Day 24: Life is a song.. -- Jiminy Cricket

"Life is a song! Happy! Gay! So let's have some music! Whaddya say?-- Jiminy Cricket, Fun and Fancy Free

In another classic "package" film, Jiminy Cricket says this while he is looking for the record player and talking to a very sad looking stuffed bear and a doll who's smile is turned upside down. Then he begins the introduction for the Bongo segment.

It is a very fitting quote. Life is full of music and song. Songs don't always have to have lyrics. It could be something like the sounds of traffic or when you're making a meal. Let's say you're making spaghetti and meatballs. One doesn't always think of what sounds happen when you're making it because they are sometimes a split second or longer: from the sharp loud snap of the dry noodles, the soft almost inaudible sound of the boiling water, the loud sizzle of the meatballs frying in the pan, the plop of the spaghetti sauce as trapped heat bubbles make their way to the surface. Each sound, no matter how silent it appears, creates a song even though it may not appear to have any rhythm like we are used to hearing with traditional songs or music. It's all in how you look at it.
Just like some sounds can be sad like a deflating balloon, they can be happy or gay, like a bird chirping happily welcoming a new day. Up until the 1960s, the word "gay" meant being happy, joyful, or carefree. To be honest: this is the definition I think of every time I hear the word, not the more modern definition. I suppose that was part of my upbringing and also part by choice. This is the definition used in this 1947 film. Life's what you make it. You can either be like  the sad "deadpan doll" or the "droopy bear", or you could be like the ever happy and gay Jiminy Cricket. The question is: what do you choose to be? A droopy bear or a happy chirping cricket?
Until next time! Keep Cooking with Character!