I've got to be honest with you. I like to sing in public. In fact, I like to sing while I'm at work.
Right now I'm jamming along with the likes of Bing Crosby, Julie Andrews, and Elvis singing about
sleigh bells ring, ting, tinglin, Frost the zombie snowman melting and coming back to life, and, of course,
Rudolph the Red Nosed reindeer being ridiculed by his community, until Santa gives him an important job,
then suddenly the community is all, "Hey, you're alright."
Now, I'm not going to be headlining for a big act in Vegas anytime soon, nor have I yet schedules my
world tour, but my voice isn't too bad.
The thing is, right now, I'm a sales associate for a "big box" hardware store. That means I'm pretty much
always surrounded by co-workers, customers, managers, and the occasional dog.
And, while in the midst of all of these people, singing at a pretty good volume, I always find my mind
wandering over to that great, Broadway hit, "Mr. Cellophane", from the musical "Chicago".
Why?
Because, simply put, no one pays any attention to me, or how accurate I've gotten with my lyrics.
I like to think sometimes it's because my voice is so in tune with the music coming in over the overhead
speakers, that they can't tell the difference between my voice and Elvis's.
Yet, I'm learning, the longer I work in the environment of customer service, they don't actually mind
because I have become, for the most part, "Mr.Cellophane".
I've tested this theory again and again, when, while asking if people need help finding something, or if they're
finding what they're looking for, I almost always get a response that doesn't correspond with either
of those questions. I'll say, "Can I help you find something?" and they'll respond with, "Yes", then proceed
to walk in the opposite direction.
So, again, for the most part, they're answering me according to what they thought I would ask, rather than
what I actually asked.
In other words, I'm pretty sure that the majority of us, here in the U.S. at least, are suffering from a pretty
severe case of ADD(attention deficit disorder).
Now, this was, at first, a pretty big EUREKA moment for me.
The realization of this meant that non of us has any reason to really be shy, and be who we really are inside.
Not so much.
Because, as soon as you attempt to open the doors to that clown car, people will do the complete opposite
of what you'd expect them to do. You'll suddenly go from cellophane to a fluorescent orange sign,
with flashing light attached.
You're probably wondering at this point, "Where is he going with this?"
Well, here's your "Joe's Thought" for today. Jeez...
This world, while appearing to make at least some sense, does not actually contain any. And, the people
in this world will often act in surprisingly conflicting manners, while thinking, to themselves, that everything
they're doing or saying makes perfect sense, occasionally.
So, if you're like me, and you like to sing at work. People aren't going to notice, unless of course
you want them to ignore you. When they do notice you they'll either praise you or ridicule you, then they
will forget you, unless you do something to upset them, have a cool British accent, or have some
resemblance to a pop singer who is now playing in the top forty countdown.
That is all for now. I hope out of my nonsense, you gained some sense of what I mean, and it makes
sense to you. Because in a real sense, nothing makes much sense...
