I bought this last year, along with the new John
Fogerty release "Revival". At the time, I gave Bruce barely a passing grade while praising the new
Fogerty. Not to take anything away from the
Fogerty release, but I got this out last weekend and stuck in the car for the drive just so I could
familiarize myself with the new record. Jeez, what a record. I'll put it right up there with anything he's done in the last 20 years. The old dynamic key changes and hooks are all in place. The lyrics once again make me sad, happy and angry all at the same time. "
Livin In The Future", "Gypsy Biker", "I'll Work For Your Love","Magic" and the anti war "Last to Die" kick my ass but the show stopper, the one that really stands out for me is "Girls In Their Summer Clothes". It immediately and repeatedly sends me back to being 19 again.
"Well the street lights shine Down on Blessing Avenue
Lovers they walk by
Holdin' hands two by two A breeze crosses the porch
Bicycle spokes spin 'round Jacket's on, I'm out the door
Tonight I'm gonna burn this town down
And the girls in their summer clothes In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes Pass me by
Kid's rubber ball smacks Off the gutter 'neath the lamp light
Big bank clock chimes Off go the sleepy front porch lights
Downtown the store's alive As the evening's underway
Things been a little
tightBut I know they're gonna turn my way
And the girls in their summer clothes In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes Pass me by
Frankie's Diner's Over on the edge of town Neon sign
spinnin' round
Like a cross over the lost and found Fluorescent lights Flicker above
Bob's Grill
Shaniqua brings a coffee and asks "fill?"
And says "penny for your thoughts now my poor Bill"
She went away She cut me like a knife Had a beautiful thing
Maybe you just saved my life In just a glance Down here on Magic Street
Love's a fool's dance I ain't got much sense but I still got my feet
And the girls in their summer clothes In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes Pass me by
And the girls in their summer clothes In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes Pass me by
La la la la, la la la la la la la
La la la la, la la la la la la la
La la la la, la la la la la la la
La la la la, la la la la la la la"
That guy knows MY life better than I do, he always has, I expect he always will. The best recording in the last two years and I missed it first time around. That goes to show you that music has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it. This one hit me over the head with a hammer, a year after it should have. Thanks Bruce.
..."and I'm just out here searchin for my own piece of the cross..."
I'm finally furnishing the new place with what I like to call "craigslist decor". I got a kitchen table and a dresser last week, this week it's end tables, next week, love seat. My place still has no soul, but maybe in a month or so, it won't feel that I am in someone else's crib.
My expedition with Comcast cable is really starting to piss me off. First, they didn't tell me that I needed a different HD box to get the HD channels, so I go exchange it at the office and have to wait 15 minutes. I come home after work and dial the number to activate it and was immediately put on hold for 37 (!!) minutes. Even after talking to the tech, she says that she has sent signal after signal, but it doesn't work. Great! So, I have to wait till 10am one morning for the tech to get there, but in his big truck of tech, he has NO HD box on the truck!! What? "Well, they didn't tell us the problem, just that there was a problem". So, for the second time, I have to take the box back to the store. I decide on Friday to take my lunch hour at go to the cable place. The line stretches out the door. Shit. So, now I ahve a box that doesn't work and no time to fix it. They have one strike left. If I don't get satisfaction on the next try, they are OUT! I'll get a dish or something.
The new job is full of challenges and I am completely maxed for time. That's exactly what I wanted and needed. The programming and engineering guys work their asses off to make sure the stations sound great. My PDs remind me of me many years ago, full of ideas and big plans. I'd much rather reel them in than have to push them. I am training my sales staff with as much stuff as they can handle. Let's return to the things that are fundamentally sound and rudimentary solid. Yes, I am actually training my sales staff, something that is rare in our business. When I started, I was given the phone book and told to "start dialing"...thanks! In six months, I expect to have a staff of GREAT sellers, not just good ones. If doesn't happen, it won't be for lack of effort.
Yesterday, for the first time in twenty years, I had a conversation with one of my favorite people from the past. "Congratulations", she said, "we made it". Wow, we did, huh? With all of the bad juju, the distractions, the drugs, the crises, the deaths of loved ones, the chaos that once marked our lives, we somehow have appeared on the other side. The roller coaster ride didn't kill me, it made me stronger. God tested me (he still does) and I didn't falter. Not when he took my parents away, my older brother (who I adored), my friends, my loves, my money, my house, my health, nothing. I didn't waiver in my faith and I feel I have been rewarded with health, wealth, happy, healthy kids and relationships that get better every day. Yeah, I made it. We made it. We waded into the swamp until we started to wade OUT. I am still walking, still wading.
I saw Eagles tickets for sale and their face value was $187.50. That's without the service charges and other fees. I couldn't be more unimpressed. I hope Don Henley and Glenn Frey choke on their own money. It's hard for me to believe that these are the same guys that I used to adore. Lately, if the Eagles were playing for free in my neighbor's back yard, I'd go next door and tell them to turn it down because I'm watching reruns of "Happy Days". Kinda sums up my feelings, huh?
In the words of Oat Willie(the most thoughtful guy in the world)....onward through the fog....
