Pain Trumps Love

Hurt is stronger than love. The paralyzing aftermath of emotional distress often trumps the promise of love. We've all known someone who is so affected by a broken relationship they can't seem to move on. At one time or another we've probably been that person.

State of the Union

This country is in the worst shape I've seen in my lifetime. Our government spies on us without due process. Our government lies to us about the basis for war, and engages in foreign conflicts we cannot win, at the cost of dear lives (on both sides) and the finances of our country. Our government protects big business and pet financial interests at the expense of the average citizen. Our government spends billions of tax dollars in the name of economic relief without even the pretense of appropriate oversight. Our political process is so broken that partisanship is the rule that guides behavior ignoring the best interests of the country as a whole. Political candidates routinely make promises to get elected, and then renege on those commitments as soon as they are elected. Our government creates the TSA, which is governed by the same constraints as the KGB in the former Soviet Union. Our government attempts to stifle freedom of the press, and calls it a battle against terrorism.

It's not by the people, for the people anymore. And they don't care if we know it.

Music Over a Lifetime, Part 2

As a kid, I listened to what was playing on the AM radio, and as I got older, I sought out album oriented rock FM stations. FM 100 in Memphis, TN was amazing in the early 70's. I first heard Wishbone Ash when they did an in studio mini-concert. From the first licks of "Time Was", I was hooked. The dual lead guitar approach was amazing. I might have heard other bands with twin leads (the Allman Brothers Band comes to mind), but nobody did it better than Andy Powell and Ted Turner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishbone_Ash

Since I was living in a very small town in west Tennessee, finding the LPs of new and/or non-mainstream artists was quite a challenge. Whenever I was in Memphis I'd always seek out a record shop to browse for those "list" items I couldn't find at K-Mart locally. I'd start with the A's, and flip through every bin looking to see what I could find. It wasn't uncommon for me to spend a few hours in a shop browsing. I had some great conversations with the sales folks in those shops. The typical worker in a record store of the day was a real music enthusiast.

State Of Life

What is our state of life...as in "state of the union", or "state of mind"? Is it about what we think, what others think, or what God thinks? We often tie our dreams to some yardstick we apply to ourselves, in those moments of reflection when we measure our accomplishments and failures. Persons of faith would say it's about God's judgement, while mystics and agnostics would find comfort in other mechanisms for examining our soul's net worth.

Introspection

Often, but not often enough to sustain clarity, after a day or so of feeling sorry for myself about some aspect of my life (if not the whole thing), I'll begin to get a whiff of my own cooking, and realize that for everything negative I can find in my life, there are countless folks out there who have far greater challenges than I. I also manage to uncover a long list of blessings I conveniently overlook on those self indulgent moments. Even a blind man sees life more clearly than I do at times.