That’s Cool, Man

I’ve seen people do and say things lately that just left me thinking, “That’s Cool.”  What’s the coolest of all is that each of these people are young.  Kind of setting an example for the rest, I guess.

1. A friend of my youngest daughter’s is 16.  He has an older brother who is 19 - the older brother works but the younger one doesn’t.  Apparently he tried to get a summer job but simply hasn’t been able to, yet.  Anyway, onto the cool.  One day a few weeks ago, the older brother gives the younger brother a card with $20 in it that says, “Spend this on anything you want to.  - Love ya.”  As Marcia Brady would say, “Way Cool.”
2. My daughter recently made $100 for work she did online.  It took a lot of work on her part - long hours, a few obstacles she had to fight off, and several Cokes she had to kill in the process.  She didn’t (as you’d think most teens would) take the money, hit the mall and trample everyone in her way.  The first thing she bought was a nice top for me.  I had bought one made like it (in another color) several months ago.  She’d, I guess, heard me say several times how much I loved the way it was made.   As a surprise, she went and picked me out one made just like it - it’s my new favorite top and I guess I’ve worn it, like, a thousand times.  Wearing it makes me smile.  Again, “Way cool.”
3. At a restaurant several days ago, an older woman was arguing with the young cashier about the change she’d given her - she thought she’d been shorted a dollar.  One dollar!  The woman was so rude I wanted to say something (Having kids makes you want to defend all young people, I guess.).  The girl never raised her voice, kept her smile (pretty much) in place and patiently proved to the woman that she’d been given the correct change.  The woman huffed, never apologized, and just turned to walk off.  Before she got away, the girl said, “Have a nice day, ma’am and I’m sorry for the confusion.”  Trust me, if you’d heard how unbelievably stupid this woman was, you’d know that what this young lady said wasn’t at all what most of us would have said.  She kept her cool and WAS cool.
4. Finally, a few days ago, we were watching Jessica Simpson on MTV’s TRL.  The girl has always amused me - she’s has the typical larger-than-life Texan attitude and spirit, and I’ve been a fan since she first came onto the scene.  Anyway, she was asked to show some clips from her all-time favorite videos and she led off with one by Britney Spears.  One in which Ms. Spears looked all the way on top of her game. Jessica said Britney’s body was “amazing” and said how much she liked her work.  Then after another video, she said how “hot” Fergie looked.  Most female celebrities wouldn’t say positive things about other females, and they darn sure wouldn’t choose another girl’s video to show off!  Not unless the other girl was a hound dog, which Britney Spears most certainly isn’t.  But, then again, they don’t swing in the cool air like Jessica does.

Just wanted to give some public props to some cool people who impressed me the past few weeks.  They may not be acts or gestures that will, single-handedly, change the world - but they’re the sort of acts that make the world a cooler place.

Joi