What A Long Strange Trip It's Been

How old am I? 

As old as my gums, and little bit older than my teeth!

Well, I was born in '57...yes, that makes me 57.

I think that means that after this birthday, I start aging backwards, getting younger again, right?....

it's called senility!







The biggest fish I never caught!

 This picture was taken the day I met my future wife!

                                                                                                                     

5 years later, the future is now!
   

15th wedding anniversary...we celebrated with a few friends!





 





















                                                               Many years stuck in the mud!

And it comes out here....



and again, my annual warning to all....

Don't Grow Up...It's A Trap!

We Love You Zeuf

                                 Zeuf, The Girl In The Curl

I saw an old friend the other day
In San Francisco by the Bay
Took me back to only yesterday
The years somehow that slip away
And after talked about the days gone by
Brushed a tear away by the side
We promised not to let it be this long
Like the old refrain from the old old song

Remember old friends we made along the way
The gifts they gave that stay with us every day

Looking back it makes me wonder
Where we’re going how long we’ll stay
I know the road brings rain and thunder
But for the journey what will we pay
I often think the times be crazier
As this whole world goes round and round
Just the memory makes it easier
As the highway goes up and down

Remember old friends we’ve made along the way
The gifts they’ve given stay with us every day

Lately words come back to me
There’s a few I will no longer see
Faces will we see no more along the road
There’ll be a few less hands to hold
But for the ones whose journey's ended
Though they started so much the same
In the hearts of those befriended
Burns a candle with a silver flame

Remember old friends we’ve made along the way
The gifts they’ve given stay with us every day
Remember old friends we’ve made along the way
The gifts they’ve given stay with us every day


Mary McCaslin - Old Friends on youtube

Still Learning To Fall

I was young and knew nothing
Now somehow I know even less
Forgive me my youth
It was all for the best
Forgive my foolishness
It's grown simpler now
Cuz I’m sure what I like
who I love
And who I'm going to fight
As long as there's time on my hands

I've had to run
I've had to crawl
Been rich as a king
Had nothin' at all
Still raising hell
And tearing down walls
I know where I stand
I'm learning to fall

Me I've tasted true glory
Had a long sweet time on the stage
I laughed til I cried
I lived what I played
Never had to act my age
And it’s beautiful how
New blessings unfold
In ways I could never have known
And I’ve still got some time on my hands

I've had to run
I've had to crawl
Been rich as a king
Had nothin' at all
Still raising hell
And tearing down walls
I know where I stand
I'm learning to fall

Eric Lowen & Preston Sturges - Learning To Fall

This Life

Just reporting in, catching you up on how I’ve been,

It’s 365 again this week

Hot and humid here, same as every other year

It’s sweat or a tear on my cheek

Another year passes, I gave up my glasses

I gave up my job and my smoke and  mirrors

Another year over, I’m still growing clover

I’m still trying to face down all my fears

But I’m living a good life, I’m living a fine life,

I’m living the sweetest roses and wine life

And I know you’re near me

I hope you can hear me

I hope you can see into this life

All the family home and happy as they can be

And I’m getting married there next week

Will you hear your name?

Nothing will ever be the same

A teardrop on every cheek

I’m older than you were, and I’m pretty darn sure

Yes, I think you help me find my way

They ask if I think of you,

Every day I do, every day I do

Every day

But I’m living a good life, I’m living a fine life,

I’m living the sweetest roses and wine life

And I know you’re near me

I hope you can hear me

I hope you can see into this life

Keeping track of time, keeping up on the climb,

Do you need me to tell and show or do you already know?

I always think of you, somehow it helps to get me through

I hope that you’re listening to this song

I’ll give you all the news, your memory will be my muse

And I’ll probably go on too long

I wish I had answers to cure all the cancers,

To give all the chancers their own say

Just know that I think of you

Everyday I do, everyday I do

Everyday

I’m living a good life, I’m living a fine life,

I’m living the sweetest roses and wine life

I found my true love, the one who I dreamed of

I hope you’re above us

I hope you can see us

Living a good life,

Living a fine life,

Living the sweetest roses and wine life

And I know you’re near me

I hope you can hear me

I hope you can see into this life

Susan Greenbaum - This Life

Be Grateful, Even In Your Affliction

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I love the line from Ray Wylie Hubbard...

"The days that I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, I have really good days!"

Ralphie 

He's Not So Far Away

When I look in the mirror I see my dad's face
Where my face used to be
Then I realize that he was about my age
When he started his own family
Then my radicalism, all my college Marxism
Starts drifting on out to deep sea
When I look in the mirror and I see my dad's face
Where my face used to be


When I was a kid I used to look at my dad
And I'd say, "This is who I am not."
He used Bryl-Creem, I used hair spray
He was fat, I was skinny
He drank beer, I smoked pot
But now my feet are disappearing beneath an ocean of beer
And not so mysteriously
When I look at my face I see in its place
My dad's physiognomy

 I used to look at my friends, they looked fifty years older
Some nights when I'd get too stoned
That's when I believed time was a visible line
With its end and beginning both shown
Now I know that's not true
But I've still got an idea pretty much of what I can expect
When I look in the mirror and I see my dad's mug
Sitting there right on top of my neck


Well, my dad had it rough, he couldn't keep his true love
He never reached his sought-after perfection
So as I headed down my own life's road
I headed straight in the other direction
Now, when I turn around, he's not so far away
And we're on the same road, I can see
When I look in the mirror and I see my dad's face
Where my face used to be


5 Chinese Brothers - My Dad's Face

These Little Victories

Friday night alone
And callin' everyone you know
Your reach for the cigarattes
You gave up long ago
You wanna go get drunk somewhere
Turn it off and just not care
For a little while
Your runnin over what went wrong
For the hundredth time today
You wonder if another thought
Will ever take its place
You're feeling like you're trapped inside
Your own bad dream
One that's never gonna end
 
But here's the funny thing
My friend
 
You feel like you're gonna die
But you don't
You think that the world
Will stop
But it won't
And it's the darndest thing I know
The sun comes up
It's another day
And your heart still beats
And you say
Hey
I'm still breathing
Take it from me
These little victories
Are all a heart needs
 
The photographs you tore in half
Are scattered on the floor
Letter where he swore
His love means nothing anymore
You can't imagine how to get from here to there
But one day you'll know where to start
That's the power of the heart
 
You feel like you're gonna die
But you don't
You think that the world will stop
But it won't
And it's the darndest thing I know
The sun comes up
It's another day
And your heart still beats
And you say
Hey
I'm still breathing
Take it from me
These little victories
Are all a heart needs.
 
The dog still barks
And your shower is hot
And you burn your hand on the coffee pot
So like it or not
Gotta say 
Hey
I'm still breathing
Take it from me
These little victories
Are all a heart needs.


 Blue Sky Riders - Little Victories