Geography Homework

 

Nothing to worry about, at least nothing that worrying will help. Here I am at this point in life, with no drama in my life. I don't want to jinx anything here, but this is sorta' the way that I always thought life should run. 

Oh, I fret about every abused farm animal and I can't avoid the fashion of bigotry that I thought was history. Heck, I worry about the snails on the sidewalk after the rain. I do what I can.

My little corner of paradise, though, serves as a reminder that I have everything that I have ever dreamed of. I hope that you find yours.

Give us peace on earth and end this dreadful, dreadful war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87Nz0MRvmy0

Your Winter Or Ours?

How much time do we waste worrying about the way other folks do things? First of all, who cares?

Birds sing and creeks babble. Why would I want to listen to some blowhard preacher or politician tell me what to do? What's right and what's wrong?

Turns out that I'm an even slower learner than I thought.

Most of my heroes screwed up from time to time. In fact I'll bet they screwed up regularly. That's alright. Stick with love. You'll do okay.

Give us peace on earth and end this dreadful, dreadful war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUeb6jYbEbI&t=1s

 

Only Slightly Deficient

By the time I got to Paris, Man Ray was gone. Kiki, too. Long gone. Of course it's a beautiful city, just not the magic that I dream of.

Key West is certainly a gem. A tropical paradise, indeed. Plenty of debauchery to go around and the fun never stops. I missed the days before waiters could no longer afford rent and Mercedes outnumbered rusty bikes, though.

I love New York and the place has always been good to me. I never saw Willie at the Polo Grounds, however, and I never witnessed a ticker tape parade.

Oh, I could go on and on about San Francisco or London or New Orleans. You know- a day late, a dollar short. Don't get me started about Nashville.

Here I am, finally, at the centre of the universe. Portland, Dorset hasn't happened yet. Probably never will. Certainly not in my lifetime it won't. Fine!

Best weather in the UK. Ha! If you don't mind a little breeze that will take your laundry away. In other words, that's a low bar, meteorologically speaking. Nobody locks his bicycle, though, and someone stumbles across a big dinosaur bone on the beach from time to time. The place seems short on the debauchery front, so we manufacture our own.

The magic? I found it.

Give us peace on earth and end this dreadful, dreadful war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3ZfnyVP6aU
 

New Ones and Old Ones

Bing had to make way for Sinatra just like ol' blue eyes had to vacate the premises for Elvis. Old dogs get moved out for puppies. Yeah, it's a sad fact of life, especially if you're an old dog.

The world doesn't really care what I think about AI. The fact that I find most new cars ugly isn't going to rattle the automobile industry. Wealth inequality? What's new?

My opinions matter. They matter to me. They are as relevant as the ones that I held as a young man.

Turns out, the ones that have stayed the same are the only ones that matter. Play fair, love hard.

Give us peace on earth and end this dreadful, dreadful war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yj4FShE6VA

 

The Stars Got In My Eyes

Sometimes I get weary of boasting about my quality of life. I'm guessing that if you're back reading this drivel, you've had a bellyful, yourself.

If I don't run short of my Crest toothpaste stash, I've got enough of everything that I could possibly want or need to last the rest of my days.

While I've never learned to accept the suffering in this world, I have figured out how to embrace the beauty and the love in front of me.

I've always got one eye on the stars above me and the better part of my mind in the gutter. I have figured out that there's nothing to figure out. Loving's not at all like water skiing. You don't have to learn anything or practice. Just love.

Give us peace on earth and end this dreadful, dreadful war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsYAd1D0y8Q

 

Don't Let Your Coffee Get Cold

It's hard to take any of it seriously, isn't it? Grownups with nuclear weapons waving their holy books, threatening annihilation of civilisations. If one of these lunatics drops the big one and ends it all, so be it. There really is nothing that I can do about any of it.

None of my worrying, and I've done plenty, has ever prevented anything.

Now, of course, worry and dread and fear don't always get permission before moving in. I just remind myself of my good luck, think about the life I've had, and celebrate the fact that I have my own hair and teeth.

The fact that I'm here in Dorset with Kate and Vera and that they put up with me is one fine dream, and if it is a dream, it's a doozie. I wish this kind of paradise for everyone.

Give us peace on earth and end this dreadful, dreadful war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiVEecogOHw

 

Too Old To Cut The Mustard, Young Enough To Lick The Jar

What I haven't seen at this point hardly matters. I haven't been everywhere, boy, and I surely haven't seen everything. Doesn't matter. It's a perfect world when you know it is and you're lucky when you know you are.

I've always shown up in the Key Wests of the world just in time to be told that I should have seen it before. I always wanted to live in Paris, but the Paris of 1930.

Not this time, buddy. Here I am at the centre of the universe, not a developer in sight. I look out my window and there's the English Channel. Sweetest people in the world. Best dogs you can imagine and they're welcome in every establishment. Plenty of cats for you other folks, too, and they're feisty as all get-out.

Oh, I could spend hours and ink telling you about Kate, but I believe I've made that point. I wish for you all the love and all the fortune that I've known. I love you all.

Give us peace on earth and end this dreadful, dreadful war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiVEecogOHw