have your cake, eat it

child suspect
A child suspect!

J was observing a photo shoot today at work involving a family scene. He told me this story of what he had overheard at the photo shoot. I stole the story to re-tell it to you here...

One of the "talents" at the photo shoot was a 4 year old girl who spent most of the breaks drawing, making cards for every one there.

GIRL: Mommy, when I grow up I want to still draw like this every day.
MOM:You sure? If you do, you won't have enought money to buy all the nice things.
GIRL: Oh. [Pause, clearly disappointed] I want to buy nice things.
MOM: Then you must be like your daddy, be a banker.
GIRL: Oh, ok! I'll be a banker and I'll draw everyday!

Now, mommy, why didn't you think of that?

My encounter was with a smart girl of a different sort. Catching me probably sketching her, she quickly cast me a suspicious look. Little girl, don't you think you are far more suspect, taking the morning train all alone?

Comments

Unknown said…
or she can be an architect and draw all day and still make enough money to buy nice things. maybe.
3:21 pm
Tym said…
And then parents complain and say the school system doesn't offer room for kids to express their creativity and diversity...
8:07 pm
Unknown said…
hey arent' there creative thinking lessons. those are REALLY creative and constructive because then we can all think out of the box together as onebighappymulticulturalsociety
2:42 am
ampulets said…
Parents complain, citizens complain...but the end result is still that the decision makers (senior civil servants...maybe even politicians) in government do not believe. And whatever policies are made and translated by by the media, the general public's thinking is thus shaped.

And even if these decision makers do *enjoy* the arts, they think the arts is dispensable. Why? Because they have gotten to where they are WITHOUT the arts being of influence. We don't have a Steve Jobs (er, we have Sim Wong Hoo, and I must say that man has done his fair share of supporting the arts). So if these folks can achieve such heights of organisational and even personal "greatness" without the arts, why should the man in the street do any worse? That's the current thinking - since whatever decision we make is ultimately drawn from personal experience.

So all us folks who love to arts must get ourselves into positions of influence, however big or tiny that sphere is. And when you are there, demonstrate your love with your patronage...in big or $mall ways ;>
12:10 pm
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