Why Can't I Just Sit Back And Enjoy the Music?

I don't know if it's the Internet's fault or the fact I spent so many years working in the library doing research, but it seems like I always get obsessed and have dig in and find the complete history of anything I get excited about.
This time it was just a song, a simple song that resonated with me. The guitar riff sounded almost as if it came from my head, something I had been humming all my life. The lyrics were funny, thoughtful and inspiring all at the same time. I enjoyed this song that just happened to be on a used iPod I bought to replace the one that was destroyed in the hailstorm.
It was a country rock tune, a genre I don't normally listen to, but I loved this song and it's twang like a ugly pup from the dog pound. Then, just because I'm me, I had to dig around and find out more. All I can say is "I Wish I didn't know now, what I didn't know then".
Man, I don't ever watch American Idol, so the singer's name meant nothing to me, but once I found that he was somebody voted off the show, I knew what was next; yup, the song was written by a professional songwriter that has cranked out more hits than I could count.
Once more, my dream of a young songwriter working his way through smokey bars and leaving the farm for glory in LA has been been crumbled into small shiny pieces. It was the machine at work and what was presented on stage and on the song was just what we were supposed to get.
I did however, go post my praise on the songwriter's website. I'd love to hear his recorded version of the song someday....

The Early Birds Got The Waves

I think of myself as an early riser, and there have been many complaints over the years of me making too much noise too early in the morning. This day, however, I must have been one of the last people up and on the beach, and this was at 8:15 in the morning!
You see, Hurricane Bill was passing us by and just happened to be the perfect distance away to cause large waves and strong offshore wind. This meant big waves everywhere, but as the Cape around Cocoa Beach leaves some areas more protected, some places were getting giant closeouts, while the Jetties were seeing much smaller and more manageable waves. From the photo above, you can see that this spot that normally sports 0 surfers, now contained every surfboard sold in the last 5 years. I actually drove to 3 different unpopular spots before I could find a parking spot. I didn't know there were that many surfers in the area until this day.
The bottom line was that the waves looked good and it was inspiring to see so many of us in one place, but the waves were hard to catch and there were way too many surfers for the number of waves. Once more I got the lesson that a mediocre day of waves with a small crowd is much better than an epic day with giant crowds. Another reminder of why I need to be in Florida as opposed to Hawaii and California with their crowded surf spots.
Oh, and did I mention how nice and warm that water was?

Like We Don't Already Know the Answer

I'm seeing and hearing a lot of stuff lately. Grumbling about the president throwing all of our tax money to the greedy big businesses, bailing out the auto makers, and now healthcare. The big cry seems to be, "Who's going to pay for all of this?".
I started thinking, "What happened to the war?" It's still going on, right? Aren't our guys still getting shot at every day? But, that is not what is on the table right now. It's real funny how the most important thing in the world is suddenly something we no longer even discuss. On the other hand, talking about taxes going up, when times are tough, well sir, that's real easy to get riled up about and we have plenty of people getting all riled up.
It doesn't take a lot of smarts to see what is coming and it won't matter who is president when it happens. It will be the local taxes that will get us. Real estate is in the toilet, the population is dropping and new construction is almost non-existent. They have only one way to get that money and that is raising our taxes.
If life is but a game, and the game is Monopoly, then we are in the part of the game where somebody has a bunch of hotels on Park Place and Boardwalk and the only thing you have going for you is how many hits you can take.
Maybe someday they will trace all of this back to one single person that said, "Hey! Let's start making some really bad loans to people that could never pay them back!"...then we can tar and feather and ride him out of town on a rail, but until that day comes, it's best to be prepared to land on Boardwalk....

The Car Hauler

Sometimes I get a very sobering reminder of how good it is to be right here and now in my life. And, as in many cases, the thing I thought I saw was more important to me than what may have really happened.
This time it was because of big news story that happened near where I live and a place that I jog by every day while exercising. There was a woman a few years older than me and her emotionally disturbed teenager. He had some kind of psychotic episode and the bottom line was that the police shot him...4 times. He's been dead and they had the funeral and we all reflected on that, but I still run by the house every day and it occurs to me that it is not over for that mother and father by a long shot. Last night I thought I saw the dad, pacing in the driveway on his cellphone and then I saw a big rig, pulling a car trailer, like the kind you see delivering cars to dealerships, pulling up in front of his house. A big truck like that in a neighborhood is not a common sight and I started thinking, "they are having the kid's car disposed of", and once again I wanted to go home and hug every member of my family and think about just how glad I am to have one more day with them....

The Tour de Life

I was lying on the couch, looking out over the water at the hot morning sun. Another day in paradise, but I was too sunburned to be out there. I needed a recharge day after the long kayak paddle the day previous and somehow found myself glued to the TV, watching the long bicycle race; the Tour de France. I had been watching pieces of it here and there, but today was the finish. What I didn't get was that everyone already knew the winner. He merely had to ride this last 70 miles in the pack of riders and he won. Apparently, the last day of the race was more like a parade through town. I thought this until the race got to the last 4 or 5 laps around the center of town and then something interesting happened.
Now I really like bicycles and own a couple of decent ones, but no spandex clothing I'm glad to say. The most I've ridden in a day was 50 miles and I'm damn proud of that feat. I still remember that ride and the feeling that I didn't want to sit down for a long time after.
Back on the TV, these guys I was watching had ridden about 3000 miles in a week and they had just finished about 50 miles that morning, when the announcer said, "here come the sprinters!". Huh? Then he proceeds to explain that there are men in the race that live to ride that one last day of the race and win just that one section. After all of that riding for a week, and then riding twice as fast as I ever have for 50 miles, they say, okay enough lollygagging, NOW I start racing. I saw this pack of young men pour it on going up hill faster than I could imagine going downhill. I saw energy that I could not believe in their faces and the way they pumped the pedals. How could they go through this whole thing thinking, screw who gets the big prize, I'm going for it today? Doesn't matter if they fell on Wednesday, underperformed on Thursday, and struggled on Mont Blanc.
I just couldn't get over it, riding that biggest race known to man and then sprinting on to the end just like they were going for the biggest prize of all.
I am definitely inspired.

What the Hell?

Man, I have been around a long time and I sure don't get this. The economy is in a slump, business is down, everyone can see it. People have lost jobs and have little hope of getting new ones. And the news, if it says anything close to good, it comes with "a jobless recovery", meaning that businesses might become more profitable, but you still won't be able to buy anything.
On top of that, there is something missing. What happened to 'deals'? Why aren't Corvettes dirt cheap? Why aren't the prices on electronic stuff dropping like crazy? Craigslist, my barometer for life, is nuts right now. Rather than seeing laid-off yuppies dumping their jetskis to pay the rent, I am seeing the crooks out in full force. The phrase "woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks" comes to mind. Used stuff, a lot of it probably stolen shows up on the list, many times for as much as you would pay for it in a store. Is anyone buying this stuff? Is anyone dumb enough to fall for this, or is the real problem that someone is telling these guys "you can double your money on Craigslist"?
I always thought that the good side of a depression was that if you had any cash, you could buy up stuff cheap....another urban myth, methinks.
The truth may be that what really happens in this depression, is that the weak will be separated from their cash.