Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
THE PARK OF HOPE — I feel so lucky to write for the Have You Seen This? section of KSL.com. It's a blast to be able to throw out my ridiculous anecdotes and a bizarre stream of consciousness to add some color to great videos. Sometimes the clips are funny, heartfelt or truly incredible, and I get to scour the internet to find them.
While I find multiple videos a week for the section, it's not often that one affects me in a really sincere way. So, it’s great when one forces a smile on my face, despite my current mood, and gets me genuinely excited to share it with all of you. Well, guess what? This is one of those videos.
I had a few possibilities for videos ready to pitch to my editor today. But when I found this one, none of the others mattered. I texted her immediately and let her know I loved this video and desperately wanted to do it. She replied, very simply, with this: "It just returned my hope in humanity. So, YES!"
That's really what this video does. A man in a crowded park gets the sudden urge to start belting out some Bon Jovi and goes for it. His tune of choice: the classic "Livin' on a Prayer."
The man hits the right notes, and for a moment the crowd, for the most part, seems to ignore it — besides a few giggles here and there. But as the chorus creeps closer, one or two observers become participants and join the crooner of the commons in singing. When the chorus hits, the entire park joins in creating an unscripted ensemble for the rock hit.
Here are dozens, if not hundreds of strangers hanging out at a park in their own groups. Then one man with an appetite for public performing, and a penchant for ‘80s rock, decides to start singing a classic from a park bench, reminding strangers that we all have something in common: We're humans, we're in this together, and we're all just living on a prayer.
I'm excited to share this with you, and now I challenge you to share it with others and ad that smile on your face to theirs. Then, maybe we can learn a lesson here and be a little more bold, a little kinder and a little more open to unforeseen adventures.
Maybe you're not that man in the park who will start singing, but hopefully we are all the people who don't point and laugh at the person who does; join in with them instead.
Go out there and be good to each other.
Have You Seen This?
