I stole this idea from the Asimov's forum. I know RB has hightened or enhanced my ability to recognize and appreciate the little things. I'm sure you guys have it too.

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I love it when my 10 year old son asks if he can read to me.

I love spotting crawdads crawling across the bottom of a creek.

I love it when someone says to me, "You give the best hugs."

I love pulling worms out of the lawn or off the ground after a rain....and feeding them to my fish.

I love my old CALIFORNIA ANGELS cap with the halo on the big A.

I love the way the city smells after it rains.

I love finding a book I've been hunting for at a thrift store for $1.00

Although I know it's from smog, I love the purple, pink, and orange big sky sunsets with the sun shining on the bottom of the silvery clouds that we often have here in Sacramento.

I love the sound of the honking geese as they pass thru Sacramento.

I love catching a re-run of a X-FILES episode which I've never seen before.

I love sleeping in clean sheets

I love the sound of a "swish" in basketball, which actually sounds more like "foop".

I love looking for rocks on the riverbank. Spouse is allergic to the sea, so we do this instead of looking for seashells.

I love spotting a beaver on the river (get your mind out of the gutter) and seeing their handy work.

I love to laugh out loud, and making others do the same.

I love Chistmas songs, especially FATHER CHRISTMAS by the Kinks.

I love it when somebody says something profound, or absurd.

I love the day after a haircut.

I love hitting the water and sinking down, down, down in absolute silence after that first cliff jump of the day and thinking I'll never touch bottom.

And rain tasting, of course.

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This message has been edited. Last edited by: grasstains,

I grew up with four brothers and two sisters. My mom tells us that one of her favorite life memories is one time when she came down the stairs and saw the five boys sitting together and laughing our butts off at Bill Murrey's movie, "The Stripes". She said she just stood there, behind us, on the foot of the stairs, for about a hald hour watching us, without us knowing she was there. She said seeing the five of us sitting together laughing is one of her very favorite memories in her life.

I have four kids, and one grandson. We went and had dinner with my son, daughter-in-law and grandson last night, and my grandson (Conner) wanted poppy (me) to put him to bed. I read him "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back" and then we laid down on his bed until he feel asleep (he's 2-1/2). Watching him sleep with his arm around me after reading Dr. Suess is one of my favorite memories. This was a regular routine with each of my four kids and now with my grandson. Does life get any better than this?

Much of our joy is found in these kinds of small moments. Thanks for the post, grassstains!

This is one of the things I love about Bradbury's writing. In his fantasy/science fiction, he is regularly pointing out small things that are significant. In "Rocket Man" I can never forget the scene where the father is working in the garden. His hands in the earth, he reflects on how torn his is between being in space and being with his family on earth. Over and over and over again, Bradbury catches human emotion in simple ways . . . a girl stuck in a closet that misses the sun, a man who commits suicide by drowning on Venus leaning his head back with his mouth open, a young girl changing a fireman's life by asking if he's happy, etc. It is one aspect of Bradbury's gift that makes him connect to each new generation, and that allowed him to capture audiences outside the sci-fi genre. He captures those small moments of the human condition and recognizes their significance.

Thanks for the reality check-
I've been feeling a bit depressed- guess I need to make a list-

Yes, Too Much. Please do make a list.

And remember, "Every little thing's gonna be alright."

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Good thoughts! In addition to my children and my grandcildren bringing me memorable thoughts, lying by our complex's pool yesterday afternoon, feeling the breeze and watching the palm trees,jet airliners coming and going out of the Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood airport, and high scattered clouds brings me a great peace and calmness.