! (Nikki Vante- Social Worker)
Forms of Entertainment, for example, this is one. I’m out and about in school, and my peers are around me having fun. I do this sometimes when I’m hanging with my boys when walking in the hallway or whatever. I put the ear pods in; I am with them but not. It’s similar to that observation booth. I’m around people, but I’m by myself. It’s like when you see a high school movie. The character is usually sad or preoccupied or mentally there but keep to themselves. It’s like a nostalgic feeling from an observational stance. I do that often. Sometimes I don’t feel like talking. I love to fade in the background and in the cut. I could always join in the conversation or the moment if I wanted. But I like that nostalgic feeling sometimes.
Another thing that I find to be Entertaining is searching and referencing classical art. I do a random search, or it pops up because of the algorism. I’m more into the aesthetic, the artist not so much. I feel that the art back then has so much depth. It stands alone very well, and it holds its own. Like recently when I observed this shield and sword. A masterpiece, the sword and shield that had been painted held the space, which was a darkly shaded room. I felt a sadness come over me. To think that an object could evoke my emotions; and that’s dead-on, and very powerful. I love that. (Phenom Dansby- Student)
What’s entertaining for me? That’s easy. I love shipping docks. I love everything about them, mainly the importance of them. We’re talking international trade, the lifeblood. It is billions of dollars on those docks or coming through them. For me, it would be easy if I worked there. I love the view of the water. I love looking at the containers. I’d love to stand around kinda guessing what’s in there.
Those ports are beyond essential for us. If it can’t be flown in as far as import, export goes, it’s going by way of them docks. The shipping industry is significant. That’s both amusing and entertaining. Secondly, I amuse myself as I think the thoughts of God who is saying you and your family is good. Good job, Vince, good job. For me, that’s what is most amusing! (Vince Dansby- Most importantly, My son!)
I am a big star watcher. I watch the planets I can identify. They’re identified by color. Visually sometimes they look like a pear when they overlap. I look at a Stellar map on my phone. I Love the heavenly bodies, although I can’t get to them. I love researching so that I get to know how the system works. The sun and the moon, the stars. I have been saying for years I am going to get a telescope. I’ve slept outside in East Orange all night a few times and just looked at the stars. When I go to PA I get to see them closer, and it’s overwhelming. I want to start taking photos and capture the sky and all its color and the gases, everything! There are so many different things to be seen and found. I’m deeply into Science; it is quite amusing.
I’m more into Astrological forms of those systems, not constellations. No zodiac forms; there are too many systems. Something that I saw recently that was quite entertaining was this kid walking down the street. As I watched this younger man, sometimes I noticed his walk to be normal, and then all of a sudden, bam, he breaks into the Wop (The dance)( Google That). Seriously, funny but not appearing deliberate, I’m talking involuntarily. His behavior reminds me of a character in the movie Unusual Suspects.
Also, I am really amused by people who walk around with their pants dangling off the waist. My curiosity is how they’re going to walk around when they get older! (Appalon chap LaPorte D2 Studios & A+ Media)
