Art of the Listen - Bench Talk

My One and only

The beauty of Bench Talk is that you become the One and Only. The only one to whom the conversation is directed. The Only person who has the ear of your companion at the moment.

It’s a rare thing, being the One and Only. And even though there may be a crowd around, it’s always possible to set up that scenario by just paying attention to the other guy.

I know (and I know you know) plenty of people who talk as if there is a mirror in front of them, practicing the way each sentence sounds.

And you must know plenty of listeners who are really not taking much in, poised for a period or a pause to jump in and say what it is they want to say.

But recently I heard a friend of mine address his banker on the phone like this: “I know you have many other clients. And those clients are very important also. But right now, for just this moment, I need you to make me feel like I am your one and only client.”

So, even though there may be many, many other folks out there reading this blog post, let me assure you that you are the one and only reader for this moment. Your attention makes a difference.

Thanks for being that One and Only! Just wanted to drop in and say that.

SKATE ON!

Darla

True Derby

DERBY POP QUIZ #4 – Who invented roller skating?

Currently a pair of roller skate costs anywhere from $20 for a child’s set to hundreds of dollars for professional wheels. And none of the offerings resemble that skate and key that you wore to skate the neighborhood.

(OK, maybe it was your parents who had the skate key. Or grand parent. Let’s not get technical.)

But do you know who actually invented roller skates and roller skating? Pick one below:

  1. A inventor in Belgium put some wheels on an ice skate as part of a costume party in 1743.
  2. The Westminister gun makers fashioned roller skates from left over metal during the early 1900’s.
  3. In the 1840’s an European Opera used something like roller skates in a staged scene simulating ice-skating on a frozen lake.
  4. All of the above.

And the answer is…..

#4, depending on which report you read and to whom you talk.

That guy in Belgium, an inventor and musician named John Joseph Merlin, really did show up with wheels stuck on ice skates where the blade would be. He took a pretty big fall, according to reports.

The Westminister Repeating Arms Company also lays claim to invention of the roller skate, this one made of metal that strapped onto your shoes. They created a large market for the sport, advertising roller skates “as good as a gun”.

And Meyerbeer’s Opera, Le prophete, put dancers on roller-skates in a winter stage scene. The intriguing skates popularized the sport throughout the Continent.

However, Dr. James I. Plimpton of Medfield, Massachusetts actually secured the first patent on the roller skate in 1863.

Personally, I think those guys who first invented the wheel probably took a stab at a Neanderthal version of the roller skate in order to get around faster. Maybe they just didn’t live to talk about it.

Now you know….or don’t.

SKATE ON!

Darla.

True Derby

DERBY POP QUIZ #3- Where in the world is derby?

Time for another roller derby quick quiz….

Roller derby is global. Almost 2,000 official leagues in over 50 countries.

So, in which country is roller derby most popular?:

  1. United States of America
  2. Finland
  3. New Zealand
  4. Japan.

The answer may surprise you, my dear.

This information below thanks to The Frogmouth Blog

“The United States, where roller derby started, has the most roller derby leagues;…

BUT the United States is not where roller derby is most popular. The U.S. has 848 leagues for its population of 322 million, or 2.6 leagues per million people. But New Zealand has 29 roller derby leagues for its population of fewer than 5 million— 6.3 leagues for every million people. By this measure, roller derby is more popular in New Zealand than in any other nation in the world, followed by Australia (4.9 leagues per million people), and Canada (4.6 leagues per million people.)”

The answer is #2 – New Zealand!

“Roller derby is more popular in New Zealand than in any other nation in the world.”

“The U.S. comes seventh behind Finland, Iceland, and Sweden. And many other countries play too. For example, France has 116 leagues, Argentina has 65, Spain has 33, and roller derby is also played in non-western nations including Latvia, Lebanon, South Africa, and Japan. This is remarkable, not only because roller derby is such a young sport, but also because the United States has had so little success exporting its other sports around the world. America’s two most popular sports, American football and baseball, are played in very few countries, with only basketball having any real international presence. This is yet another way in which roller derby is exceptional.”

So now you know next time someone asks.

SKATE ON!

Darla

Art of the Listen - Bench Talk, Scabs and Other Body Parts

WEARING YOUR GREEN

Ay, it’s that month and time when the wee folk remind us how important it is to be ‘a wearing of the green.

So I’m thinking, as I ponder the sweetness of sitting on this grass bench, that probably that tradition is not truly about the color of your shirt or scarf,.. any more than the color of your derby team jersey says anything, really, about your personality and inner core strength

I’m thinking maybe the wee folk wanted us to remember what the green stands for.

(Well, dear, certainly we think of the Emerald Isle from wince the tradition is associated. And the green, green grass of home.  And the green of Spring, busting out all over.  And putting our toes in the lush, new grass coming up around us.  But maybe there’s more…)

What about the green we wear everyday in our own skins?

Going way back…say really way back to the old folk who gave us the colors emanating from the different parts of our body…we find the green of the heart.

Not the reddish hue of the organ beating regularly in our chest, but the color of the feelings coming out of our hearts. 

It’s the green of balance, unconditional love.  Love of one’s self.  Good health, happiness, prosperity and abundance  (like those shoots popping out everywhere).  Calm. Serenity.

And when its “off”, that green of the heart comes out as jealousy, greed, lack of self esteem.

I could go on, you know, but right now I’ll just relish this grass bench and have a nice sit.  Thanks to Sheryl for the lovely grass bench photo from Napier, New Zealand!

Have a wonderful March day and be wearin’ your glorious, green heart proudly!

SKATE ON!

Darla

Art of the Listen - Bench Talk, True Derby

A BARREL OF THOUGHTS….

So, here’s a special bench to celebrate the opening of rodeos across the US this month. And all the people who love to talk about the sport.

One thing about benches, you tend to walk right by them and not give a second look.

Except maybe this one in Dothan, Alabama..

Even I, Darla, (whom I humbly consider to be a connoisseur of benches) had to do a double take.

What is it? Barrels? Like the kind the rodeo riders race around? Apparently so.

Makes you just want to try to sit on it, no? Or maybe not. Or at least have a conversation about it…

Derby is that way. Here you are, a normal looking human being, and you tell someone you do roller derby in your spare time and the answer is usually, “Wha.a.at?

Makes them look again at you in a new and interesting way.

(Now, rodeo, that may be a little different because all rodeo folk have this kind of swagger that makes you look again, anyway…)

Point of this barrel of thoughts is that maybe today is a good day to take a second look at the people around you and not just walk on by again. Maybe you don’t know as much about them as you think.

There may be a barrel of stuff you could find out if you just ask a few bench talk questions.

…except maybe not on this bench.

SKATE ON, Y’ALL!

Darla

(Thanks to Travis for sending the photo.)

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