A SLAP IN THE FACE

 A Slap In The Face ( I'm more of a Hero than you'll ever be) 2020

Pop culture never fails to bring a smile to my face, I mean, I, like you,  can answer stupid quizzes about "Friends" , chuckle and look at what the child star of yesteryear looks like now, and of course there are  quotes from movies that have edged their way into the lexicon of our lives as you shout out daily "Ill be Back" or during the holidays "Buddy the Elf, What's your favorite color?", Don't we all wonder what we would have done if we had attended that infamous work party at Nakatomi Plaza back in 1988...Yippeekayay....even "Dr Hook" after telling us about "Sylvia's Mother" asked us what we would have done if we found our picture on "The Cover of the Rolling Stone"

We all have our favorites ... but none strikes home and plays melodious chords on the heartstrings more than the voice over opening scene at Heathrow Airport, so eloquently written by Richard Curtis ( thank you Sir for the entertainment) and spoken as only he can, by the flop topped adorably goofy stereotyped Hugh Grant in character from "Love Actually...." words which seem ever more apropos today than it ever was when written, long before fearful pandemics, childish politicians and a tumultuous world.

" Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."

Words I wish I had penned, but alas, here I sit, sentenced to anonymity.....yet sidled with keyboard at hand, you do suddenly find you've hit a chord as you wonder what it would be like to be hailed as someone worthy of praise, relentlessly hearing about everyone else being a hero except for your own self...as the previous missive took an upswing ( check previous blog " ( https://bennysantini.blogspot.com/2020/05/i-wanna-be-hero-maybe-just-for-one-day.html ) I sat back in the comfort of the hundreds that read said post and replied with encouragement.. Maybe being a working class hero is what we should be...

Time passes as it so inevitably does, the world gets darker as it reaches for the answers, the high hopes of a Christmas filled with the delights of familiar smells, new discoveries, sidewalks filled bustling with people, decked out window fronts and that " in the air there's a feeling of Christmas" sense we all long for... the Currier and Ives images of a simpler time, dashing through the snow, hearths warmed with chestnuts and mulled wine, your particular Magi visiting from afar....

There is no such thing as normal any more, the shops are indeed empty in my neck of the woods, those few i see have heads down and by the sense of body language are really displeased with life, hunched shoulders, no eye contact, masks hiding the true emotions...

The saddest part of the holiday season as i walked my local mall ( granted its an annual thing so am I contributing to this ?) was in deed the silence, the lack of decorations, the grumpiest store clerks, and strikingly the way everyone seemed to just pick up as step as they scurried past a for lease sign on a failed shop front, the signs touting going out of business sale, I made my purchases and made my "Exit...stage left." ( nod to my fellow Rush fans out there...see pop culture)

....As we grapple with our own self worth "in a world of dread and fear", How do we pay the bills after being laid off?  How do we make ends meat when we are forced to close?, The resilience of our fellow humanoids shine, despite everything though, my fellow Americans we are out there...doing it, just doing it as the mighty swoosh tells us too.... So therefore the one true thing you don't expect is to be slapped right across the face through Pop Culture itself !!

Time magazine has long been at the front of mind when it comes to News, Culture and the events of the year, A magazine long heralded in stature, with a legacy of indelible stamps to the mind, The Twin Towers, Dr King, John Lennon,  The Queen and Mother Theresa to name a few 

Disappointment, that nauseous sinking feeling, glancing at the latest cover of this periodical i wonder if they truly have "jumped the shark". 

"Time" you missed big time with this one, I know, I know you even had Hitler on the cover, but you see, each and every person place or thing that has previously graced your cover has actually done something ..not all good granted, but they have all done something and those deeds, actions lives, are recorded in History. Trust me, as my mind swirls, this is not a political commentary, its the true sadness at the lack of recognition for those Hero's even just for one day...

These are the ones we should place on the winners podium. 

Anthony Gaskin couldn't believe his eyes as he rounded the corner of his daily UPS route in Richmond Virginia, hundreds of people lined the street to wave and cheer, as with a smile all the way through the pandemic and  2020 he has continued unabridged to deliver to the fine folks of the Hallsley neighborhood, why isn't this guy on the front cover, or any of the other UPS,

 Mail men and women, Prime delivery guys or other folks that have diligently put them selves out there so you can sit in your cozy warm alcove, press a button and away they go, working class hero's maybe ?

Front liners, Head liners for sure, why aren't the medics, the hospital workers, doctors, surgeon's, nurses mentioned, we braved the outdoors at 8 pm of an evening to clap our hands into the silence of the night in awe and respect for their hard work, I love the truth that Letha Love said as she headed to her overnight shift, treating corona virus patients at the Coney Island Hospital she works at, flying on her own dime from Atlanta to New York and quarantining her self to a hotel room away from her loved ones to do her job, showing up every day to be with those patients, she admitted "You can call it brave if you want to, It is brave, but I'm scared, I'm very scared, but most importantly I'm here" Why isn't Letha on the cover, working class hero maybe ?

My trash can got emptied every day, how about yours ? The grocery store clerk was always there with a smile and to ask me how my day was, how about yours? The train driver, the bus driver got us to our destinations no questions asked working class hero's maybe?

My local Coffee shop The outstanding "Nutmeg Bakery and Cafe"  like 100's across this beautiful country of ours doesn't know if they are coming or going, With a second location opening right as the pandemic hit, with a young family to support Drew and his team reinvented themselves as a Take out service, Grub Hub service, Grocery shop, doing everything and anything they needed to to survive, and have done so with dedication hard work and well shameless plug ...some of the best food and lattes around...Working class Hero's for sure!

 All these and many more like them should have been on the cover as they fight the good fight against the invisible enemy.

Here is where we know Love actually IS all around us, the aforementioned and the overlooked …(can I call, us average Joe's without offending anyone?) the ones that should have graced the cover this year, I'm talking about you and me, yes we all wanna be hero's in our own right as I last wrote, the sort that leap tall buildings in one bound, that can fix situations with a single glare, that can spin the world on its axis, you know the glamourous outfits, and superpowers... well turns out not so much, the everyday working class hero kicked to the side again by an arrogantly, favor seeking magazine that has all but clearly shown its affinity to one side over another, no fairness, complete bias to the haves over the have nots, They have done nothing, i do hope they do something and they can have next year but this year Time you failed, you missed, and oh so many choices...

We are Hero's, and in my opinion are on the cover of Time in my mind, the ones who lost loved ones, who comforted the bereaved, who lost jobs because business were closed, who struggle to put food on the table, who raise children and teach them online, those who share with others because they cant afford what they did last year, who dropped off goodies at their neighbors door step, who donate to charity a dollar or so as its what they can ill afford, those that lift each other up in prayer and don't cut each other down, those that send a virtual hug, those that show compassion to our sisters and brothers, I'm talking about you, yes you who are reading this, you are a hero...and may it be said for way more than one day...

Celebrity is a thing, I know this, and it drives pop culture, no doubt sells copies of a magazine, but this time more than any other time, this time you are wrong, these folks have done nothing, yet you celebrate them as more important than the billions of people world wide that need the recognition way more than these two, we are as the song says "Everyday People"

Even just for one day

Please comment here and let me know of your hero story

I've got soul but I'm not a soldier

#bennysantiniproductions