My Songs #10

Music has a unique ability of reaching our emotions in a special way. A song can trigger feelings, some we may not even be aware we have. Some songs can even place our emotions in perspective when we are incapable of doing it for ourselves.

Over the next few months I plan to post ten songs on my blog. These are songs that have a special meaning to me. Songs that have helped me define how I feel, how I see myself or how I see the my world over the past few years. I realize I'm the only person who will understand exactly what each song means to me but I wanted to list them to remember.

The reason I picked each song, more than likely, has nothing to do with the artist's original intent but more for the way I've been able to connect the song with my emotions, feelings and life. Mostly through metaphors or analogies.

Send In The Clowns
Sung by Bing Crosby

Isn't it rich?
Are we a pair?
Me here at last on the ground,
You in mid-air.

Send in the clowns.

Isn't it bliss?

Don't you approve?

One who keeps tearing around,

One who can't move.

Where are the clowns?

Send in the clowns.

Just when I'd stopped opening doors,

Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours,

Making my entrance again with my usual flair,

Sure of my lines,

No one is there.

Don't you love farce?

My fault I fear.

I thought that you'd want what I want.

Sorry, my dear.

But where are the clowns?

Quick, send in the clowns.

Don't bother, they're here.

Isn't it rich?

Isn't it queer,

Losing my timing this late In my career?

And where are the clowns?

There ought to be clowns.

Well, maybe next year.

Snake Oil

Fools rush in

Where wise men never go

I've been watching the financial gears of this country grind to a halt and I can't help but laugh.

The Democrats, who have been screaming the President is an idiot for eight years, turned to him for guidance and direction to solve the financial crisis. Not only did they follow his lead, they lobbied for his plan to their party members who weren't buying it. If you call someone a fool and then follow their lead what does that make you?

The financial institutions, who are partly to blame, have their hand out for public money to help so they can survive. These are the same businesses that have been sticking it to us for years with ridiculous rates and fees. These same businesses, with their 'we're too big to care about an individual customer' attitude now wants mom and pop to care about them. I say put them on hold, make them do the finger digit dance as they listen to the awful music. Let them wonder for awhile if a real person is going to answer the phone and help. Press #1 if you are hearing me.

Wall Street, who has no morals or concerns about John Q Public, now screams that if we don't bail them out we are only hurting ourselves. I'm sorry but I won't be shedding any tears for these guys either. They are the masters of buying companies and selling off their assets to squeeze out every dime for profit, yet I haven't heard many of these companies selling off assets or divisions to raise capital. It's an all or nothing proposition they're trying to force. My children do the same thing, only they hold their breath hoping to get what they want. The only thing is, it doesn't work for the kids.

So here's the deal. We are going to give them around 800,000,000,000.00 dollars, eight hundred billion dollars, because they are slowly turning off the credit tap. Either we give them the money or they won't finance our houses, cars and stuff. It's blackmail plain and simple and we're going to do it. Shame on us.

Wouldn't it have made more sense to set up a fund of eight hundred billion that they could borrow from if they were desperate enough? If they volunteered to partake of this fund they would be subject to very strict government oversight (to the level of unbearable) until they paid back the money with interest. If they defaulted on the loan then assets would be seized and sold. The heavy regulation would have guaranteed only companies that needed help would have taken it and would have motivated them to pay back the money as fast as possible. It would also limit the role of government in the financial market. Of course nobody asked me so we're going to go with the 'blackmail 800,000,000,000.00 dollar thing' and hold our noses... and close our eyes.

Live a little... because you never know

I received news this past weekend that business friend of mine had died. He was killed in a work related accident. He was forty eight years old. He left a wife and three daughters behind

Obviously this type news put me in a sour mood but after I thought about the man who died I had a different reaction. This guy loved life and squeezed as much out of it as he could. I can't remember ever seeing him in a bad mood. So Sunday I decided to take the family to the beach and live little. Damn, we had fun too.

Hope

My son's best friend, who has been battling cancer for almost three years, is having surgery today to remove a tumor that has wrapped itself around a main artery.

If you have a extra moment please say a prayer for the little guy. He can use all he help he can get.

**** update ****

He made it through the surgery. He was able to keep the kidney they thought he would lose. However the cancer had grown to close to his main artery to get it all. And they think it's still active. So he still has a long way to go.

Somethings should never change

Things change, they always do but sometimes you fool yourself into thinking they won't. This week, after 46 years, yes, 46 years, Larry Munson reported he would stop announcing UGA football games on the radio.

I know, I know... big deal right? But it is a big deal to millions and millions of fans. He is the voice of Georgia football. The only one most of us have known. The one I thought my children would get to know on Saturday afternoons but at the age of 86, yes, that's 86, I should have realized we were lucky to hear him this long.

People loved him for the enthusiasm he brought to the booth. He never hid the fact that he was a UGA fan through and through. Still, even the opposing team's fans like to hear him. It wouldn't be uncommon for a Georgia fan to have a radio on top of his TV so he could watch the game and listen to Larry on the radio. He was just that good.

Even now I can close my eyes, play these clips and remember sitting in my car, screaming with Larry as he painted a picture of victory in my imagination with his words. Especially these two clips because at the end of both his emotions overtake him and expose him for the true fan he is.

The Bulldog Nation will miss your voice Larry but we will never forget you.

1980 Georgia vs Florida (It's biggest rival)

2001 Georgia vs Tennessee

He actually uses the phrase "hobnailed boot" at the end.

Give credit where credit is due

Everyday we hear about another financial institution biting the dust. It's sad to see these big institutions go down and even sadder seeing all these people lose their jobs. What I can't understand is how people didn't see this coming.

Americans, in large numbers, have been living above their means for a long time. I myself have been guilty of doing this. While the trend may have started with wanting to have a cell phone, then the latest cell phone, it all to quickly became a pattern. A computer, then the latest and greatest computer, the habit soon turned into a hard addiction. DVD players, Flat panel TVs, led the way to new cars and then the addict took the biggest hit of all, they bought a house they couldn't afford.

We as a nation are obsessed with stuff. We have to have it and we have to have it now. While I hold the consumer responsible for the problem they placed themselves in, I also blame the financial institutions. They had to know. They had to see the amount of debt people were carrying but they kept on approving loans that would place people further in debt. Worse, bigger institutions gobbled up these bad loans to sure up their financial assets.

I liken the whole thing to a financial game of 'hot potato' but it was worse than that because they were playing with multiple potatoes. In other words they created or allowed so many problems that everyone playing had to know they would get caught, yet they played on.

So when will it end. Americans still want their stuff and the global economy depends on that to a degree. RVs, boats, jet ski's, motorcycles are not considered the property of the well off anymore. A vacation every year and a big Christmas are expected these days. Yet we clearly can't afford them. Hell, a lot of people can't afford the vacations they took last year and haven't paid for yet.

What scares me the most is that these financial institutions gambled people's saving, people's retirement money, MY RETIREMENT MONEY on something they had to know, or should have known, was a loser of a deal from the start.

Yes, they will pay. Many will lose their jobs and some (few) may go to jail but what about the people who trusted them to invest their money? What happens to the guy who saved his money, bought a house he could afford and took vacations only when he had the money to pay for them? The guy that got laughed at for not having a computer at all and carried a four year old cell phone on his hip. He will lose as well. Through no fault of his own he may owe more on his house than it's worth. His retirement fund may be wiped out. Sad.

People better change their ways now. The government has stepped into help but I wouldn't count on that for long. They are taking money from people who didn't over spend to help those who did. That can not go on for long. It's like giving yourself a transfusion with your own blood.

Credit can be dangerous thing. Especially when you give too much of it to people who aren't looking out for your best interest.

Confession # 8

As we were passing the bar section of the restaurant we ate at for our anniversary, The Wife saw that my favorite college football team was playing on TV.

The Wife: Awww, you're missing your big game tonight.

Me: Not a problem, I'd rather be here with you.

TW: That's sweet





Thank the Lord for TiVo!!!!

Just Another Thing A Blog Is Good For

Chalk one up for blogging.

Earlier this week The Wife asked me if I remembered our anniversary was coming up? I told her I did. (I really did too) She said it was Sunday, so obviously we would celebrate it on Saturday.

Then, as I was doing some paper work this morning, I wrote down the date. I stopped and stared at it for a moment. Then it hit me, today is our anniversary. I called The Wife and told her. She laughed at me and said, "no, it's on the 21st, not today." I quickly checked my blog and confirmed it was a year ago today I posted our 15Th anniversary. So for the record....

I was right! I was right! I was right! I was right! I was right! I was right! I was right! I was right! I was right! I was right! I was right! I was right! I was right! I was right! I was right!

I reminded her had I been the one (the man) who had gotten it wrong there would be hell to pay. She just laughed it off as no big deal. *sigh*

I can't win!

Oh well,

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!!!

Frozen

I almost never go to the doctor unless it's an emergency. When you go under stress conditions, like a mangled finger or a machete chop to the leg, you get a different experience than going in for a check up.

Last week I went to a dermatologist to get a spot, that had suddenly appeared on my chest, looked at. I hadn't given the spot much thought until I sat down in the doctor's office next to a poster. The poster described the cancer melanoma, complete with pictures. The pictures looked exactly like the spot on my chest. Great, now I was worried.

The doctor, who thought he was some sort of comedian, gave it a quick look. He also checked other areas that were suspicious. His attempt at humor put me at ease about it being a serious situation. Like I said, I'm usually at the doctor for emergencies so I'm not in the habit of questioning what the doctor is doing. I now realize that asking questions is what your suppose to do at a check up. Live and learn right?

Without much fan fare he told me the spot would come and go and he would just go ahead and take care of it now. He rolled himself out of the room on his stool and rolled himself back in with a super sized cotton swab and a metal jug trailing behind him also on wheels. The jug had smoke coming out the top. He never said what he was going to do but it was easy to figure out that he was going to freeze the spot. This is where I should have asked a few questions, I didn't.

He took the frozen cotton swab and placed it to my chest. I sat quietly as he ground it into my skin. I never moved or mentioned how much it felt like he was sticking a dagger into my chest. Then he asked me to turn my head and he touched the cotton swab to a place on my face. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!!" I thought to myself as I sat motionless. Then he touched another spot near my eye. When he was done he told me to use some antibacterial ointment and band-aids as necessary. "Why the hell would I need a band-aid?" I said, again to myself, as I followed the doctor to his office as instructed.

As he filled out his paper work he told me that people with my complexion don't need to be in the sun, at all. I thought how ridicules a statement that was as I nodded my head at him in agreement. He then gave me a catalogue full of clothes to wear during the summer months. These clothes cover every square inch of skin. I'll never, ever, buy or wear something like that, I thought, as I thanked him for the book and stuck it in my pocket.

Then he handed me the bill and said, "that's it" with a smile on his face. I shook his hand and started to leave when, seemingly off the cuff, he said, "You shouldn't have anything to worry about. I think we got it in time." My mind shifted gears and I was trying to figure out what he meant by that. Got what in time? Worry about what? Is there more I need to know here? These are all the questions I didn't ask as I just turned and headed to the cashier. I was now more concerned than before I saw him.

A day later two spots, the size of an Eggo waffle, (ok not that big but any mark on your face feels 10 times bigger than it is) formed on the side of my face where the doctor had worked. It oozed liquid and turned black. It was like a black hole that sucked peoples' vision so strong they were powerless to look away, even when I caught them staring. Thank the Lord I wasn't planning to do anything important like a modeling photo session... or something.

So now I'm waiting for half my face to peel off so people will stop looking at me like I have something on my face, which I do. I'm left wondering why the doctor didn't tell me the whys and the whats of what he was doing. Worse, I can't figure out why I went to a doctor for answers and allowed myself to leave with more questions than I came with. I guess it's one of those things you get better at with practice. So the next time I go I'm going to ask more questions and this time I might even say them out loud.

Dag gum it!

There has always been a gumball machine where I work. You know the one, glass globe, you put a quarter in the slot, turn the knob and a couple of gum balls come out. I'm not sure who owned the one that's been at our place for years. All I know was someone came, refilled it and took the money. That was until this year. This year no one came to refill the machine so eventually it ran out. It's not that I chew a lot of gum but it was a nice way to get a sugar fix a few times a week.

After several months of no gum, a brand new, shiny candy machine showed up. Full to the top too. Oh did I lose a few quarters that day. Oh happy days are here again. Then I inquired from where did this shiny new machine full of glorious sugar come from? Seems my brother bought it on eBay. Interesting.

The next day I had a hankering for a piece of gum, waltzed right up to the gumball machine... but then a funny thing happened. Just before I plucked my quarter in the slot I kinda resented that it was going to my brother. I quickly shrugged the feeling off. I mean I never cared when a stranger got my quarter. Besides now there was gum and if there isn't, I know who to see.

Still, every time since, when I go to place my quarter in the slot, I get that same damn feeling. I really don't know why either. I don't care if he gets the money. Hell, I'd give it to him if he wanted it. Is it because he thought of the idea and I didn't? Am I jealous? I don't think I am. Maybe it just upset me that he didn't include me in his little venture when we've been partners in everything else concerning business. But, seriously it's a gumball machine, not a business. I really don't know why I get this stupid feeling.

I do know I don't like the feeling but I can't shake it completely. Every time I go to get some gum I get it again and quite frankly it's ruining my whole gum chewing experience. WTF?!