The simplicity of Walnut Grove and the goodandbad with competitions

Goodevening!

I dare say spring is coming. There you have something nice to think about, I tell myself, moaning over my today awfully awkward bad hip.

Just like so many evenings we've just finished an episode of Little house on the prairie. The youngest takes great pleasure in the series and we kind of tag along. It's a nice feeling about it, everything is simple, straight and not all too complicated. No smartphones, no computers, no stores with entires walls filled with just dairyproducts, no World of warcraft, no competitions concerning latest clothing, carmodel, outdoor bathtub or caravans. Oh there are differences in standard, many have to struggle hard to make ends meet and the good reverend has no church of his own, but neighbours are friendly, you help eachother out and there is great pride in knowing ones business wether it's pigfarming or barnbuilding.

I know it's a very glorified and pinkshaded view of such a harsh time in history, but it's simplicity appeals to us. For the poor and outsidetaken things are still rough, even if 5% of worlds population today owns just as much as the rest of us together, people are the same. Have more, want more.
If life actually was simpler, for everyone, and no one could reach the ridicolous hights of power and money that keep appearing time after time today, the competition could slow down. We could actually be equals in at least some ways. If everyone had a place in Walnut Grove or Sleepy eye, just enough to feal good about it, how nice wouldn't that be?

Well, this world was meant to be such a place but we've turned it into something else. Competition is good if it's just for the fun of it, not if it's to devestate someone elses life. Some actually compete to make things better or to make people feel good and proud, like our ladyfootballteam taking our honors to the Olympic Games!!

In Sweden we also love competitions that includes music. We borrowed Talent and other horrors that make people cry because of the mercyless comments they have to endure.
But we also have the more harmless swedish Melodifestival, were the winner takes the flag to Eurovision song contest. This saturday the winner was chosen and how different it is from the first years. The older artists do get a chance but are mostly shoved out when the voting starts.
When I was a child, it was a simple saturdayentertainment, perhaps 1,5 hour long. Ten artists or groups in horrifying clothes and gastly glasses paraded through a drapery and a 15 piece live band acompanied the entire show. Votes where counted by groups of chosen people around kitchentables or something and we never conquered Europe.
Then there was 1974 - four young people in chocking outfits turned the world upside down and the competition from that point never looked the same.
But in 1992 when the Eurovision was in Malmoe, my sister -in-law, well , she wasn't at the time, for we were still unmarried, but she was his sister, worked at the arena and got us tickets. Mind you, I'm
sure we were about 5000 people there and 23 countries were competing. That year Linda Martin took the glory for Ireland, with Johnny Logans Why me? 21 countries brought their own conductor.
Our artist that year was the very same man that is now running the show almost singlehandedly -
Christer Bjorkman.
This year we arrange this musicparty for the third time in a row, and this cute fellow is our hope. 2016 the show was in Friends Arena in Stockholm before 33.000!!!! people and millions watching on tv.
No liveband and no conductors, nothing is small and simple but still, the competition is rather harmless and fun.

Now here you have three nice little films to enjoy - Abba from 1974, Frans from 2016 and Walnut Grove from 1874.