More than just a song

A few weeks back, I spent the weekend at a lake cabin with some friends. The original idea was to rally twenty or so old school friends with the hope of remembering some really great things that have happened in recent years. As it turns out, there were less of us than I planned and it was just about perfect.

It's important to know when the dynamic is: fire, lake cabin, spittoon, and drink - it would take the strength of several full grown southern men to stop me from picking up the guitar and encouraging anyone who has musical talent to join in the fun. And it just so happens that after yapping for an hour or two, we all had instruments in hand, whisky poured, recorder rolling and some homegrown music. (I'll post a tune or two next week.)

We are by no means professional musicians, writers or singers - but I have full confidence we could hold our own in most any bar/campfire setting you might dream up. There was an old-Hank, bluegrass, folk smell in the air. After a few well known classics, an original song would often emerge; some complete but most still works in progress.

Original songs may or may not be attractive to any given listener, but there is something true in a song that has meaning to its author. Most of these songs will never be heard by many and they are often sung with shaky voices. They are authentic and pure. I am convinced that out of the millions of songs penned by the unknowns there are masterpieces in that large haystack that would stir the hardest of hearts.

There was such a song that night at the cabin. I hate that I do not have it to upload here in this post, but I do hope it shows itself soon. I'm not certain of the title, but I will share a bit of the lyrics with you:

The wind blows where she wants to
She's like my woman, with a mind of her own
But if you listen, with her there's rhythm
Words of wisdom roll of her tongue

I wonder what inspires us to write? Songs. Poems. Blogs. Letters. etc

For me it's so many things. The most recent is a photo of my bride picking a yellow leaf during a walk we took on Thanksgiving with our children.

So keep your ears peeled and there just may be a song or two here in the near future. Or send me yours and we'll post it to...unless it's really bad, then probably not.

Find something that is beautiful. Something inspiring. Something pure and good. Something horrible that makes you angry. A bitter memory or whenever you buried someone you love. There's a quote that I love and a good friend shared it with me when he was following his dream:

"Most people die with their music inside them."

Don't let it be you. I won't either. 

A battle of the manlies

First, let me shout quickly that I plan to post on ye ol' blog weekly, however I was distracted last week with nasal surgery (deviated septum) and although the thought did cross my mind that others would enjoy the details, I managed to detain myself from writing or posting photos. Since I'm still on the mend, you will be forced to have somewhat of a Tomfoolery post this week. Next week I will return with more of the goods.

Now everyone knows that riding a bike is manly. The sheer thought of straddling anything uncomfortable is close to impossible to resist. But when you add motion and exercise it's off the chart irresistible. (Similar to anything on the grill during football season.)

I've been teaching (and by teaching I mean something similar to teaching) my oldest to ride a bike. It's a workout all by itself. If you've been there, you know it's fun, frustrating, exciting, hard but so good when they 'get it.'

In the process of doing something similar to teaching, I decided to give an example of how the laws of gravity, balance and muscle activity which I had just explained practically play out. So how better to do that then on said bike for which my child was learning to ride. AKA The Barbie Bike.

Long story short: my wife captured the event and posted it on her blog. (Sweet) Well, numerous friends thought it was funny and since then one particular Dad has put forth efforts in which to match...dare I say, one up me. So I thought it only fair to compare / contrast the two examples for a very objective evaluation.

Pictured from left to right: Me, then him (for the sake of illustration let's say his name is "Justin".) And if we must wear labels, Me shall be referred to as Super Dad. Obviously the first observation would be that Super Dad is riding solo, where as "Justin" is accompanied by a child. I can only assume this is a deliberate attempt to show that he may posses superior strength or super-human powers or perhaps that he may have laser vision or fly around the world so that it results in time moving backward. Friends, this is not true. In fact, were I to wrestle this "Justin" clearly I would win in approximately 2:41 seconds in which it would all end in a move known in Greco Roman wrestling as "The Grapevine." 

It's not hard to see that Super Dad is focused, with one goal, striving, working and moving in a singular vision..."Justin" looks to be casually strolling, as without purpose - which not surprisingly will be noticed by the young child he embraces and will result in countless hours of discipline in the teenage years. Aside from other notable differences such as Super Dad's superior build, strong beard and Jesus sandals, it also appears that "Justin" is indeed still in training wheels.

I find it sad, that this man, this, "Justin" would stoop to this level to try and compete with what clearly is an area beyond his expertise. But alas, there is grace my friends. And because of this I recant. Well done "Justin" you are on your way to being a Super Man. May you unfurl your sails to the isle of Bikini.