Today is my mummy’s birthday. Every year I try to figure out some way to kind of say thanks for everything and make her feel special. Up to last night we were talking about the surprises we have pulled on her in the past. This year my father and I have collaborated on a present that will definitely surprise her. No way we could sneak it in in the night so the plan is to hopefully get it setup before she gets back from work. Fingers crossed. Of course, she will probably beat me home so I won’t get to see the face. Oh well.

Wow! It is amazing how much difference it makes when you really care about what you’re doing. Of course, being able to compare it to other things you do really makes it clear.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to teach a 2-hour session at the Edna Manley School of Dance. Not in dance though (ha ha, that would be funny). No, I was a guest lecturer in a Theatre Arts Management class being given to final year Dance students. The course is being run by a friend of mine who asked me to help out. So I spent 2 hours lecturing and conversing on Fund-raising, Sponsorship, Proposal Writing, all tailored to the arts in Jamaica. I must say I enjoyed it.

Now contrast that to a 3-hour training session I gave the day before at work. Same small class size, similar level of familiarity with the material but talking about software definitely does not give me the same buzz. When I was finished I was just relieved to have gotten it over with, though I actually have several more of those (exact same) sessions to do.

It’s a small thing but it really felt good to be doing something (anything) in the direction of where I want to go, even if it was teaching which I never saw myself doing really. Apparently I don’t do badly though because I may be asked to help out with other sessions and perhaps be on the panel to evaluate their final project presentations.

Hmm, a wind is blowing.

Well, life has a way of putting forth stories with morals. As I am skimming through the paper I see a letter written to praise the father of the young man that recently killed a schoolboy for a cell phone. The father was being praised for doing the right thing and turning in his son when he realized what had transpired.

This brings me to the same discussion about The Brave One when I said it is difficult to know what you would do in a situation till it happens to you. This is one of those questions often tossed out as a mere discussion. Some people insist they absolutely would turn in their own son/father/husband etc. if they knew they had committed a crime. Other people admit that they probably would not.

But this is one of those scenarios where you really cannot know what you will do. You may think you would turn in your child and then when it comes down to it you instead do all you can to hide and protect them. Or on the other hand maybe you think you wouldn’t but then they commit an atrocious crime that you find so objectionable.

So it seems even in real life we can see people being placed in situations where they may do things others may find crazy.

I will try not to spoil the movie for anyone who plans to see it but I watched Jodie Foster in “The Brave One” last night and it inspired some thought. If you have seen the previews, you know that the movie is basically about revenge.

Some of the comments I overheard last night were variations on “That woman is crazy.” The thing is nobody really knows how they will react to certain situations until it happens to them. Empathetic people can, to an extent, feel for the person in question but until you’ve been there you don’t know.

So many people say with the utmost righteousness that they would never … whatever it is - lie, steal, kill. But when placed in a situation where they are challenged to look into themselves, those same principles may be put aside for the “right” they feel.

Throughout time, humans have grappled with issues like:

• is lying wrong if it saves someone else some pain?
• is stealing wrong if it saves a life?
• is killing wrong if it is in the defence of “right”?

These are questions to which everyone thinks they know the answer but there isn’t one. Even those who stand by religious principles and quote the Bible and its commandments, may one day find themselves in a situation where the preservation of themselves or of those important to them or even of those very ideas they defend brings them face to face with questions like these.

It is just something to think about because you never know.

Many a time in my life I have felt the sweet relief of freedom as I jump into my car. The ability to direct one’s travels in very liberating. Those people who have had to go without their vehicle for some time quickly feel burdened by having to wait for someone else.

But there are those moments when that same car can make you feel trapped.

Yesterday I left work at my usual time (5 p.m. that is, not the under-project-pressure time of after 7, 8, 9). As always I found myself sitting waiting for the traffic light at the end of Knutsford Boulevard. Eventually I was the second car from the front. The light had just gone red so I whipped out my cellphone to make a call. Unfortunately this meant I did not notice the indigent fellow approaching my car. His hand out, he began to ask for some money. I politely responded that I had nothing to give him (perfectly true unless he takes credit cards).

He continued to ask. I shook my head, began to scowl, flashed my hand at him as he continued to plead his case. Well, I guess he saw an opportunity. He leaned on my window and proceeded to shout through the closed window. The general gist was how much he loved me and my “ripe breasts”. I would laugh if I had not been feeling so very trapped and violated as there was nothing I could do.

Luckily the light changed shortly thereafter and I was able to move off. But my skin was crawling all the way home.

Is it any wonder I refuse to drive with my windows down, and burn AC all the time when it’s cool outside?