I found it at last!It was an old phonograph record that had a song with a real catchy beat (people these days call it a "hook") that I discovered on an online auction site. To my delight, it wasn't just in good or passable shape, it had never been opened since the date of its manufacure. How lucky can anyone get?Of course, that depends on your definition of luck and how excited you can get about an ancient, ultra lounge LP that's good for nothing but setting a mood. It might be a mood for dancing, romancing, or just listening to after the rest of the house has gone to bed and you can't sleep.Since the record was sealed, it wouldn't do me a whole lot of good unless I opened it. And therein lay the dilemma: to open or not to open. I thought about it a day or two, giving my actions careful consideration and looking at all options.1. Don't open it. So I've invested thirty dollars (six times what it was originally worth in 1966) and have a record occupying a bin. If all I am going to do is look at it, why buy it?2. Open it. There goes the value of the record (to collectors) who will now get a cut on the price since the seal is broken, if in fact I decide to sell it. But, I'm not going to sell it, I bought it to enjoy, and the only way I'm going to do that is to break the seal.3. Buy it on CD. Can't do it. It was never released on CD, with the exception of two tracks on a larger boxed compilation. Reissue activities over the past few years have ensured that more obscure recordings are finding their way to sellers' shelves and colectors' libraries, but the minute the recording is brought out on CD, the worth of the original issue is diminished. Again, I'm not selling it ever, so why worry about it? True, I could have a $50 for the record sealed, but then all I have is money which is probably going to be spent on something stupid or a dinner out that is loaded with trans fat, cholesterol, and carbs, which will eventually kill me. Then I never will hear the record and my wife will tote it to a thrift shop. Someone will buy it and use it for a clay pigeon (vinyl records can really fly if thrown correctly). What to do, what to do.4. Buy another copy of the album - there were several online. But why tie up more money in another copy, have two, play one, while I show off my sealed copy to someone who really isn't a fan of that music or the singer?5. Enough of this already. I'm going to bravely break the seal, carefully play it, transfer it to CD, throw the disc on the changer some rainy afternoon, and sit down with a cup of coffee and enjoy both.Who says I can't make decisions?Note: "Ultra Lounge" used in one of the preceding paragraphs is a marketing term for cheesy music heard mostly in bachelor pads. Guys heavy intro retro will furnish their homes ala Late American Garage Sale with Veg-O-Matics in plain view on the kitchen counter, melmac dinnerware, nine different patterns of silverware (nothing matches), have lamps on with much too big a shade on them, and have a Hi-Fi (record player) in the living room. Think I'm kidding?Another note: The album at front and center of the above mentioned drama is "Do I Hear A Waltz" by torch singer Jo Stafford who was also a great interpreter of the American Ballad. This was her first release on the Dot label. Kinda classy and colorful logo, no? The album now reposes in a bin (opened) between a limited edition white vinyl pressing of The Beatles' "White Album," and "Shaved Fish" by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band. There's no method to this madness. . .
The blooming roses around our church here in northern Illinois remind me again that not only do the most beautiful flowers thrive beneath well tended soil but that grace, the capacity to love and be loved as only Christ can, also blooms under the well tended soil and shadow of a cross.
I wish I could do something about the hurts that others experience.
I'd love to take a person's frustrations, worries, and anger and do something about it, but I can't. There's no magic formula that's going to make this stuff go away any more than a similar mystical aura or potion can take away mine. It took a lot of years for me to get this way and chances are it's going to take that many and a lot more to get it all resolved. We're all in the same corner.
I can share in the pain that my friends go through, though. It happened just a while ago.
I was reading over a friend's blog and picked up on the sense of emptiness and frustration he's experienced over the past few years; actually his whole life. I'll call this person Mark.
It's been a rough go for Mark. He's been tossed to the dogs on issues that none of us should have to face, but those choices weren't his and were the consequence of decisions that other people made. Okay, such is life, I know, and it seems to be more and more what our culture is about - someone suffering for the mistakes others make. I could get on a soapbox about this one for quite some time, but I'm going to spare you the irony. I just plain hurt for Mark and want to tell him a few things:
1. The stuff located on either side of the road you're on is not your fault - please don't blame yourself. God created you for a reason and He loves you just the way you are (sorry, Billy Joel, the words just sort of fit in here).
2. Lots of folks love you and see something special in you. I see a person who is sensitive to his feelings, the feelings of others. You express emotions in line and verse and share your heart freely. You make yourself an open book. I like that kind of transparency.
3. Things are going to turn around for you, believe that. Don't convince yourself that because your portion in some ways so far hasn't been all that affirming that it's always going to stay that way. I see God turning your situation around. Put the timetable away and let the train run down the track, and be ready to board when it stops.
4. Go somewhere and tell God how you feel - yes, He cares. Cry awhile. The tears wash not only your eyes, but your understanding as well.
I can't change your life, but God already has. I want to be there for the rebound. For now, let me share your hurt.
The soundtrack album of the 20th Fox Johnny Cash biopic "Walk The Line," (Sony/WindUp Records) is great! If you're a Cash fan (I am!) you've seen the movie and probably thought a lot about this true American Legend. His music is timeless, his originality and genuineness the stuff of real Americana, and he's even rubbed musical noses with Bono (U2). I guess that should come as no surprise. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (and others) do a marvelous job with 16 Cash and Carter songs. I'd never listen to anyone else even attempt to do a cover of my favorite "Get Rhythm" from a late 1950s Sun Session (see my previous blog) but this is one magnificent waxing of an old standby. The rest of the disc works equally well and it's worth your money. See the movie if you haven't already and pick up the Authorized Biography by Steve Turner ("The Man Called Cash: The Life, love, and Faith of an American Legend") foreword by Kris Kristofferson. This is one great American Hero. In these recordings and Turner's book you'll see why!Thanks, Steve H., for putting the bug in my ear about this CD!
Mood: Optimistic (I try to stay this way)My generation's parents said it, too: what are kids coming to these days?One of my classmates, a mother of several children, recently quoted the same line. That's OK, but her credibility was in questions since she partied hearty in her day. Oops, I forgot to remember to forget about that.My guess is that Generation Y is doing pretty good. If you ask me, they're a lot of more focused, have a deeper appreciation for family, since many come from broken homes and are learning that when push comes to shove, the most important element is the family unit, as dysfunctional and nuts as that unit can be at times. Generation Y sees the mistakes my generation made, but they have this intrinsic knowledge that says not all the wrongs are going to be made right in the single sweep of social reform. They're focused on long term solutions, working at short term goals to make the bigger picture work. Okay, so Y-er's don't have the luxury of opulent album cover art like it was back in the Day ("Led Zeppelin," "Morrison Hotel," "Sgt. Pepper's") but they're savvy enough to appreciate digitally remastered classic albums with bonus tracks and have thousands of them crammed into the plastic confines of an MP3 player or IPod. I like this group of young people. They're on a long road, have a tremendous journey in front of them and for the most part know where they're going. It's good they know where they've come from, too.Thought for the day: "Get Rhythm, when you get the blues,come on, get rhythm,When you get the blues. . . ."Get a rock and roll feelin' in your bones,get tapes on your toes and get goin'. . . ."Get Rhythm, when you get the blues"Johnny Cash, 1956, B-side of Sun Records single, "I Walk The Line"Okay, not a very spiritual thought I guess, but it beats the heck out of simmering over past hurts and how frustrated you are over the price of $3.00 a gallon gasoline
