Welcome back to 3 Light Things, an essay series inspired by my mom’s suggestion that I should “…start writing funny things again.” 3 Light Things is my attempt to cultivate an awareness of the light things in my pocket of the world.

Last week I researched definitions of light. This is my favorite: an area of something that is brighter or paler than its surroundings. Here are three fragments of light from this week.

(1) Grandpa-isms

My sister recently told me, “You and Steve talk on the phone a lot.” To clarify, Steve and I are not talking to each other on the phone, we’re talking to friends, family, the occasional insurance agent, and the even more elusive insurance-agent friend (i.e. Katie Glod).

The fact that Steve and I talk on the phone frequently is an accurate observation. We talk to our moms on a weekly basis, if not daily. And between the two of us, we talk to at least one of our grandparents each week.

This week Steve was on the phone with his Grandpa Gary. Mind you, we don’t have a self-imposed ‘Grandparent call limit’ or a ‘Grandparent call quota.’

During Steve’s call with his Grandpa Gary, I overheard a portion of the conversation where they acknowledged a shared distaste for Mark Zuckerberg.

When Steve got off the phone, I asked several followup questions which is how I learned that Grandpa Gary calls the CEO of Facebook, “Mark Fuckerberg.”

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(2) Measuring Success

Steve and I started (and finished) a new reality show this week called Blown Away. The Netflix description says, “A new batch of glass-blowing artists from around the world battle the heat, the clock and each other in 10 dynamic challenges.”

Depending on the challenge, the glass-blowing artists are judged on three criteria. One criterion is often “Creative Bravery.” The phrasing reminded me of a study I conducted in grad school: Creativity in Business Education.

The purpose of my study was to understand the essence of how business faculty define creativity in their field. The findings revealed that ‘Challenging the Limitations’ was the underlying dimension of creativity. Within that dimension, I also identified five themes; one was ‘Courage to Fail.’

During the interview portion of my study, a faculty member in the department of entrepreneurship told me, “In my class, one of the most innovative things we do is we celebrate failure. I want [my students] to come into my office and say, ‘I failed. Let me show you how.’ And we celebrate what we call the good failures. ‘I tried this and it didn’t work, but this is kind of cool.’”

Cheers to the folks who celebrate creative bravery.

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(3) Consignment Plants

Before Steve received his second dose this week, we had twenty minutes to spend. To use the time, we stopped at a local consignment store. Among the furniture, I found an intriguing potted plant. It looked and felt fake, but the price sticker literally said, “LIVE plant, rabbit foot fern.”

I picked it up, stroked the leaves, touched the “rabbit foot” rhizomes, and asked the owner, “Is this actually a live plant?” She said, “Well, the woman who brought it here assured me that it’s real.”

It was priced at $12, so I decided that it was either a good deal for a live plant, or a decent deal for a fake plant—especially since it was relatively convincing.

After buying it, I pulled the plant out of its terra cotta pot and found what appeared to be real roots. After bringing it home, I also watered it and the water soaked into the dirt. Promising testimonies.

This story will be funnier if the plant ends up being fake, but it’s too soon to know. To the best of my knowledge, it is a live plant.

That said, it’s not a rabbit foot fern, it’s a Blue Star Fern, so “the lady” who labeled the plant is 0/1 for her claims. Which means, the ‘LIVE’ assertion could easily be fabricated. Only time will tell.

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I hope you enjoyed these 3 Light Things: Grandpa-isms, Measuring Success, and Consignment Plants.

Cheers.