The Bloopers- by Lakika Scott

“Don’t leave out the good stuff!” That’s what we told our good friend, Jerry, as he was sharing his experience of recording a commercial for a local bank. You see, Jerry is a very influential black man in the horse industry. He also happens to work for Fawn Weaver, the Owner and Founder of Uncle Nearest Distillery. Jerry was telling us how difficult it was and how nervous he got recording this commercial. We were commending him on this accomplishment, when his employee, Brad interrupted “Tell them about how you fell out of the chair, too!” My husband and I busted out laughing anticipating the details of this part of the story! Now, this is what we want to hear! I said, “Yeah, don’t leave out the good stuff. We want the bloopers too!”

I had just told my bestie that it was shame that people don’t share the “not so good” pieces of the journey in efforts to keep their story and image flawless. We all know that those commercials take a lot of takes, right?

It seems that we’ve consumed so many highlight reels, that they’re somehow making us feel inadequate. Perhaps, it’s because we find ourselves falling short/experiencing bloopers daily, in real time. Yes, we realize what it takes to get that good shot and highlight reel, but somehow, we still scroll social media, see the best of everyone’s life and wonder what we’re doing wrong. Nothing! We’re all making bloopers on the journey.

Another example is when people see a professional photo/snapshot of me riding a horse. “Oh, how majestic you look!” Lol! That’s funny to me, because I can hardly enjoy the moment. All that I can think of is daily practice runs at the barn whereas I’m holding on for dear life in this sweltering Tennessee heat! Ugh! No one’s capturing those moments! Moments where I’ve fallen off and gotten back up, doubting whether (practicing) is even worth it.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and in fact, it truly is. It’s important that we interpret it as such. We can appreciate a picture, piece of artwork, music, and even a film as exactly what it is, a “piece of work.” It took work and so did we. We laughed when we found out Jerry fell out of a chair, not because he fell, but because he’d purposely omitted this part of the story as if it would change our perspective of this moment. The image was familiar, and we laughed together, because the “not so good” moments are inevitable and truly the norm. We all share that commonality in life and knowing what happened to get that great shot makes us appreciate it that much more.

We can’t wait to see how things turn out! We know he did well because that’s what we do! We pull it together after seemingly falling apart! Have grace and always give yourself a soft place to land, because Babyyyyyy, you are going to fall sometimes! Life is funny like that! Bloop!

Lakika Shay Scott

“Laughing with you and not at you!”