The Creative Girl

“….Skyrockets in Flight, Afternoon Delight!”

That get your attention? It’s a line from the song “Afternoon Delight” written by Bill Danoff, and played by the Starland Vocal Band. Ooh, we all know what this song references, but sorry to disappoint, this blog entry is definitely not about an afternoon romp in the bedroom…lol! Don’t get me wrong, I love a great lovemaking session as much as the next sensual woman, but perhaps we’ll save that for another entry…

For those who’ve never heard the tune, I’ve included a link to the track. In my search, I was amazed to discover it hit the airwaves in 1976, the year I was born. I still find the hook line mildly addictive after all these decades, the listener might find it has the same effect… Don’t say I didn’t warn you! LOL! Listen to it and let it get it stuck in your head too… LOL! No apologies here! The choice is yours! LMAO!

Sky Rockets in Flight – by Starland Vocal Band

 

I’ve had this song stuck in my head since last Friday night since watching the film “Good Will Hunting” on Netflix. I can almost hear many of you saying, “Wow! That’s an old movie!”. You’d be right, it is. It was released in 1997 to be precise. The movie is so old, so popular, that actually all of these years I thought I’d already seen it! I was wrong! Ten minutes into the movie, I realised I hadn’t. I couldn’t believe it either! WOW!…

I truly believe we see and hear things at the time that we need to. Watching that movie that night was such perfect timing for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it for several reasons. Firstly, it made me appreciate the amazing talent that the world lost on the passing of Robin Williams. He was such a talented actor. I could almost feel in his expressions his real, personal struggle in the character of psychologist Sean.

Another thing I appreciated was the recurring theme of Transformation throughout the movie… There was the transformation of the main character Will Hunting, played by Matt Damon, and as the filmed progressed, so did his relationships – with his ego, with his genius for mathematics, with his past and the abuse he’d buried, with his friends, and finally with contemplating and then ultimately Accepting Love, Self Love and the Love of the aspiring love of his life (the med student Skylar) rather than fumble through life on the wrong side of the law.

Then, there is the transformation of Robin William’s character Sean, who up until taking on the meetings with Will was plodding through life, heart protected after the loss of his wife. The relationship he built with Will made him open up his heart to new possibilities and opportunities he had closed himself off to due to mourning the love of his life.

And now to the why that song got stuck in my head… In the film, I absolutely reveled in Will’s dedication to outsmarting the therapists that the mathematics department chair tried to organise for him to fulfill court orders so Will didn’t have to go to jail. Spoiler Alert for those of you who haven’t seen it! The character Will had assaulted a police officer during a playground scuffle and was meant to serve time. When Will is almost sent to jail, a professor at MIT, where Will is working as a Janitor decides to bail him out under the condition that he works with him solving complex mathematical equations every week and that he visits a therapist. He upsets them, by mocking their practise. In one hilarious scene he pretends to be hypnotised and acts out a little made up about being abused scenario, the therapist and other two science guys in the room are buying it and very engrossed until he starts singing “Skyrockets in Flight… Afternoon Delight!” of course, this utterly pisses everyone in the room off, as he is making a complete mockery of them. The scene, as funny as it is hit close to home. It made me think about when I see my therapist to deal with my issues how I am now fully transparent with her. There was a time though when I only told her what I wanted to tell her, hiding major parts of myself I didn’t want to deal with. I did it in real life too. Now, I am learning to be transparent and authentic and feel that at this point in my life, I am the most real, that I have ever been.

Do I reveal everything though? No. Why is that? For example, I don’t tell you my toilet habits, my sexual appetite, the dark feelings I had yesterday. Why? Because I don’t believe I have to reveal every single thought I have every minute of the day, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I self- assess and learn from the things I do. Of course, I don’t need to tell any of this. I liken it to a computer. You ask it things, it will tell you. You get into the internet and ask it basic stuff, you get basic stuff back. You can research all things in it to see how it actually works if you want. You ask complex questions it will explain it all.

However, to sit in front of it, without asking questions or typing anything, it is silent, says nothing, reveals nothing, is blank. I am the same. If you ask me, I will tell you. I am not ashamed to reveal anything. Like the computer on your desk, I don’t spew out information just by looking at me. I am not the sort of person to volunteer my inner most feelings without being prompted. However if you ask I will tell. That is different to hiding things. This last paragraph might seem to contradict this post you are reading…

This is part of a writing exercise I have challenged myself to do for the month of January to explore and reveal my feelings, thoughts and emotions; to understand more freely how I feel, to explain it, to put it into words. Ultimately, it will help change my narrative, to keep me positive.

Hopefully I can inspire someone, even if it is only just me, it has worked.

Honestly Mel