It's All Good! ~ (Last updated 3-12-11)
Submitted by ambient on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 20:41
Tags:
- a toddler’s vocabulary
- the crackle of firewood
- long afternoon shadows
- a good view and all day
- bay windows with a padded bench
- being the person who gets to tell the scary story at the Scout campfire
- sunken living rooms
- the hand movements of a "hula" dancer
- warning your visiting city friends that they’d better not stare too long at a herd of cows
- artistic license
- hot-air balloons
- a skinny "bass man" in a doo-wop group
- funnel cakes
- overfeeding a bonfire
- riding on the top of a double-decker bus
- seeing a cat run 30-mph
- the line, "gangster of love"
- finding a waiter that’s worth more than their 15%
- experiencing the complete silence of the deep forest during a heavy snowfall
- ambience
- old "two-way" radio talk (Roger, Wilco… Over)
- Tex-Mex
- combed beaches
- knowing someone who volunteers regularly for “clown” duty in local parades
- long icicles
- childhood memories of being carried to bed (half asleep) by your dad
- spinning spaghetti on a fork
- revolving doors
- turning off all the lights except those on the Christmas tree
- punctuality
- leather reading chairs at upscale bookstores
- the coolness of a freshly overturned pillow
- the couple of seconds your dog takes to see and hear if you really threw the ball this time.
- bunk-beds when you’re a kid
- bunk-bed tents
- bluegrass harmonies
- the smell of the air just before it rains
- accidently falling asleep for just a few minutes during an afternoon laydown
- Bonzai trees
- watching the dancers on an old clip of American Bandstand or Soul Train
- busy, after-dark, summertime sidewalks in Gatlinburg, TN
- homemade tortillas
- the smell of coconut oil on a beautiful body
- old gray-haired hippies that still say “man” after almost every sentence
- making lists for your own enjoyment
- watching the set-up of an apple press at an old cider mill (Franklin Hills, MI)
- feeding ducks
- baby Spanky of the "Little Rascals"
- your dog speeding out the opened door hoping to catch that long-gone squirrel he’s been watching out the window all day
- frozen custard
- the occasional snap of an old country screen door
- suddenly discovering you weren’t really lost after all (wink)
- being motioned to come over and sit next to someone
- the age-old mystery of charisma for one, and chemistry between two
- sleeping where it’s so cold the only part of your body exposed to the air is your lips
- thumbing through a decades-old catalog
- remembering to pause and take a deep breath
- Godiva Chocolatiers
- the smell and coolness of an unfinished poured concrete basement
- watching B.B. King’s butterfly fret work
- the apple of your eye
- between the legs and back over the top swing dancing
- the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm
- night-flying over cities from 20,000 ft.
- the elegant beauty of a thoroughbred race horse
- the height to which a cat’s rear end can raise to meet the hand stroking it
- barbecuing
- food so spicy it makes you sweat
- snow that sticks to every branch and twig of a tree
- the stiff look of a little kid wearing a thick snowsuit, mittens and an oversized ski hat
- the huge beach ball bouncing around the crowd before a concert starts
- laughing with someone so hard you have to look away from one another to stop
- smiles you wear all over
- the smell of Play-Doh
- hearing a song that takes you back to an exact moment in your past
- unexpected success
- shelter from the storm
- not eating turkey after Labor Day just so Thanksgiving will be better
- a surprise phone call from an old friend
- any suggestion that starts with, you're never too old to...
- Fall colors
- spooning
- singing harmony with the one you love
- waking up with an arm wrapped around you
- hand-cranked vanilla ice-cream
- skipping stones with a friend
- roasted corn on the cob with lots of butter and salt
- rotating dessert displays in family restaurants
- you'll always have your dreams
- competence
- school art projects from your childhood that your mom has saved for years
- Currier & Ives winter scenes
- street musicians
- successful midnight snack hunts
- helping a child find unexpected ways to play with household objects
- a view of sailboats skimming the horizon
- giving your kids a running ride in the wheelbarrow
- tree houses
- little reminders that nature rules
- pausing to give a kind word to a volunteer
- meeting someone at the airport
- a handful of Oreos and an ice-cold glass of milk
- old saloon-style swinging doors
- the faint sound of a distant train and the wonder of where it might be headed
- a quick wit and a silly disposition
- James Taylor's grin
- the way little kids draw green cotton ball shapes for the tops of trees
- a well-worn carpenter's bench
- decorating the Christmas tree
- using a sifter
- miniature doors leading to secret places in old houses
- generosity
- deep leather couches
- the wild blue yonder
- old dog names like buster, patch, rover, chance, rusty, etc...
- Frankenmuth, MI
- finding two good reasons to do something
- b&w checkerboard garage floors
- lily tomlin doing edith ann
- the sound of horse hooves on cobblestone
- the way Ringo bopped his head when he played
- the sound a cloud makes as it flows through the treetops
- old fashioned porch swings
- gold-leaf lettered signs
- sleepy babies halfway through their bottles
- comfortable silences
- dartboards
- drag strips
- fleeting magic
- walking through freshly roughed-in houses
- little women with big voices
- old train depots
- free-throws
- Monument Valley, Utah
- roll top desks
- arriving early for a huge estate sale
- the silence and logo presentation before the movie begins
- time-lapse photography
- memories of younger days when you were the first to arrive and the last to leave the amusement park
- tugs-of-war
- Tiffany desk lamps
- a bolo tie with a nicely tailored suit (ex. Tunnel Of Love cover)
- devoting a entire day to making love
- strangers you see so regularly that you feel they're almost friends
- a small hardware store whose owner knows exactly where everything is located
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming
- any place where you can stand on land and look down upon the clouds
- daring to take a short, careful drive around the city during a power blackout
- barbecuing in January - preferably with snow on the ground
- dreams of storm chasing as a well-paying profession
- air shows
- having just enough nooks, crannies, doors, and drawers to keep a neat looking desk
- "thirsty stone" coasters
- stories of stubborn mules
- champagne flutes
- wafts of fresh, warm, yeast-filled bread
- gratefulness
- taking a deep breath on a crisp day
- when your dog leans into your scratch
- hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows
- memories of listening to Ernie Harwell and George Kell call a Detroit Tigers game over a transister radio
- touring Biltmore Estate in North Carolina at least once
- frosted mugs of A&W root beer (draft)
- the sawdust and cotton-candy smell of a county fair
- old pine forests with carpets of brown needles
- trying your best to stay upright while sprinting down a 300 ft. lake shore sand dune (Sleeping Bear Dunes, MI)
- a harmless rolling and tumbling wipe-out in an overloaded toboggan
- Lisa Loeb's glasses
- the twist of the brush stroke on a great oil painting
- the gearshift on a recliner
- the firm handshake and ever-so-quick eye contact that further emphasizes a thank you between two men
- Norton addressing his golf ball
- texas toast
- straightening up after catching yourself slouching and suddenly feeling inches taller
- close-up, slight-of-hand magic tricks
- white picket fences
- an appreciation for anything more than 100 years old
- secretly restoring old photographs and giving them back as gifts
- face-to-face slow-dancing
- just knowing I could still take a trip on a train if I really wanted to
- the aroma of freshly cut pine or cedar
- the old custom of a gentleman rising when a lady enters or leaves a room
- flirtatious stares (goo-goo eyes)
- the too-rare cabbage stalk sprinkled with salt
- 40's retro clothing
- the unmistakable crack of a wooden bat connecting with a 90 mph fastball
- interior brick walls
- a well-placed lilt in a vocal phrasing
- willow trees
- rekindled friendships
- white sand, green water, blue sky combinations
- effervescence
- homemade onion rings
- when one-size-fits-all fits you
- being there for someone
- believing that crying is good for you
- horizontal lightning
- going great distances for small laughs
- snowflakes on eyelashes
- a cake baking
- the whispered scream of gusting winds blowing through a window screen
- an occasional, extravagent vacation
- taking a lone, summertime drive in the country with the windows down and the radio off
- dimples
- throwing kernels of popped corn for your dog to catch in the air
- possibilities
- memories of slowly twisting your swing and then holding on as it quickly untwirls
- classic vaseline-edged hollywood portraits
- newspaper delivery
- the anticipation of destination
- skating rinks
- Remington sculptures
- having fun like you were a kid again, and nobody else noticing
- thinking caps
- heavy banistered, winding staircases
- the self-satisfied strut of a dog that won't bring the frisbee back to you
- when a re-mastered album brings surprise
- the ever-so-slight brush of the cheek during a slow dance
- the two seconds before an exploding smile breaks into a giggle
- refilling the birdfeeder
- finding a good un-cut, nicely restored black & white movie on tv at the exact moment you're in the mood to watch one
- the magic of seeing someone on t.v. after you've met them in person
- courteousness
- a new carving board
- the rustle of fall leaves
- county fairs as places for farmers to congregate
- Ed Sullivan introducing Topo Gigio
- old-fashioned door keys
- watching people bend weirdly as they climb out of their vehicles at highway rest areas
- Marx Brother's silliness
- window seats
- the occasional single 10" round pancake
- custom colored bowling balls and the people who use them
- trying your best to distinguish between feminine and masculine scents
- a dog "faking" patience
- swinging your legs as you sit on an open pickup tailgate
- the first full strum on a newly tuned guitar
- old car hood ornaments
- turkish taffy
- a "just right" toasted marshmallow
- cottages that you can only see through winter trees
- any river you can hear before you see
- Appalachian "huge, water-rounded rock" rivers
- liquid nitrogen & roses
- shiny hardwood floors
- window seats
- the long, original version of the Vogues "Five O'Clock World" visually performed by the Drew Carey Show cast.
- humble abodes
- batting cages
- the last 45 minutes of A.I. Artificial Intelligence
- having an eye for pruning trees
- burning candles
- brick streets
- the country music hall of fame
- pushing car lighters in and waiting
- bits of real bacon in a house salad
- the intensity of genius
- when no one sits in front of you at the movie theater
- pressing a hole in the mashed potatoes for the gravy to sit it
- Soupy Sales
- driving a truck over rough terrain
- grandchildren
- spinning stools
- waiting for the pizza delivery
- a “memory" box
- frosty blue eyes
- the dance you perform when a rubber band is pointed at you
- long embraces without words
- knowing the difference between men and women are The Three Stooges
- polished granite
- oversized coffee table books
- the heavy instinct so alive and well in your dog or cat
- man caves
- sharing “I’ve always wanted to” stories
- the creak of an old door or gate
- the first bite of a warm croissant
- the sound of a baseball hitting a mitt
- band-aids that make it through at least one fast hand washing
- shuffling cards
- the fear of being approached by a dozen waiters singing “happy birthday”
- Enya
- seeing something that looks as though it could have come from a dream
- Cracker Barrel waiting rooms
- vacuum delivery tubes at bank drive-thrus
- candy cane stripes
- summer evening, band in the park
- Karen Carpenter’s voice
- old fashioned clear yellow fog lights
- a quick whiff from a bottle of vanilla extract
- multi-layer jello pudding cups
- dumping peanut shells on the floor of your local steak house
- aviation windsocks
- Snoopy’s cranky friendship with Woodstock
- Bluebird homemade vanilla ice cream
- being somebody’s pillow
- choreographers
- hot dog stands
- old fashioned metal tricycles
- ticket windows
- free holiday gift calendars
- restaurant manager checking in to see if everything is OK
- ordering a car exactly like you want it built
- comfortably shared silences
- vanilla-scented candles
- blond pistachio nuts
- over-filled water balloons that could burst at any second
- planting seeds
- the old heroes, wedges, submarines, hoagies, grinders or poor boys debate
- measuring snow
- the smell of a freshly opened cedar box
- George Bailey & Mary sharing a phone call
- snow drifts
- blowing the steam off a mug of hot chocolate
- custom light switch covers
- helping to put the folding chairs away
- remembering to take your time
- old cell phones the size of shoes
- a sharp pencil
- swinging doors to the kitchen
- homemade pizza cups
- early spring before the bugs come out
- the quack of a duck
- panoramas
- a window-sill overflowing with flowers
- piers
- a fresh business card
- whims
- trying to successfully bake biscuits over a campfire
- using tortillas instead of bread
- absence making the heart grow fonder
- charred hot dogs and you don’t care
- real butter
- giant elm trees that have managed to survive the blight
- daddy-o
Author Comments:
The extended and updated list.
If you have the time, pause for a few seconds and paint a mental picture of each as you go down the list. I'm sure no one can identify with everything I have here as it 98% defines me as a human being. I'm sure there is some overlap, just as I'm sure I could identify with someone else's list of pleasures I haven't thought of yet. Feel free to add some of your own in comments below.