| |
- Inner Pieces
- Yet Another Mindless Thought
- By David Miller
Lay-offs. Some are good and some are bad. Like the time I
worked for that Internet company that was sold. That was a bad
one. Or the time I worked for that record store. That, too, was
a bad one. So was the computer company (twice), and the software
company. All bad.
However, this little lay-off between columns has been good
for me. I've had time to reflect on the state of things, do some
soul searching, and to really get to know the inner me. Want
to know what I have found? Of course ,you do. Otherwise, you
would have already punched out. Settle in with a Colorado Kool-Aid
(sorry, I guess the ghost of Johnny Paycheck is hanging around)
or some other beverage of choice, and let's get right down to
it.
First things first...to all the soldiers currently and formerly
engaged in making the world a better place, thanks. We wouldn't
be here without you.
I have spent a lot of time recently listening to a gentleman
by the name of Chris Wall. Originally from Montana, but as he
sings, "I'd rather be a fence post in Texas than the king
of Tennessee," Chris garnered (underground) fame and (a
very small) fortune with his Grammy-nominated tune "Trashy
Women." In keeping with the reflective mood of this piece,
let me give you one of my favorite lines of his: "Crazy
idea about the windshield and the mirror / The meaning's clear,
one's the future, one's the past."
It's such a perfect example of life that whenever I hear that
line it gives me a chill. Just like a windshield, the future
is big in front of you, tons of curves, turns, and potholes,
but moving inevitably forward. Your choices are infinite; you
can keep straight or you can exit, and there's always going to
be another road to go down. But the mirror that looks behind
you can only show you exactly where you have been. You might
be able to see the exits you missed, but no matter how much you
want it to that mirror can't show you where they lead. Its field
of vision is too small.
One of these days I will learn to spend more time looking
out the windshield instead of staring in that mirror.
 Some of you may not
know this, but I once sang at the Grand Ole Opry when it was
at the Ryman Auditorium. No, really. I have a picture to prove
it. Ok, ok...so I was five years old, and my Dad (who looks seriously
crazy in the picture) had to hold me up to the microphone, and
my brother is standing there laughing at me like an idiot, but
still that's more than some of you can say. The embarrassing
part, besides those really ugly tennis shoes, is that I sang
"Elvira" by the Oak Ridge Boys. What I wouldn't give
to have that chance back. "VietNashville" from Houston
Marchman might be a good one to go with, or "Tennessee Highway"
from Owen Temple (just 'cause it mentions the Ryman).
We used to spend our summers in Tennessee. If any of you can
remember Jacky Ward (Jacky was one of the people to get Reba
McEntire's career going, and sang a couple of duets with her,
"Three Sheets In The Wind" and "That Makes Two
Of Us"), we stayed at his house for a couple of weeks when
I was about seven. We would sit outside and catch fireflies,
and my mom would pull their butts off and I would wear them on
my finger like a "Big Blue Diamond" (don't worry if
you didn't get that reference...it was another Jacky song). The
greatest part of that trip for me was when Jacky's daughters
took me to Pizza Hut with them for supper. I was a cute kid and
they just loved me. They were hot, too, if my memory hasn't just
made them that way, and always laughing and having a good time.
If only I could be that little kid again.
Damn it...I have got to stop looking in the mirror.
Until next time, hope for the best, expect the worst, and
you'll never be let down.
Contact David Miller at miller-at-rockzilla.net
Back to Mindless
Thoughts Home
|
|
