I drift in thought again as I look out the home office window. I send my wife a text while she is at work. “… odd seeing daffodils and green grass with heavy snow fall mid-April ….”
For decades we have been feeding corn and seeds to the local white-tailed deer that live in an ever decreasing amount of free land near our house. They have flourished here for many, many years. I used to think they would be here long after I die. I fear now that they will soon be forced out or killed and will no longer stop by in the spring after giving birth to their young. Each generation bringing their new-born to our picnic tables. We recognize familiar ones and watch them grow: then disappear.
We have witnessed within the span of a generation urban sprawl and light pollution making stars all but invisible. My new grandson will probably have to travel many miles as a man to see constellations light up the night sky. So few in his generation will actually see the Milky Way – from Earth.
So much beauty and wonder reduced to vague dreams or myths heard only in old folk’s tales. How many wonderful things will will soon be gone forever? Maybe worse; people will not even know what has been lost.
I added a new original video for my song “From Start To Stop”. My wife Ellen does the vocals and Greg Stern wrote most of the music and plays guitar. Ellen and I wrote the lyrics.
I have mentioned Spring Grove Cemetery in past articles and posts and that is where I shot the video. There was very heavy fog that day and Ellen suggested we take some pictures there. I will post some of those in the near future, and I also shot a video using my phone that became the background for the video. There is a small mound with tombstones all around the center. You can drive all around it so I shot the video as Ellen drove around the mound. Most of the pictures in the video are mine, but I had a bit of help from my friends over the years!
Recently I was thinking about a work incident. Not to go into details, but there were so many lessons to learn. A co-worker with some minor authority over me tried to get me to ‘sacrifice something’ so that they could ‘benefit’. There was no real reason that I could connect to this request – except that they thought they should get preferential treatment because they deserved it.
When I refused with a simple but unmistakable rejecting statement, the ‘bully’ came out. Intimidation, threatening, and harassing behavior flew rapidly in my direction.
I am a rather easy person to get along with. I do not get into gossip, rumors or status. I just want to do my job, have a little fun if I can, and go home. Sometimes that is not possible, and the occasional confrontation will creep in. If personal friction happens, I will usually smooth it over and try to let it affect me as little as possible. I would rather forget it and start fresh the next time I meet the other person. But this time I wondered about being that passive and easy-going. Was I improving things? Did it make the day or life in general better? Does it really help to let people take advantage of my flexible attitude and/or position in life?
I came to the conclusion that it did not help or improve things at all. If I let a bully succeed at threatening, intimidating and harassing me, they will take their successful strategy and slam it on the next guy or girl. As a friend of mine put it; I am more likely to speak up if someone else becomes a victim than if I do. In some way to connect to the #metoo movement without being insensitive to that real concern, I needed to find not just the ability but the benefit in raising my voice. I went to company admins and filed a formal complaint. Doing nothing and ‘rolling with the punches’ does not and should not always work. At some point I learned I needed to speak up and highlight an event that in my age I could brush off easily, knowing others might not have the ability to defend or endure the hostile environment.
Is there a reason they feel so privileged and deserving of what others are denied?
I wonder why so many people in power feel it is OK to mistreat others.
Why do they think they can get away with this kind of behavior?
Because historically: they can.
I would like to break from history and change the future.
As a country and culture, we seem to be obsessed by thoughts of and even planning for the Apocalypse. I guess it is for good reason and it makes for great movies, books and TV shows. I might be the only person that has not watched Living Dead and other shows. So, Zombies aside, I have been thinking of a world with no power, running water, cell phones and the other modern tools we take for granted every day.
There are a few things I would really miss if/when technology fails us. Way up there would be hot showers in the morning……. I would really miss that. Without a really hot shower, it would be hard for this old body to move each day.
This has been a very busy year. Even though I have spent most of it unemployed, I find there was so little time to do things on my list. I have been busy recording songs; some old ones from the closet and a few new ones where either the lyrics or melodies have inspired me to power up the studio and work/play. I have not spent much time here. I feel like I need to catch up on some close friends again.
I also started working again. I now work for Amazon and though it is not a glorious position, I do like the company and what I do. It is my first time working 10 hour days and it has taken me a while to adjust. During those days it is hard to get much else accomplished.
I would like to give you a sneak preview of a new release on CD Baby called “After The Chase”. I will post more songs and hope you like them. So, while I may not be in contact with many of you as often as I would like, I keep thinking of the followers and friends I have made here.
I am not very good at naming my songs so it might come to you as a surprise that the name of this song is Get Up! I came up with that one all by myself. The simple groove is introduced with the ringing of a bell. Actually, it is two ‘bells’ that are accurately tuned off center pitch in each direction. If you have perfect pitch, I apologize in advance as this will be like nails scratching a chalk board for you! These were a gift from my friend TR. It just seemed like a good start to this piece.
Lyrically the song reflects the need we humans have to keep trying and searching for different ways to overcome challenges. Too often we find ourselves on the ground or in a ditch and think it is not worth getting up. Thinking it is unfair; that others have it easy and we deserve what they have.
It is far past time that we leave the animal, cultural and magical baggage behind. We are no longer simply the ‘alpha dogs’ on this planet. We need to look at our species (beginning with ourselves) and our universe from other dimensions. Our perspective needs to widen to see the challenges before us. The solution must be good for all life here, not the one-sided scorching policy all too often displayed in our past.
In order for this to happen we need to look at ourselves as individuals. Do we contribute to the problem or find ways we can be part of the resolutions? It is not too late. If it doesn’t work, get up and try something else. Be more than a moth driven unerringly toward the flame. There are more important things than the social trappings of us vs them, surviving or sharing, progress or nature. Add a little depth. Look past the shallow surface of day to day life. “Save the File As”.
Take your future under your control.
Every step getting closer. Every opportunity improve your understanding and apply what you learn. Once you find the right path, grab some fellow humans and take them with you! Now, do it again!
I programmed the MIDI drums, rhythm guitar and keyboard parts. Thanks to Mr. Lee added the hypnotic guitar parts for me. I do all the vocals and try to make a haunting but energetic feel for this song. I call it my anthem for this millennium. Maybe you find yourself singing this one from time to time.
For me, the answer is easy, but I would rather have a few minutes to talk about whatever they wanted to talk about….. whatever was on his mind. I would not want my favorite artist, Peter Gabriel, just to sing a few songs and leave, But to have a short conversation would be memorable indeed! His creativity, charitable works and world views would make for a very interesting interaction. My wife and daughter would love to have him serenade them with, “Here Comes The Flood.”
What about you? Who would you want to stop by? What song would you want them to sing?
MidiMike 