Crank Case Goo

 

I read the news today, oh boy! Is it me or is the world crumbing? Of course, I would love to think that it's just humans. We seem to have decided to take polar bears, most orchids and 90% of the insects with us. Now, I've lived through assassinations, doomsday scenarios and the end of rock'n'roll. This seems, somehow, sadder.

Probably my scariest scenario has always been that I would find it all, right at the end. 

Well, dear friends- I seem to have found it all. 

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

Allow Us To Choose For You

 

Bomb shelters, face masks, race riots and polio. If you're not afraid, you're not paying attention. Governments and religions rely on you remaining insecure enough to pay through the nose for protection. Of course, not everyone pays his share.

Adam and Eve were doing fine until that blasted snake brought that confound apple to the dinner party. They learned that they were naked and that they were gonna kick the bucket at some point. What a party, huh? Gimme a break! I'm from Alabama and I know when I'm naked and I'm well aware of my mortality.

The secret is that there is no secret. Knock yourself out. Hold hands when you can. Eat cake for breakfast and laugh when you get a chance. It's never inappropriate. Tell 'em I said so. Cry if you need to, or rather, when you need to. It's okay. This is it, dear friend- don't miss a minute.

Blue and Gray Skies

Programmed to worry about something, peace of mind is a task for all of us. If you're lucky enough to figure it out, you've got it made. That, or you're just shiftless and lazy. Either way, pal, it's just semantics.

You know the end. Everything up to that point is up to you. Well, up to you and luck, I suppose. You of the religious ilk will dispute this part. 

Me, I'm eating Valentine candy as if it's going out of style and making plans for sunny weather. Trust me. Have I ever lied to you?

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

 

Mad Englishmen and Dogs

For some of us it's hard to accept that there is no hurry. I don't know where we're going but I'm pretty sure we're all going to the same place. The very idea that old men continue to trick young men into fighting breaks my heart. Oh, I remember when I had such high hopes for mankind. That was, of course, all before Milli Vanilli.

Time marches in that one direction and I continue to have everything I've ever wanted. When they tell you to be careful what you wish for, just ignore them. They're the same ones who told you that the meek will inherit the earth.

Don't trade your soul for green paper, either. Slow down. Enjoy dreams. Love wildly, carelessly.

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

 

When It Rains

 

This is it, isn't it? It's not really that there is no meaning to life. It's just that this is it. Of course I don't possess the vocabulary to describe it, but neither did Einstein, Buddha, Elizabeth Barrett Browning or Pythagoras. 

It's the end that we learn to dread. Few of us have the imagination to imagine whatever life is without us. Except for history majors, we're mostly arrogant enough to conclude that everything that came before us was just an opening act. 

Listen pal- I may be an insignificant speck on another insignificant speck in a vast cosmos, but I'm just as significant as any other speck on his own. Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think.

 

 

Formal Attire

While I grieved my loss of rock'n'roll, I kept my mind off other loss. Real loss. It finally dawns on me that rock'n'roll was merely symbolic of my youth, my innocence. It could have been football or religion. 

If you're looking for the meaning of life, searching for truth, well, buddy- this is it. 

Turn the love up to 10 and live. Hotcha!

 

Train Time

What a night! I was nine years old and I had just watched Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers follow the Drifters onstage who had brought out their special guest for the evening, Clyde McPhatter, who was home on-leave in his U.S. Army uniform. 

We were waiting for Bo Diddley and the Platters; the Teen Queens and, of course, the headliners, Bill Haley and the Comets. Great goodness!

Suddenly the familiar riff from Tweedlee Dee wafted through the cavernous armory walls with that wondrous clang of the holy cowbell. The spotlight shone on the sequinned shape at the foot of the stage steps. LaVern Baker raised both arms and snapped her fingers. Two of the guys from the band dutifully dropped their horns and ran to the steps, lifting Ms. Baker by her elbows to the stage. Her dress, above the crinolinely flare, was too tight to walk up the steps.

If that wasn't the height of Western civilization up till then, it was close.