Alan Fox

It’s Saturday.  I don’t need to go into work today and I don’t have any plans.  How should I spend my day?

I just had a heretical thought.  What if I did nothing?

What?

For an entire day?  Do nothing?

Well either the universe would have to end, or I would.  The thought of doing nothing (and by that, I mean not accomplishing anything) for a full day is completely outside both my adult experience and my comfort zone.  I remember my twelve-year-old self asking my mother that same question during summer vacation: “What can I do today?”

I wonder — where did I ever get the idea that I have to do something “useful” every moment?  Reading is useful.  I will learn something.  Writing is useful.  Both the reader and I may learn something.  But nothing?  Being completely unproductive?  How could I rationalize that?

I remember an early TV advertisement for Alka Selzer with the tag line, “Try it, you’ll like it.”

Maybe I would like doing nothing for a change.  After all, I have run my own business for more than fifty years, been married (more than once), raised a family, written books, travelled the world, and my “leisure” time is filled with social activities with family and friends.

Even as I write this blog, I’m watching the word count because I have certain expectations for how much I should write.  I have written a blog every week for about eight years, and usually keep it short – between 300 and 450 words.  I’m now at 261 words, so maybe I’ll wrap up this blog and practice doing nothing for the rest of the day.

Just now Daveen called to say she’ll be home by 5:30. It’s already 5:00. Well, that gives me another half hour to do absolutely nothing.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Alan

I love live theater.  Years ago, I owned the Whitefire Theater on Ventura Boulevard.  I leased the theater to David Beaird, a friend of mine who wrote and directed plays.

One afternoon I was sitting next to David as he auditioned actors for a future production.  When David turned to me and started to talk during one of the auditions it made me very uncomfortable.

Afterward I said, “David, that wasn’t polite.”

His answer startled me.

“Alan, when those actors are performing in my play, they have to grab the attention of the audience.  If they don’t, everyone will be bored.  If I’m talking to you during their audition, it’s because they are not grabbing my attention and I’m not going to hire them.”

I couldn’t argue with him about that.

Another practitioner of the “grab people’s attention” point of view is Simon Cowell who created the “America’s Got Talent” show.  Time and again he demonstrates that he responds best to the contestants who command his attention.

Once Daveen and I attended a play on Broadway in which there was no dialogue for the first three or four minutes.  At the center of the stage the leading lady merely sat in a chair, rocking.  Without saying a word, she held my full attention.

After the play was over, I told Daveen that I thought the actress should win a Tony award for her performance.  Daveen pointed out a note in the program – she already had.

I suspect that the ability to “grab someone’s attention,’ is important in many aspects of our life.  Whether it’s in a business meeting, or in a job interview, or on a first date, the more adept we are at grabbing and holding someone’s attention, the more successful we’ll be in getting the deal, the job or the second date.

In a real sense, we all write, direct, and are the leading actor in the drama of our own lives.  Unlike a theater performance, however, our script is entirely improvised.

The best part is that we never know how or when each scene is going to end. And while we are not able to go back and redo the scene, we can pay attention and learn how to improve our performance every time we walk onto the stage.

Alan

One recent evening, when she was ready for bed, I started to sing an advertising ditty to Daveen.

Every day’s a special day at Thriftimart

Every day’s a special day just for you

Whatever you put in your shopping cart

You save and save at Thriftimart

‘Cause every day’s a special day

Yes, every day’s a special day

‘Cause every day’s a special day at Thriftimart.

The tune is probably more enjoyable when you hear it being sung.  But it makes me wonder how many of us remember the catchy tunes from our youth.  For me that was 70 years ago – and I still remember a lot of them.

I know Thrifitmart produced the jingle to attract customers to their stores.  Since they are no longer in business this tune lingers in my memory – an artifact from my past, like Frank Sinatra singing, “Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you, if you’re young at heart…”

We all have special days we remember.  Daveen is amazing.  She remembers the birthdays and anniversaries of hundreds of people – family, friends, and even acquaintances.  Last week she reminded me (four or five times) to wish one of my sons a happy 55^th birthday, (I think he was 55).

For me Saturday and Sunday are special days.  I don’t have to work, and that means I don’t have to solve problems.  All I need to do is decide how I’d like to spend my day, and then do it.  This weekend was particularly special.  The USC Trojans won their football game and remain undefeated.  Next month they will play their archrivals, the UCLA Bruins, who are also undefeated.  For me that will certainly be another special day.  I might even buy a ticket to the Rose Bowl to enjoy it in person.

When I begin writing a blog I seldom know where it will lead me or how it’s going to end.  As someone famous said, “No surprise for the author, no surprise for the reader.”  When I started writing this, I didn’t know I would discover something new about myself.

As I contemplate how I spend my days, I realize – every day is special because I’m here.  That’s all I need.

Next time we’re together, if you ask me, I’ll sing you the Thriftimart jingle, to remind us both that – yes — Every day is special just for you.

And you and I are special too.

Alan