#159-365 Inspiration

For me inspiration comes from the young, the younger the more inspiration I get, these three youngsters I met on a ferry ride down the Brisbane river, following our trip into the Paniyiri festival recently. They were with a care who gave me that she would rather be elsewhere, doing something else. I wasn't trying to cause trouble when I whet their appetite for questions by providing answers to the 10 or 12 thousand that each of them asked, she was in Purgatory, I was in Heaven, the barrge was impressive. The Brisbane Wheel was an immediate source of wanting, which I abated by pointing out how small the people standing next to it appeared, and how brave the kids were for wanting to go up in something THAT tall, but the littlest one was the only one brave enough to say "I'm not THAT brave"!
They didn't just take my word for things either, for when we encountered the paddle steamer I have shown here and elswhere, The question of how it operated was ask and my assertion that it was the paddles on the side that drove it, was initially laughed at, and when I insisted, the young boy, knew I was nuts and said "They're just for show!" and the eldest girl shot from the hip with, "Well what drives the wheels?" when I replied steam, they almost fell to the deck laughing until chokingly the boy said "Steam's only for making Tea, not for driving things!" I made them promise to ask their teachers about this when they got back to school. I guess there are a few teachers out there who must be considering banning ferry trips in the future.
This isn't the only time I have been left in awe by a preschooler either. While running a small store I had a customer come in one bright sunny day accompanied by a toddler sporting an umbrella. So I asked her if she thought "It was going to rain?" Her immediate response put me right in my place when she declared "I'm Mary Poppins!" I apologized and stated that the sun must have been in my eyes. Then I asked her if Mary Poppins was her favourite movie, (she had just turned three I might add) and she replied "One of them!" I said I liked it too but affirmed that my favourite movie was "The Wizard of Oz!" and she said she liked that too!
The conversation went on a while, while I served her mother with her quipping in occasionally. Following one of her drop dead cute quips I turned to her mother and said "As Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz - I don't think we're in Kansas anymore Toto!" and was immediately rebuked with "Dorothy wasn't in the Wizard of Oz!" I stated that I begged to differ as my memory on that was pretty good, she stamped her little foot and declared "No! - Dorothy was in the WIGGLES"
So I acquiessed to the wizdom of youth because, of course she was right Dorothy the Dinosaur was not in the Wizard of Oz". I love being put in my place by those who know better - This doesn't apply to card carrying Witches though - A different inspiration.