This is a picture I took several years ago in rural Manitoba. It reminds me of the barn where as a child I spent many hours playing with cats and dogs; feeding, watering and talking to cows; jumping in large stacks of hay bales; and occasionally cleaning out gutters and helping with milking. I love old barns: though dusty and filled with cobwebs and straw and dilapidated wood, they are filled with the most interesting nooks and crannies, ladders and cupboards that lead to special places, odd contraptions that date back almost a century, and best of all - the air of life and warmth, birth and nurture, and peace and hope. Humble circumstances are often the breeding ground for visitations from God.
Comic by Joel Micah Harris at xkcd.com One of my favourite jokes goes like this: Knock, knock. Who's there? Interrupting cow Interrupting cow w--- Moooooooo!! Timing is important in both drama and comedy. A well-paced story draws the audience in and helps it invest in the characters, while a tale too hastily told or too long drawn out will fail to engage anyone. Surprise - something which interrupts the expected - is a creative use of timing and integral to any good story. If someone is reading a novel and everything unfolds in a predictable manner, they will probably wonder why they bothered reading the book. And so it is in life. Having life be predictable all of the time is not as calming as it sounds. We love surprises, especially good surprises like birthday parties, gifts, marriage proposals, and finding something that we thought was lost. Surprises are an important part of humour. A good joke is funny because it goes to a place you didn't expect it to go. Sim
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