Phew. After the past couple of days, this is the way I see it.
We need two things.
One. The bouncing red ball.
Two. Paper towels.
That’s it. That’s my big answer.
I guess I can expand on that, just a little.
Have you ever been to a professional baseball game? The parks with the big screens, which are now called Jumbo-Trons? If not, here is what happens. There is an unknown person who comes over the loud speaker. And they say… “Everyone get up. Yes! Stand up and let’s all sing together…” So. Everybody stands up. And then the other unknown person, the one in a little room somewhere…. who plays the pipe organ…. with little monkey-organ-grinder sitting on top… THAT PERSON starts playing the song.
Invariably, it is “Take me out to the ballgame.” The words to the song appear, line-by-line, scrolling across the Jumbo-Tron. The music plays. Everyone starts swaying back and forth, arm in arm… and THERE is the big red bouncing ball… up there on the Jumbo-Tron. It bounces across the tops of the words… and everyone follows along… singing together… swaying, smiling, crooning.
It doesn’t matter which team they are rooting for… or where they are sitting in the stadium. Everybody sings together.. right along with the big red bouncing ball.
Right now, more than ever… we need the bouncing red ball.
Oh, and the paper towels? Because inevitably… no matter how well all the people are singing together and being one with the popcorn and peanuts….. somebody sways a little too much to the right, or to the left… and knocks over a beer. It spills. All over the dang place and it makes a real mess. And THAT… is when we need the Quicker-Picker-Upper to make it all better again.
Sing a song and sop up the spill.
That’s all we need.
Thank god I wasn’t a Beatle. Instead of All You Need Is Love… we’d have.. All You Need Is Bouncing Red Balls and Paper Towels.
“There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done
Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how the play the game
It’s easy
There’s nothing you can make that can’t me made
No one you can save that can’t be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It’s easy
All you need is love” — The Beatles, 1967