uncurbed enthusiasm

photo by Phil Stern, 1952, Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

I have this postcard on my bulletin board
love the enthusiasm
the go-for-it-ness
the absolute
commitment
to hitting the note
& to being in the moment.
Sing it, Louis & Ella!
I don't get the sense
they're too worried
or caught up in
how they look,
what people think,
will this be silly?...
just singing.

***
I used to admire
cool (hello, high school)
that kicked back,
back-row opposite of
eager, front-row enthusiasm
but now my heroes are
interesting, engaged people
who are passionate about what they do
who open wide
and belt it out loud
(and end up cool anyway).
***
Like...
Louis Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Leonard Bernstein
Sam
GB Hinckley
Esther Petersen
Steve Carell
Matt
Madeleine Albright
Nikan, Sam's piano teacher
Anne Lamott
Anna Quindlen
Grandpa Pax
the guy who bags my groceries with gusto
my kids' 5th grade teacher...
{feel free to jump in here with more}
***
I'm a little stingy with my own enthusiasm
but I'm trying to be better
especially since it drives
my hyper-coolness-aware
daughter
crazy
and that's kind of fun
{at what age does enthusiasm
come back out of teenage hibernation?}
***
Believe me, I know it happens to the best of us
When I was young, I had enthusiasm to spare:

just give me a swing

or a hula hoop
But then, the hibernation occurs...

Family vacation? Not a bit of enthusiasm to be found.
But I will humor you with a photo.

And Grand Canyon? Please.
To show excitement would be weakness.
Don't bore me with your natural wonders
and your fantastic vistas.
Excuse me while I avert my eyes
from such enthusiastic nature.
Just give me my walkman
and my 80s wayfarer sunglasses &
I'll call you in 20 years when
I get my enthusiasm back.

Comments

[dayna]

gosh i love this. brilliant post!

[Bridget]

What a great post. I love the photos. What a cute little girl you were! And the I'm too cool to have my photo taken now is just classic teenage attitude. Love it! I hope to exercise more unbridled enthusiasm too. THanks for the reminder.

[Christie]

I love and admire the "I don't care" attitude that really, truly cool people have. But while I'm busy admiring them, I find myself worrying about how dumb I'm looking.

I LOVED your old pictures. The sour teenage face, the Esprit shirt, the neon green - girlfriend, I was there. Will Hannah someday feel like I did out with my family? I hope not, but probably so.

[gab]

I think I had that exact outfit and hairdo and my family was completely mortifying. Hello? SIX little brothers and annoying sisters. Now they are all too cool for me, of course...

[Jessica]

The whole thing was wonderful, but LOVED that last picture. You and Stie, and your retro blog posts...loving it!

Did you get my email on Friday?

[Emy5]

You inspired me to do my own post on a younger reflection of myself.

I love the nostalgia and truculence you captured of those days.

I wish I too could have some more of the carefree days and less of the careworn ones!

[Anonymous]

Yes, you had your sort of aloof moments, but for the most part, you were willing to join in the fun. I know that at a certain point in adolescence our families are SO not as cool as WE are, especially when we are still trying to FIND our cool. I can't remember who it was of you four children, but when we had a station wagon (I think the yellow one) and I was dropping a teenager off at an event, the child told me from the back seat, "Mom, just drop me here, a block away. I don't want you to drive down by my friends." Maybe it was the car, or maybe it was just being seen with family. Love it! Ma