Sunday, August 22, 2010

Living In The Gutter




We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. - Oscar Wilde


Poor little children! Living in the gutter, forced to beg for alms on the street! Have you anything to spare? A farthing, or even a pence? Perhaps you need a good chimney sweep? I hope they don't have to resort to selling their beloved dog....no, wait, it seems I may have read too much Dickens! Did I fool you, maybe even for a second? Actually, the city was digging up and replacing the gutters in front of these kids houses, and they were having the time of their lives playing in them. They waited for a car to pass by, then would all lay down in the gutter trench! I'm not quite sure if they were playing dead or pretending to nap, since they did have a blanket. When the hapless driver would have a reaction, they would get up and shriek with laughter! We passed by twice and told them to smile pretty, click! It never ceases to amaze me how children can take a bad situation or something ugly, and make it good, make it a game. Somewhere along the way, we lose this ability, but when? I think it fades with the growing responsibility and sorrows of life. It's in Never Never Land with Peter Pan. Today, my wish for all of you is that no matter what your circumstances, you will be able to look up and see the stars.


He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. Psalm 147:4,5

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those kids are really cute! I can remember doing similar silly things when I was a kid. I enjoyed this post very much Ginny.

George said...

Isn't it wonderful the way kids can have fun using their imaginations? These are cute pictures.

Reanaclaire said...

Oh..Ginny, they look so adorable.. but is that dangerous? i mean lying near the roadside.. as long as they wont run out to the roads, they should be ok, right? over here, we cannot leave our kids out like that.. too many insane people here, they might just "grab" the kid and drive off...

Unknown said...

I live in a driveway... does that count? LOL!

I loved this post ginny, it reminded me to always look at the stars. And the pictures of the kids are priceless!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Ginny, I've never heard of them being called gutters before... I always called them curbs... But George said that he's heard it --so it's just ME.....

Anyhoo---Kids can make the most of lots of situations --and have a great time... Glad you got their picture... They look like they are having a good time...

Cute post, Friend.
Hugs,
Betsy

Karin said...

Loved the post! Brought back memories of imaginative play our kids did!

Glenda said...

At least these cute kiddos are outside in the sunshine - and using their imaginations -instead of sitting in front of a TV screen! I'm with reanaclaire on the safety issue, however, and hope they were safe.

I love the Scripture that says God has named the stars! How awesome is that?!

Dawning Inspiration said...

Amen to your last line!!!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

These cones are very big. Children have fun any where, they don't need expensive electronic games.

Re: Crane, it is located at the bottom underneath the bridge. It must be used to lift things up on to the bridge.

Jane said...

Hi Ginny - Looks like those kids were having a great time! Imaginations are wonderful things,

Jane

From the Kitchen said...

"Guttersnipes" is a word that comes to mind. I love to see children making their own fun with a touch of imagination thrown in. Hmm, I'm going to look up "guttersnipes" to see exactly what it means.

Best,
Bonnie

srp said...

Wonderful! Imagination running wild in the streets! I am always so glad to see our children making the most of that God given brain they have.... God wants us to imagine all the possibilities of His world.

MadSnapper said...

ok, now i have had my second smile of the day, sunny's post made me laugh out loud. this one made me grin with fond memories of playing in the gutters. but our house did not look like these. i love those houses, i enlarged and had a look around the neighborhood. nice one I would love it. i noticed they have pillows and blankets. great capture of happiness

Together We Save said...

Oh that is so sweet... the fun children can find in almost anything!

Arti said...

Another fascinating post...
You almost fooled me there Ginny! What a beautiful quote by Wilde...i am inspired!
My best wishes for you always..
Have a stellar day:)

DawnTreader said...

What a clever post. I'm not sure whether you've been clever finding pictures for the quote or the other way round! Anyway it all fits together just perfectly, and the references to Dickens as well. I love the header picture (as usual I think you really should include it in the post as well because otherwise late readers won't see it).

Stephanie V said...

Fun with Dickens! Oh, won't kids do some strange things to get us to look at them?

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

The Auckland Hospital is to the right, not in this photo.

http://annkschin.blogspot.com/2009/01/auckland-hospital.html

ruthi said...

Ginny... I don't know if you will believe me but from where I came from the situation you mentioned at the start of your post is real. We have homeless children living literally in the gutter with only cardboard as a mat... no blanket no pillow. It is heartbreaking especially if you could see a mother breastfeeding her baby while holding a tin can begging for pennies.

And yes, if they see you with a camera... they will give you their sweet smile. And I guess when they sleep at night they do see the starts above despite the smog.

SquirrelQueen said...

They do look like they are having fun, imagination is a wonderful thing. I love that Oscar Wilde quote, it sounds like something he would have said.

I love watching the stars, always have and I will never stop.

Rose said...

children can see the potential of fun in a lot of situations. adults sometimes just look and not look. thanks for your comment on my blog re Paris will do #2 this week. take care rose

Kilauea Poetry said...

Wow..I'm on my main computer cause I got sick of fiddeling around on my phone! Your header is so beautiful- and super lovely against your page- fabulous Ginny!!
Now I thought those kids look liked they're having too much fun here!! Cute..so typical! Gutters and curbs, ours are on the roof (lol) but it ends up in a big fat water tank and we drink it!!
We call them rain gutters-

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