1970's

I am thinking back to the summer of 1977. This long-haired, teenaged rock and roller from South Mississippi was sitting in the back of a 1969 Camaro during a late summer afternoon cruise.

The cruel summer sun was baking our tanned, shirtless bodies as well as the black dashboard in this orange convertible.  It’s also worth mentioning that the vinyl seats were severely broiling our thighs in our cut-off jeans.

But even with all the oppressive heat around us, there was nothing under the sun hotter than the deep southern rock and roll blasting from a Pioneer Super Tuner with 4 Bose Coaxle Speakers. 

Through our RayBan Aviator Sunglasses, our eight track tapes were a veritable smorgasborg of Southern Rock. . . Allman Brothers Band, Lynryd Skynryd, Charlie Daniels Band, Marshall Tucker Band, The Outlaws and a few (brand new) Outlaw Country acts that were soon to catch fire, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Hank Williams, Jr.

 I cannot recall how long this particular cruise lasted. Perhaps it went on for a few songs or even into the next sunrise as they sometimes did.  And I can’t recall if we were just riding around or had a particular destination in mind.  All I can recall is the everlasting summer breeze remembered fondly in my mind’s eye and the soundtrack of our lives. 

And while this particular cruise and so many others still roll strongly in my memory, they exist right alongside the great thoughts and impressions of my youth that are so firmly planted in my consciousness still.

Today, almost 40 years later, those memories are so thick that I have to sometimes clear my head to make them go away so they don’t overtake me and suck me back to a place that is remembered so fondly. 

I often embrace those moments of enlightenment as a teenager.  It was a time of youth and endless possibilities.  We traveled a road with wild, untamed twists and turns that lead to nowhere in particular.  The only way we timed ourselves was by the end of the song.

I knew better than most at that point in time that I had forever ahead of me.  But that didn’t matter nearly as much as a moment in time with friends and loud music that meant something to us. 

It was truly all I needed back in the ‘70’s.

Sometimes I wish I could go back and visit. . . .

Does Anyone Blog Anymore. . .

I never would have thought that the blogosphere was a passing fad.

When I first started this blog, it was an outlet for my thoughts and a place to etch my passage of time.

I figured that I would be able in the future to sit back and re-read my presence of mind in times past and see how my view had changed.

Now it appears as if I'll have a few years worth of that to sift through instead!!

It seems that our RIGHT NOW mentality that we've been conditioned with through social media has completely replaced all serious thoughts. . .

We get a short burst out of Twitter - which I hardly ever use myself but do read. . .  and a slightly longer Facebook outburst of nothingness. 

Well, I will say that Facebook allows me to keep in touch with what is going on - it truly is the "coconut telegraph" at the current time.  I find out what bands are playing where and who's doing what - whose birthday it is and all kinds of other info.

I can't imagine that Mr. Zuckerberg ever thought that would be what his college hook-up site would become!!  The kids have pretty much abandoned Facebook because their parents are on it!!

Turn about is fair play I reckon.

But I do miss the deeper impact of blogging. . . . and it's nobody's fault by my own!

Peace

The King of All Guitars

After years of searching for the perfect Les Paul Guitar. . . . and I truly mean YEARS, I finally found mine in Houston, TX.

I have been wanting, looking, lusting and searching since 1969 for this beauty and now she is MINE all MINE!!

It's a 1958 Historic Les Paul and it may be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen besides my smokin' hot wife. . . .when I hold either of them, I get chills up and down my spine!!

Here she is. . . .

 

And here is a bear in my office trying to steal my joy. . . . .but alas, the bear is STUFFED!!

 

 

Stars and Bars

What an incredibly cool guitar............I think I'm in love all over again!!

Chicks dig it and boys just want to touch it!!

THIS TOOL KILLS HATE!!

Babies and Easter

We did the obligatory Family Reunion (in-laws and out-laws) this past Saturday for Easter and I took my grand-youngun's!!

A good time was had by all - even though Drew kept punching old men in the nuts for some reason!?

The food was plentiful, the relatives all behaved (thanks to copious amounts of Jack Daniels and coke) and it was a fine event.

I'm so sorry to myself for not posting here - the BLOG was a great idea to store stuff for future perusal - but it seems that facebook took that part of life over.

I'll still check in here every so often so I will be able to retain what I have but I'm pretty sure the days of laying my life out for myself and posting my thoughts are simply part of the "old world"

Either way, if you're here - thanks for checking in..........if you're not, I'll bet you're on facebook too!!!

It's Beginning to Look a LOT like Christmas!!

Another year bites the dust..........another holiday season and more life under the bridge!!

I know blogs are so passe' these days, but I surely used to enjoy this and every once in a while I'll pop back here just to keep it active. 

In 10 years, I want to be able to come back here and read where I was "back then".

For me, life gets better and better the older I get.........and I think that's how it's supposed to be.

I love more fiercely, I believe more fervently and I live more actively. 

I hope you do too!!

Merry Christmas World. 

About A Girl

May Day

As the first of May rolls around yet again.........therefore it must be time for my birthday!!

It drives my beautiful wife bonkers that I "attempt" to celebrate my birthday all month long but I still do it!!  I believe exactly what my beloved grandmother told me when she said, "you are special". 

It is my firm belief that the normal rules do not apply to me and therefore I get to have an entire month in which to celebrate my birthday!!

Of course, since this is birthday 51, the won't be as much celebration as normal.  It's hell getting old!!

Happy Mardi Gras!!

May the God of All be merciful on you and yours on this culmination of Celebrations known as Mardi Gras. 

Furthermore, may your Lent be especially pentitive!!

WOW.....

USM WINS CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP!!

Absolutely amazing.....USM beats undefeated Houston (ranked #6) 49 - 28 in the Conference USA Championship.

Now most of you know that I don't give a rat's ass about football these days - just grew out of it, I guess. Or maybe I just got too used to living with the mediocre football we've been playing since the "hay-day" when I was in school from 1979-1983.

But the football team we had this year was simply amazing in so many respects.

The one respect that we were not amazing in was the one that counts....how in the HELL DO WE LOSE TO MARSHALL AND UAB with a team that could do what it did this past weekend?

I know it's a long season and it's hard to get up for each game.....and I'll even forgive the Marshall defeat since it was only the second game and was truly before we hit our stride and we all realized that we have something special this year.

But the UAB loss quite frankly just puzzles me. They should not have even been on the field with us and we got beat in every facet of the game. Then we come back the next week and destroy poor, hapless Memphis.

I can truly say that I did not expect to win against Houston. The same Houston that was averaging almost 53 points a game. The Houston that was going to pull our shittly little conference out of the bottom and get us some decent press for the first time in a LONG TIME.

And yet there we were, not only winning......but kicking their ass!!

WOW.

It was truly remarkable.

And I'm very sad that we don't get to go play in the Liberty Bowl this year. It's a shame that the Liberty Bowl will take the 9th place SEC team instead of the conference champion that is ranked.

But that's the problem with being a Mickey Mouse school in a Mickey Mouse conference.

None-the-less I am very proud of our football team and I certainly hope they have a great time in Hawaii at the Aloha Bowl. Them and the 200 or so USM fans that will surely make the trip!!

Aloha.....

Anybody Out There......

December 2011.......already.

Wow.

What once was a very prolific outlet for my psychic (or psychotic!) energy has become almost an after-thought!

What once allowed me to empty my soul has been taken over by facebook, twitter, etc.

What a long strange trip it's been these past few years.

The economy still in shambles. The death bell tolling on our civilization?

Who knows.

What I do know is that at some point in the future, it surely will be fun to look back on this and see what I thought "back in the day"!!

So remind me to post something once a month or so!!!

Peace.

Keith "Tex" Kennedy - Hall of Famer!!

September 16, 2011………..a day that will live in infamy! (or at least a day that I will remember for the rest of my life.)

That was the day that I, Keith Kennedy, Old Guy, Swimmer, was inducted into the USM Sports Hall of Fame.

It was quite a surreal moment for me.

Yes, I was a great swimmer………but that was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away!!

And honestly, I used to “define” myself by my swimming………that’s what I was – A SWIMMER – and that is what I thought of myself as. But it’s been 10 years since I was in the water and competed. So those type thoughts are no longer part of my lexicon.

My induction class was quite illustrious:

Myself – Swimming 1980 - 1984
Angela Atterberry (Jackson) – Basketball 1997-2000
Darrin Chancellor – Basketball – 1987-1991
Joe Dawson – Basketball – 1978-1982
Chris Logan – Baseball – 1990-1994
Todd Pinkston – Football – 1996 – 1999 (All Pro – Philadelphia Eagles)
Patrick Surtain – Football 1994 – 1997 (All Pro – Miami Dolphins)
Adalius Thomas – Football 1996 – 1999 (All Pro – Baltimore Ravens/New England Patiriots)
Jerry Taylor – Football 1954 – 1956 (Alumni Committee Inductee)

The induction ceremony was quite fun!! I had 57 people come for me which I was told was the largest crowd ever for a single athlete. I would say something like I’m special and have a lot of friends………but the truth is, I’m special and have a lot of friends!! No, really, I communicate well and talked several of my friends into coming to a very large party and because it was a great party………….and so they came!!

It was quite an honor to be inducted – and as I said earlier, it was a bit surreal for me. Especially since there were so many famous professional football players going into the Hall in my class. It was quite a pleasure meeting them.

My most favorite part of it was the pride I saw on my children’s faces and in their actions. My son was actually quite giddy about the whole thing and not only made several posts about it on facebook, he ran around with his camera and his beautiful girlfriend and got his picture made with all those All Pro NFL players as if he were 12 years old. And I thought that was precious!!

My athletic accomplishments were obviously long before my children were born and therefore they really had no inkling of my achievements…………..but due to this ceremony and the very nice things that were said about me at the induction ceremony, they got a glimpse of it. And for that, I am extremely gratified and a bit prideful.

But don’t worry……………I am certainly very careful with the pride thing because it is absolutely one of the seven deadly sins!!

I went up in the third position due to the alphabetical nature of the induction and from the response of the crowd, I was the hit of the show. I say that because my sense of humor is such that the softball questions that my friend John Cox, the MC of the event, asked me afforded me the opportunity to use my wit to my advantage.

Plus the fact that I love public speaking…………….It has been said that Keith Kennedy with a microphone and a crowd is a very dangerous thing!!

All in all, it was quite an honor and I have a very thankful heart that I was able to share this experience with so many of my close friends.

And in addition to all that, I was dressed to the 9’s including my size 15 gangster shoes which are pictured lovingly above!!

So my thanks to all who came and especially all who voted – you all made this old man very happy!!