Thursday, January 29, 2009

Kind of Blue at a Garden Party



I’m always amazed at how life works.

You’re going along and something happens and then you have one thought that begets another thought and so on and so forth. Next thing you know you’ve got a sting of consciousness going and the ideas and concepts are flowing like water.

I love that about life.

I have been called a reflective sort of guy. One who watches life and comments on the goings on of folks. Especially when people are in the crisis mode or anything that has to do with the creative process is very fascinating to me.

And I love Karma.

Karma is a bitch and a very hard taskmaster, but in my experience, it is always present and working towards an end. What that end is, well, that’s where the rub comes in. None of us can know where Karma will take us.

So this morning, I was listening to NPR on the way to work as usual and they did a story on Miles Davis. Specifically looking at his groundbreaking album “Kind of Blue” released in 1959.

It has been noted that is may have been the most influential recording of all time. It is certainly the one jazz recording that everyone has in their collection.

It was a long story, but a great one. They talked of the interaction in the studio and exactly how Miles got his musicians such as John Coltrane to break free from the norm and really do something different. And they said that he told them, not what to do, but just what not to do - which freed them to explore the boundaries of their own talents and in turn then led to that remarkable collection of songs.

But that’s not what I’m here to talk about……………..

Towards the end of the interview they discussed how Miles, after the late 60’s never played any of those songs ever again.

In an interview in 1986 he was talking with NPR and said, “Those songs don’t exist for me anymore. They were done at the right time at the right place with the right people and that time is over – if you want to hear them, go buy the record and listen…………I’d rather be dead if I couldn’t create and play new things – I don’t live in the past and I wish other people wouldn’t either.”

Very profound, wouldn’t you say?

So next, going to lunch I’m listening to the radio and what comes on but “Little” Ricky Nelson singing “Garden Party”.

Now this song was a kick in the ass to the music industry in general and specifically the music fans he ran into at a “reunion” show at Madison Square Garden in 1971. He was supposed to come in and play all his old stuff from the late 50’s and early 60’s. His hits that made him a million-seller in those days of Ozzie and Harriet. But instead, he showed up with his long hair and his country rock band and played his new music and was basically booed off the stage.

Check out the lyrics to the song……..

I went to a garden party to reminisce with my old friends
A chance to share old memories and play our songs again
When I got to the garden party, they all knew my name
No one recognized me, I didn’t look the same

But it’s all right now, I learned my lesson well
You see, ya can’t please everyone, so ya got to please yourself

People came from miles around, everyone was there
Yoko brought her walrus, there was magic in the air
And over in the corner, much to my surprise
Mr. Hughes hid in Dylan’s shoes wearing his disguise

But it’s all right now, I learned my lesson well
You see, ya can’t please everyone, so ya got to please yourself

Played them all the old songs, thought that’s why they came
No one heard the music, cause we didn’t look the same
I said hello to “Mary Lou”, she belongs to me
When I sang a song about a honky-tonk, it was time to leave

But it’s all right now, I learned my lesson well
You se, ya can’t please everyone, so ya got to please yourself

Someone opened up a closet door and out stepped Johnny B Goode
Playin’ guitar like a-ringin a bell and lookin’ like he should
If you gotta play at garden parties, I wish you a lotta luck
But if memories were all I sang, I’d rather drive a truck……………….

Same song – different tune.

(and if anyone wants to know what all the cryptic messages in the song mean, just ask me and I’ll tell you – it’s very cool)

But the point is, that living in the past – especially for these creative folks – is a huge drag. I mean, how would you like to have to go back to high school over and over again……………

And all of this got me thinking (imagine that!!!)

I’m a lot like that. I move on. I appreciate my past and love it. I try to have no regrets about anything because things happened at a certain time in a certain place for a certain reason – but really, that’s all over, isn’t it?

I certainly don’t beat myself up over past mistakes but at the same time, I try not to revel in my past “glories” either!!!

But the real point for me, is that I try very hard to live for each day.

Each day I wake up and realize that I have a precious gift and I try to give thanks for it. I try very hard not to dwell on the bad stuff that comes into all of our lives but to rejoice in the goodness that I see all around me.

Primarily I am in love with the most amazing woman that God ever put on this Good Green Earth and I never EVER take that for granted. I am so very happy and I do my best to show her that every chance I get.

I have amazing friends that will do anything for me and I try very hard not to take advantage of that but never forget to ask for help because my pride got in the way.

I have a great job in a world where great jobs are not the norm.

I have four children that I love very much.

AND – in just a short week or so, my new custom motorcycle will be ready for it’s unveiling!!!

So all in all, I love my life and am very happy. I wish I had the Olympic Medal I so cherished, but I don’t. I wish I could have been elected President, but I wasn’t. And there are probably thousands of other things I wish could have happened for me or to me…………..but when I look at where I am and specifically who I have, I realize that I am the luckiest boy in the world.

Find your own luck and thank your God for it. You’ll feel better in the long run. I promise!!!

Peace



Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Duh, duh, duh.........Dilbert



This shit is true..............

Well, except for the part about not being able to afford the mortgage.

And I am set very well for firearms.

And ammo.

So don't show up unexpected..........

Monday, January 26, 2009

Wonderous Weekend (and other assorted thoughts!)

Hello boys and girls………………..

Everyone doing fine on their New Year’s Resolutions????

Yea, I didn’t think so!

My one resolution was to better organize my life. My junk at my office is completely organized up to and including cleaning out my computer files - and my junk at home is going well (or at least better). I swear that every weekend I have a list of stuff I want to get done and I'll be damned if it doesn't turn cold or rain or somehow else just screw up my productive plans and I am forced to lay on the couch and snuggle with my wife.

Life's like that.

At least mine is!

But I promise that my beautiful wife should be able to park in the garage by the time she gets back from her business trip this week.

And won’t she be surprised!!!

Of course, neither the most wonderful and precocious 9-year old nor this amazingly handsome 47-year old want her to go on a damn business trip at all – but we really don’t have much say so in that matter…….

So on to happier topics........................

We had an a-fuquin-mazing weekend.

Friday night was an impromptu gathering at one of my good friends house where the food and the company was wonderful. Plus, it’s always good to see other boys my age and how they (mis)behave – it makes me look good in my wife’s eyes!!!

Then on Saturday night we went to the social occasion of the year where some friends threw a party for their youngest son who had gotten married a few months ago.

Now that’s the way to do it – sneak off and get married at a JP in Florida and then come back to a party to end all parties without all the pressure of all the wedding crap.

The table with all the presents on it was the most amazing sight I think I’ve ever seen. But that night was absolutely amazing in so many ways.

Have I mentioned how much I love my wife??? She is just WOW. She was the prettiest girl there at the party – all dressed up like a French Fashion Model with the underwear to go along with it!!!

I told the 9-year old that and she asked me how the hell I knew what kind of underwear her mommy had on........I love being a step father!!!

Oh yea, oh yea, oh yea, I love my wife…………….

Then on Sunday evening we went to a fancy smancy wine tasting for some South American reds. It was very much yummy. The last wine we tasted that sells in the restaurant for $140 and it was so good that it made me do the antler dance.

Of course, it could have been the 6 glasses of wine I had before the expensive one that made me do the antler dance, but I’m not trying to analyze my actions that closely.

So all in all it was a good weekend and I was very happy to participate!

And today, after all my parts finally came in, I sent my poor deer-murdering car to the shop to get repaired. It will be nice to have a vehicle that doesn’t whistle in the wind due to a cracked face!!!

Of course, that means no car this week but I’m borrowing a one-ton truck from one of my employees for the week. I guess a little diesel perfume won’t do me any harm either!

So I can take care of any “projects” I may have while I have the big work horse truck…………

Nah…….

Speaking of stuff like that – I’m ALMOST at the end of my motorcycle rebuild. I’m waiting on my new handlebars and wiring and a few other baubles to show up and we’ll call it complete.

Well, at least complete for the time being. A great custom motorcycle never stays still for long – but it will be good to be through with all the major stuff.

I’ll be posting loving pictures here once the look is finished so stay tuned for my obsession!

And besides the fact that my mother “lost” her lower dentures at the nursing home – there ain’t much else going on around here.

So I hope your life is as smooth as mine.

Now I’ve guaranteed me a huge bump in the road by that last statement but I love my life so much I say “come on with it”!!!

Peace/Out.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Dear Prudence

I'm not kidding - this is an actual article today in the Dear Prudence column of Slate Magazine. You really can't make stuff like this up!!!!!!!!!!!


A Family Affair:
I slept with my stepmother for years.
Should I tell my dad?
Posted Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009, at 6:47 AM ET

Dear Prudie,

When I was 9 years old, my parents divorced and both remarried. I lived with my mother and stepfather. When I was 17, Mom and Stepdad had to move to another city, so I moved in with Dad and Stepmom.
My father's new wife was a much younger and very attractive woman. The atmosphere was more relaxed than in my previous home. So much so that my stepmom (she's about 15 years older) and I developed an attraction and started an affair. We were intimate about twice a month when my father was traveling for work.
From Day One, we agreed that we would never tell my dad. I continued to see her during college and even after, when I came home for visits. My attraction waned because of distance, guilt, and because I started to see that she was a horrible person who was terrible to my father.
I broke it off two years ago. Last month, Dad found out that she had cheated with another man (not me). They are in the middle of a vicious divorce. Last week, she called me and asked why I am so aloof. She told me that if I don't convince Dad to concede on a financial matter, she will spill the beans about our affair.
I feel like karma is giving me what I deserve, but I am scared. What is better: try to reason with this woman, even though she is irrational? Do her bidding in order to save Dad greater pain? Tell Dad everything myself, knowing that things will never be the same between him, me, and the rest of my family?
I just want to do the best thing for him at this point, and I feel powerless.

—Karma's Bitch Boy

Dear Karma,

As Simon and Garfunkel said so eloquently about a similar situation: "Koo koo kachoo, Mrs. Robinson."
Not only has this woman had an affair with her stepson and been multiply unfaithful to her husband, she is also an extortionist.
The pain of extracting her from his life will be well worth it to your father.
Now that she's threatened you, it will be hard to ever feel comfortable with your father knowing she's always fingering the pin on this grenade.
None of your choices is good, but surely you want to be the first to let your father know you weren't spending all your free time your senior year of high school in woodworking class. I don't know what your father's mental state or temperament is, so it might be best to deliver this news in a corner booth in a restaurant.
That way, he's sitting down and you'll have some privacy, but if he snaps and starts strangling you, maybe the busboy can intervene.
Tell your father you have been living with a sickening, shameful secret that has been a blot on your life.
Give as brief an account as possible and emphasize that you were a minor when she seduced you. (It would help if you were also a virgin.)
As horrifying as this revelation will be for your father, surely his lawyer will do a little happy dance when he or she hears not only this news, but that stepmom has been offering to exchange her silence for money.
As for your relationship with your father, you're right, it will never be the same.
But at least now it won't be based on deception.

—Prudie

Real life is so much better than any make-believe stuff, ain't it!!!

A Christmas Story (better late than never!)


Once there was an old woman who had lived a very pious life - but her life was missing something.


So she prayed to the Lord God with all her might that her deepest wishes would come true.

Then an angel of the Lord God appeared and said unto her - "You have lived a very pious life and deserve the reward you seek - the Lord God has heard your pleas and has seen fit to grant your desires. Then the angel did some mumbo-jumbo.......................................................

And presto-chango, the devout woman was with child. Very large with child!!

The angel saw what he did and was pleased with himself. Angels are like that, you know!

And everyone lived happily ever after.

















Eye Day


Eye, as in the first letter of inauguration.


The day that the unimaginable is actually happening.


It truly is impossible for me to put into word the emotions that I am feeling.


If I weren't such a manly man I could tell you that as I drove to work and listened to NPR this morning, there was a tear or two that trickled down my face.


But for the official record - real men don't cry even at funerals............or movies.................or sappy love songs................we just tough - inside and out!


But the hope that I feel is real. It is amazing and for the first time in a long time, I am proud to be an American. The celebration that is going on all over the world is indicative of the way everyone feels.


And I know that my more, um, "conservative" friends think I'm crazy and that the end of the world is right around the corner - that they are smirking right now - but the truth is you just can't argue with the evidence of joy that is being expressed all over the world.


It will be a rough road and with each failure I expect to hear a big ole "I told you so" from many corners of my life - but all in all I realize that it will be a long, hard road to turn this ship around. And maybe the best we can hope for is to get things going in the right direction. There may not be time to "fix" what needs fixing - but at least we can start down that long, dusty road.


The implications of today are so mind-blowing. Within my lifetime, WDC was the most segregated place in our country and today a black dude is being sworn in as the Fucking President of the United States of America.


Bob Dylan was right as usual - the times, they are a-changin'


Peace

Monday, January 19, 2009

Bye Bye Bush



It does my heart good to know that this nightmare is ending.

I also know it will takes years and maybe decades to dig out of the mess that was created by something I still don't understand or comprehend.

But the simple fact that we're in the car and heading the other way makes me just as happy as a whore in church!!!

So tomorrow, around inaguration time, let's all give out a who-dy-who for the new prez and pray that normalcy can be right around the bend!

Peace/Out

Friday, January 16, 2009

I Know That I Suck

Yep, all the promise of a new year and all those things I have vowed to do better on..................

Well, I am doing all that.

Which is why I have been such a sucky blogger. And I'm sorry - I truly am.

But the truth is that I've been very busy rearranging this and that and trying to tie up so many loose ends that I just haven't had the time to sit down and think of clever and insightful things to say.

And I know that if I said something poetic like, "I promise I'll do better", that you will throw that right back in my face so I'll just leave it at "I promise I'll TRY to do better" and hopefully in a week or two after I have irritated each and every one of my employees and family members with my new "ideas" for the new year that I'll get back to each and everyone of you!!!

Peace/Out

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

It's Cold, damn it all.........



But a more serious problem that I'm having is that apparently my wife is actually a French waiter who likes to sing while serving dinner.

What's a boy to do?

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

POWERBALL


Well, it's the new year and the Powerball was up to 90 million bucks.


And guess what?


Yep, I didn't win it.


So therefore I found myself back at work and about 3 weeks behind.


Hitherto, my intention to post most of the amazing thoughts I had while I was away from work will have to wait until I can get more caught up.


But, of course, at that point, every single amazing thought I had will be gone in the haze of real life.


I hate real life.


It gets in the way of all the things that are important to me!!!


But before I get back to Ye-Ole-Grindstone, I did want to impart a piece or two of unsolicited but incredibly enlightened wisdom.


1. Take nothing for granted.


2. Cherish what is amazing in your life.


3. Remember that today is not the culmination of your entire life, but simply another day in a (hopefully) very good story.


4. Hug the one you love because you never know when they may not want to hug you back.


And finally,


5. Please go see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button movie. It's the best I've seen since Forest, Forest Gump.


Peace
p.s. My wife was H O T in the Christmas Play at church (and she's really not pregnant)!
Or is she..............................???

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Happy 2009

Another year bites the dust!!!

Hope everyone had a great new years eve and was safe and happy.

And I also hope that if you had to throw up, that it was in the bushes instead of in front of all your friends.........

Peace