I'm going to get more into this later, but I wanted to post what I was thinking at the time. Also, I still owe myself at least two more entries on Abraham.
I've been informed that Bad Haggis will be at the Irish Festival:
http://festival.azirish.org/ Did I spell that right? My favorite band, though, is the Blackwood Band: http://blackwoodband.com/ Maybe they'll show up.
I've always like Bluegrass music -- the banjos, the rhythmic bass, the jug (yes, the one you blow into). The Ulster Irish spread much Irish culture into the colonies before the Catholics came over during the Famine. Growing up, I always thought it was fun music.
Of course, when I told my schoolyard friends it was fun, they did not give me reciprocal good will. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they turned me on to Van Halen (and Van Hagar -- which is better), the Crue, and Ozzy (Ozzy's got some Welsh, or Celtic, in him). Good stuff. For some reason, when I was in junior high, U2 was pretty "cool" too.
I liked that stuff. Without any prompting, and I don't know why.
I also like Guinness. Sometimes it's just good for an afternoon snack. Instead of cookies, have some Guinness -- after all, there's a loaf of bread in every beer. Bushmills, too, is good. Jameson is good, but not as good. Jack Daniels, Cutty Sark, and a lot of these other brown liquors really make me sick. Glenfiddich (or however the hell you spell it) isn't really that good, either. There are some members of the Kelly clan that like Maker's Mark, a good Kentucky bourbon, but the stuff is just too sweet for me.
Whoa, I just wrote a lot about booze.
From day one, I've always been the type of person who "jumps in." I've learned to temper my enthusiasm, but I've still got some impetuousness in me.
In Thomas Cahill's How the Irish Saved Civilization, he explores the Irish mindset. I can relate to it. Something about a lot of sound an fury, with a loud explosion, that really signifies nothing. You only live once, right?
My bones hurt (mainly my knees and ankles), but I'm only 32. I never went into any sort of pro athletics. I was never even close to talented enough. I can hold my own in some "full contact" martial arts (I use quotes because when rules apply, there's not such thing as "full contact") only because my nerve endings don't seem to fully connect. I have had asthma since my pre-teens but never knew it. I never stopped, though. I just kept going. Probably to the detriment of me in the future, if I ever made it into the future.
So what if you live to 90, if you make it to 80 having a lot of fun? 90 years on a planet that's 4.5 billion years old isn't that much time, is it?
I once told someone that you should live like it's your last day, but plan for the future in case it isn't.
What does this rambling mean? I don't know.
I think it has something to do with enjoying your life, enjoying your world. Yesterday I played with jkelly2's new firetruck for almost 2 hours. Last week, we played with play-dough for almost three hours (6 am to 9 am). It sounds crazy to somone who's never had a child, but very soon he's going to be driving and leaving for college.
Enjoy life while you can. Drink beer. Play pool. Dance. Sing. Love.
If this sounds like Hedonism, you're wrong. I'll try to clarify later. In the meantime, remember that Christ's first miracle was to turn water into wine.
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4 comments:
Amazing blog entry, j. Such a coincidence...nevermind. Read the email that I sent you before I read this. I promise it was before.
I love U2. Some days Bono's strained but beautiful voice and the Edge's distorted magic are my muses. Today, however, it's the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Have you ever heard The Drovers?
Weren't we also told to be the salt of the Earth?
I'm full of surprises, gold5 ;)
I love music. I am moved by so many different things, different sounds, different lyrics. I can obsess over a RHCP's song or cry at Pachelbel's Canon in D....feel the beauty of my age at the Dixie Chicks' Landslide (I listen in a strictly non-partisan manner) or feel the wisp of humanity in Les Miserables' Javert as he sings Stars. I, too, like Yes, John Denver (I had a friend sing "Follow Me" at my wedding) and Sarah McLaughlin. The band I mentioned, The Drovers, do some Celtic rock stuff. I have an old CD of theirs...nothing new...but I really like it.
Yeah. I'm into music.
I love essays like this one, j. I just wonder about how to interpret it sometimes...you know? What if my interpretation of "living" is different than the maker's? What if I'm on the WAY wrong path and choose to embrace it...because I'm "living?" I want to do the right things in life, but to do that, I have to know what the right things are.
I know you read anakinside1's blog entry on sw.com (though I didn't read all the comments). Between that one and this one, I want to celebrate that in this life that makes me feel good, makes me feel special, makes me feel loved...makes me feel like I matter. Yet I come back to doing the right things. What if what's good for me isn't what's good for someone else?
I guess I'm circling around to sacrifice. HEY!!! Was that your intent??? You're a tricky one.
I'm anxious to hear more of your thoughts.
Does Julia have a definite middle name yet?
Ami,
I do have a basic plan of where these entries are going. Trust me ...
I don't think I've heard The Drovers.
I think that most people do have a pretty good moral compass. That's one reason I don't buy into moral relativism too much. So, I'd say you probably shouldn't be worried about whether you're going the "right" way. You most likely are going the right way, for you, at least (get it?).
The Drovers music was on the soundtrack for the movie Blink, years ago. I don't know much about them except that I bought their CD that includes the song(s) they played in that movie.
I do get what you're saying, and thanks for the reassurance. I wonder, though. While I do agree that most people have a good moral compass, what about the truly good person whose moral compass is spinning? You get too close to a figurative magnetic pole and WHAM! You have no idea where you're going.
Life is good...very good. Just confusing sometimes.
Looking forward to reading more.
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