As this TQB rounds the bend toward 50, I sometimes look back at the path I have taken over the last half century. I find myself asking more than a few "what ifs" not to mention a random "if only". I wonder - even though I hope that the end is not near, have I done it "my way"?
If it sounds as if I am mired in a deep funk between tequila reviews, believe me that is just not the case. I don't dig ditches for a living. I dont have to pave roads. I have four beautiful kids and go to sleep every night with an amazing and gorgeous woman on the pillow next to me - often snoring by the time I get there, but that's not really the point...
I know that if I get up and go to work every day, I can pay for my house, my kids are taken care of and I usually have enough left over to spot up for a monthly agave run.
ON the other hand..... I spend most of my work days and 60 hour work weeks with folks who most definitely would rather have an intracranial bleed then spend an hour with me. Usually angry, generally sad and almost always in some sort of distress; believe me, the misery index is definitely on the rise. Good for business, bad for blood pressure.
Recently a woman whose ass I literally saved from divorce disaster and who could not thank me enough six months ago now refers to me as "the blood sucking moron". Charming AND creative... I am giving some thought to yanking the nameplate from my door and replacing it with "Blood Sucking Moron". Maybe sell a few tee shirts, you never know - - Hey, you get what you pay for...
What do I do to wind it down? Relax? Find my special place? I do just fine, thanks. Hang with my girls, date nights with Julia, a weekend ride on Big Red. Through it all, I listen to the boys - the band - Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.
Anyone who listens to music has a favorite - my parents bend toward Sinatra and Streisand; Julia sings along (in fairness, "sings" might not be the right adjective) to Elton and Billy Joel; my kids' tastes run from country and Broadway to Ladies Gaga and Antebellum. But for me, when I want to just sit back, take it in, forget about the problems of others - there is just nothing like the Jukes. Listen, I am a Jersey music fanatic - I love Bruce and the E Streeters, enjoy JBJ, and am even old enough to have liked the Rascals. At the end of the day, though, I just would rather pull up a stool to my bar, stir a little "chilled and up", sidecar it with a cold beer, drop and spin a little Jukes.
I spent four hours at the Birchmere last night. "The Birch" is a great local concert venue and the Jukes generallly visit once or twice a year. Last night, they bounded through about 2 1/2 hours of alternately pounding, throbbing rock and roll, mixing in a little Sam Cooke and even Judy Garland's "Somewhere over the Rainbow" for good measure. The guys have a new CD to promote, and played several songs from the record last night. On one of the new tunes, Southside laments his needing to find a place where he "cant be found"; the lyrics of "sometimes a little nothing is all you really need" strikes and grounds you.
A few simple words sung by a 60 something bandleader reminded me of life's more important moments. Hey, Johnny - you talkin to me? You talkin to me? Because, if you aren't, I want you to know - I get it, oh yes I do. For me though, it is not just a place where I cant be found, but also a place where where I can drift away, nothing much to think about other than the music, your music, a place where "she's still in love" and I can "reach up and touch the sky".... For that and more, thanks to you and all your Jukes...
