My brain went on a thinking spree (I know, dangerous) on my final stretch of the drive today. I stopped in a little town called Natural Bridge in hopes I could hoop with the Natural Bridge. A giant brick building guarded the bridge. I got my camera ready and stepped inside the building. There ya have it...$28 for a guided tour of the bridge. No one permitted beyond doors unticketed. If it's natural, shouldn't it be free to see? I understand having a gift shop, donation option, or offering tours, but it's not like a celebrity's house...it's nature. So let me walk around the freaking building and see it.
There are songs on my current roadtrip CD that directly relate to the necessity of having money.
Jessie J's "Price tag" says to "forget about the price tag" and focus on the truth and the love in the world. Easier said than done. The guy who raps in it even saying that he needs his 6-string guitar, which someone had to pay for, ya know?
I think of the things I "couldn't live without," happily, at least. I would want a piano in my life. Whether I owned it or used it at a church or school. Still, someone had to buy it. I've told people that I could teach children music without a single thing. Just our voices, body percussion, and concepts/ideas. Totally possible. Still totally meaningful. But what makes music class REALLY fun is all the TOYS and COLORS and TECHNOLOGY and INSTRUMENTS. I've used hundreds, maybe over a thousand or two of my own dollars on puppets, children's books, bean bags, instruments, and more puppets. For the thing I get paid for.
On the other hand, some of the best things in life are free. Hugging, singing, dancing, climbing a tree, telling someone you love them...
Ingrid Michaelson's "You and I." I love this song, but it's paradoxical as it starts with "Don't you worry there, my honey, we might not have any money, but we've got our love to pay the bills." Very Sonny and Cher. But then the song goes into a chorus of "Let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters..."
Travie McCoy/Bruno Mars' "Billionaire" has a similar irony. Wanting to be a billionaire "so frickin bad," but then going on to list all of the kind things he would do for others with that money. Seeming selfish but not.
This makes me think of something I've been fighting with recently...people say "oh you don't have to spend money on me," but IMAGINE being the one who doesn't buy Christmas gifts, or birthday gifts. Or the boyfriend who doesn't get his girl flowers/chocolate/card/cute stuff on Valentine's Day. Society makes us feel like jerks for not spending money. Yes there's other gestures that don't require much money, but still most likely we're judged if we don't give all our money in its various forms away to our friends, family, and homeless people. I thought it wasn't about the price tag.
Anyway...this Birthright trip I'm about to take is "free," besides the $250 deposit, the $70 fee for transport, the getting to the airport and back, the lunch everyday, and the extra cash one is bound to spend.
I saw a baby tonight. OMG GIMME.
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