The Cheap Seats

The older I get the more I shake my head, At things people do, at words they have said. Do they think they are fooling us? Not a chance, no way! Theory. They just don't give a sh*t, do they?   We have a government, self-serving and bloated, Driven by special interests, not people who voted. No more sound bites, stop lying, Listen to us will ya, HEY! Assumption. They just don't give a sh*t, do they?   And drug companies, peddling every placebo and pill, for all manner of ache and pain, fever or chill? Cure something for Christ's sake! Why just keep illnesses at bay? Inference. They just don't give a sh*t, do they?   And why have tuition rates shot skyscraper high, Shackling a generation for life, paying loans til they die? University presidents troll out pretext and excuse, as graduates keep collection agencies at bay. Hypothesis. They just don't give a sh*t, do they?  ...

I believe much of the wisdom we accrue in life comes only after pushing through pain (repeatedly), getting knocked down (repeatedly) or making some horrendous mistake (repeatedly) that we look back on later with the disbelieving thought, "What THE HELL was I thinking?!" In these instances, understanding comes  only after the pain has been soothed, we've picked ourselves up or a course correction has been made.   Thankfully, not all knowledge works that way. Some ah-ha moments gather momentum slowly, building on top of each other like snug fitting Legos in a slow accumulation until the sheer weight of repetition brings realization. These nuggets aren't earned the hard way. They don't require a sucker punch or hard rap on the head. Time is all it takes.    And the acquired information isn't specific. They don't include any, " I am the only person who has ever gone through this " mo...

Oh great - here he goes again - moaning how the past was better than the present. Give it a rest will ya, the decade of your youth was tacky, tasteless and trashy! Listen pal, you were obsessed with gadgets and garbage too. Have you forgotten the Sanyo Walkman (couldn't afford a Sony I guess) that was securely fixed to your belt from 1982 to 1985? Or what about those Adidas high-tops with the fat tongue that you intentionally stuck out of the shoe - what the hell was that all about? And let's not forget PBR - what were you thinking drinking that swill? I realize it only cost $2.48 for a six-pack (tax included), but were the day-after technicolor bowel movements really worth it?  To all of these accusations (and certainly many, many more) I readily admit my guilt.   In fact, I'll go one step further and proclaim that the Age we now live in is pretty damn cool. I have come around to embrace most of its shiny baubles and buttons -...

I am a child of the 80's. I started junior high in 1979 and finished college in 1989. I remember switching from flair to straight leg jeans in 7th grade; a Goody comb tucked in my back pocket through 8th and 9th grade; watching Michael Jackson moonwalk across the Apollo Theater stage in 10th grade; unsuccessfully try on parachute pants in senior high; buttoning the fly of my stonewashed jeans as I entered college; and finally, replacing my cassettes with something called cd's as graduation neared. The decade had a distinct attitude, style and sound.  Like many other people around my age, that sound lives on in our adulthood. I can hear a song from that era and be instantly transported back in time. As I should be. Most music fits snugly into the decade that spawned it. 80's music is no different. There are very few musicians and singers that are truly timeless, able to sound fresh and relevant from one decade to the next. I am...