Things are Looking Down!

When Auntie was a very little girl, one of my favourite TV shows was The Friendly Giant.

"Once upon a time, not long ago and not far away"  the show began as the camera moved along the street of a charming little town. The Friendly Giant's soft, soothing voice would tell us about the town's comings and goings as the camera moved slowly along the street, sometimes past the train station, sometimes past a farm, the general store, or the post office, giving us a little tour until we reached a big boot.  That boot was bigger than one of the town's buildings and that big boot belonged to the Friendly Giant!

Up and up the camera moved from the Giant's boot, up along his leg as he told us to "look up, waaaay up!"  For us viewers, "way up" was past his tummy, past his chest, finally stopping at his smiling, familiar face.  

But that wasn't all.  We went higher still when the Friendly Giant invited us to join him for a story in a turret high up in his castle.  That's about as high up you can get when you're 5 years old without being on a plane!

My Dad was an "up looker" as a child

The Friendly Giant taught us that there were always good things to see when we looked up.

Looking up runs in our family too.  I think I first learned to look up from my dad who was also a skilled "up looker" in his own right.

As a child I was content and happy to look up until my 10th birthday when all that changed. On the way to the nearby skating rink I found a scattering of $2 bills lying on the ground in the snow.  What a find!  After that day I was convinced that looking down was a good thing too.

I still enjoy looking up but I must say that looking down came in handy when Auntie moved to France and looking down meant avoiding piles of stinky dog poo.  

Looking down at Jesus

By far the most interesting thing I've ever seen looking down is when Auntie and Uncle Jim saw an image of Jesus on the 16th step of a staircase while we were descending towards the subway in Kowloon.

No doubt about it, while looking up is quite popular, looking down is easier on your neck and you just never know what you'll find.  

So the next time you walk around your neighbourhood, why not "look down, waaay down"  for a change?

There are some strange and wondrous things down there!

Looking down at a Monarch butterfly

Looking down at a mermaid

This guy knows how to look down

Oh no!  Someone from New York melted!

"Can you please put back the Nice Matin Menton (Newspaper) to Christian, thanks"

Looking down in Tokyo

Must buy birdseed, newspaper, new perch ....