i was a lover

my folks are having a dinner party tonight, and i had to stay home and help them with things. i wasn't looking forward to it, because i find i'm always really awkward with my parents friends. one of the guys here tonight is named ali. and he is the coolest guy i've ever met.
he used to live in iran and has lived through wars and i'm sure some really horrible things, yet he seems like the most genuine and happy person i know. i showed him how my dog could do tricks like roll over and shake a paw, and he was laughing so hard. he kept making her roll over and over again, and each time he roared with laughter. i'm sure he fed my dog half of the chicken on his plate.
he was asking me about what i'm doing in school and i was telling him about my ambitions in film making. he was telling me a bunch of stories about videos he's recorded that aren't quite a film, but they mean so much to him, and that's all he really cares about.
one film he made was about the birds nesting in his old house, a mother and it's baby. the mother was trying to teach the baby bird to fly, but it just couldn't learn and kept falling out of the nest where the neighbourhood tabbie cats would try and attack it. as an innocent bystander he couldn't just stand by and watch so he would help the bird and scare away the cats. after days and days of the mother trying to teach the baby bird to fly, the little bird still couldn't. the little bird ended up killing itself by banging it's head against the cage it was in. and it broke his heart.
i know it doesn't sound like much, but he just seemed so genuine. he told me that whenever i make my first project, to let him know and he'll be the first in line to see it. i think he meant every word.

it may not make sense to anyone but me, and i probably didn't explain what happened too well, but i left the conversation feeling really inspired and optimistic. not only about film making, but about people. my favorite thing in life, is meeting people who are genuinely happy. and people who, when they ask how your day was, actually care to hear the answer.

i feel happy. and i really do hope that each and every one of you have a wonderful day today.