The World Health Organization said that bacon and hot dogs will kill you. I think we already knew that, although I’m not going to eat a package of smoked hickory yummy bacon every single week, nor do I rarely ever eat a hotdog unless I’m at a ballgame (or The Varsity) it’s not going to stop me from eating either one. Everything we do contributes to our loss of life including all the wonderful things that we enjoy. Food, the sun, a morning walk, (you will breathe in carcinogenic auto exhaust fumes) we are dying slowly every day no matter what we do. Life is fatal. Therefore, I adhere to what Seneca said “As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.”
Birthdays
This is the 64th year I get to feel this crisp October breeze on my face.
And no, I’m not afraid, ashamed or any of those words the world pushes on us to say I am this old. I’m happy I can still experience this, my favorite time of the year.
My birthday is in two days and I’m reflective.
I’ve been told in the past I think too much. Is that really a thing? Can rigorous introspection about one’s self be a bad thing? No.
I guess when you get to this age you do tend to take a really close look at your life. Or at least I am.
I’m hoping, and I do think, those sharpe edges I had in my youth have been soften or at least worn down a bit.
The running so hard to prove I was somebody and to show the world I had worth. The wasted time of being hurt by rejection and clamoring to be notice. Not knowing back in those early days the power I truly possessed.
God, if I’d only known, but knowing only comes with time. Time, if you’re paying attention, is the most eloquent teacher.
Now time is the thing I value the most.
With leaves turning and temps dropping my mood bends towards soothing grateful sounds. As if the sound of calmness is floating in my head.
Does calmness actually have a sound? Yes.
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Winter
It is one of those days. The kind of day I often wish for. The sky is quiet and gray. You can almost see the cold.
The trees stand barren and listless as if to say “I’m standing here but I’m not lonely, just waiting for another time.”
I am one that loves the cold. I treasure the first fresh nip as I step into the world each day.
I love the winter.
Give me a proper cold weather coat, a finely crafted scarf and a walk down a New York City street at Christmas time and I’m in heaven.
Cold weather suits me in every way which is odd for a girl born in the South. Most find it depressing and bleak wishing for warm, balmy beaches with immaculately arranged umbrellas.
Not me.
You’ll never hear me say “hey let’s take a trip to somewhere warmer.” I guess I was just hammered together differently.
You see, the season gives me a sense of peace.
A feeling that everything is going to work out. That the world does have order.
In short, it gives me Joy.
So, if you ever wonder where I might have wandered off to just check any place cold, you may find me there.
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Hope, Always
What is yours will find you.
I saw this written recently on a social media post that is meant to inspire going into the new year.
In lives often loaded down with disappointment and failure one seems hard press to actually believe this aphorism.
Failed marriages, broken relationships, lost jobs and everything else that can make you feel like you’re on the wrong path.
To waste time, regretting and ruminating over why some things did not work in your favor is an act of futility.
This writer is always full of hope as to what magical surprise is right around the bend. Things change, you change.
Listen closely, pay attention.
There is something out there for you, and it will find you.
Happy New Year.
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Brandy Clark Ain’t No Paper Cut Out
Well, she’s gone and done it again. With a perfect right turn from her previous work, Brandy Clark has released her latest effort with major label backing giving her everything investments like that affords an artist.
With point perfect production and up-tempo snark, this is a record country radio should embrace if they want to present themselves as a 21st-century format.
The writing is relatable enough for the masses to attach themselves to but clever and sophisticated enough for any highbrow intellectual to appreciate. It’s all due to such a driving, cogent hook. Her signature turn of phrase serves her well again here with lines like the surprisingly unexpected, but superbly integrated “Virgin Mary metaphor.” Only the most clever of writers can incorporate this kind of devilish verbiage into a song and not sound farcical.
Actually, this can be considered a pop record as well. It’s a song that transcends genres.
But who I’m I kidding, country radio probably won’t understand the nuance of a record that is so sublimely crafted.
And we don’t care.
Without any radio air play on her last release, she won’t need it here either. Clark’s ever-growing fan base will find her and buy this record with or without radio leading the way.
To say I’m a fan of Clark’s may be an understatement, but I’m a fan of great writing in any form or medium. Aaron Sorkin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Brandy Clark.
Because good is good, but this is great music making.
Check out an older interview I had with Brandy Clark here:
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Are You Maturing or Just Getting Old
Physical maturity is inevitable, emotional maturity is not.
The things you learn in maturity aren’t simple things such as acquiring information and skills. You learn not to engage in self-destructive behavior. You learn not to burn up energy in anxiety. You discover how to manage your tensions. You learned not to trust your emotions, they’re ephemeral. You learn that self-pity and resentment are among the most toxic of drugs. You find that the world loves talent and beauty but pays off on character. You learn you can be a successful failure by chasing the wrong passion. When you find your purpose, your provision will chase you. You learn if you are true to who you are and what you believe, it will open doors, not keep them closed. You learned that competition taken to extremes can be a form of mental illness. You learn to stop trying to hit the high notes of the past and move on to the next thing. You learn to be your own shrink and ask yourself the tough questions. You learn to do your best even if your best is just getting out of bed. You learn to tolerate disappointment. You learn there are going to be bad days, but not to make it into a life position. You come to understand that most people are neither for you nor against you; they are thinking about themselves. You learn sacrificial love equals the highest form of love and that love is a very serious business. You learn that some of your major mistakes have had love as an accelerator. You learn that no matter how hard you try to please, some people in this world are not going to love you, a lesson that is at first troubling and then really quite relaxing.
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Hello World!
Hello World! Those famous words used in computer programming for beginners is appropriate here for me, a beginning blogger.
I plan to use this blog for thoughts and comments on a variety of things from music, theatre and art, to politics (can you say “2016”), human nature and culture today. From the latest greatest video I’ve seen, book I’ve read or song I’ve heard. So yes, it will be many things.
I hope you will find it interesting and will come back often.
I’ll start with a song… You can never go wrong with music.
Bernadette Peters “Unexpected Song” will chill you to the bone. Make sure you stick around for the last note. It’s so worth it.
Forever curious,
Kathy
kathyawhitespeaks 