Why be normal?

Sitting on the J train flowing with the crowd toward Manhattan thinking about my trip North.

Everyone wants to be extrodinary these days. "Go Beyond your Barriers" an advertisement in front of me says, but folks at the end of life don't say that.  They talk about more normal things like spending time with people, like recognizing when you don't know something, and loving amid uncertainty.

The advertisement continues, "You have seeds of greatness."

But I think, "What about bed pans? Who changes the bed pans if we are all busy being great? That's what I would like to know."

Dad gave me this book. It talks about normal things like death and forgiveness and grace.  That's what we need -- normal stuff.

NYC doesn't value normal things very much. Everybody seems to want to be the next Donald Trump or Jay-Z or Picaso or they just want to stand out. Where else can you see giant waterfalls 6 stories high erected as art, or like today, a chair shaped like a giant hand. That's one of the reasons I like it here; there's always something abnormal to see or do.

But tonight I think I will just go home and do normal things -- like playing with legos or asking my wife about her day.