Bye Bye Miss American Pie

57 years ago today, Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens were killed in a plane crash after a show on the Winter Dance Party tour in Clear Lake, Iowa.  Holly decided to charter a plane to their next stop, Moorhead Minnesota because of the frigid weather.  The name of the plane was "Miss American Pie".  The tragedy was immortalized in the song "American Pie" by Don McLean.

                                                                 Miss American Pie
                                                           

Waylon Jennings was a member of Buddy Holly's touring band.  He gave up his seat on the plane to The Big Bopper because the Bopper was ill.  When Buddy Holly heard Jennings wasn't going to be on the plane he said to Waylon  "Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up" to which Jennings responded to Holly "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes".  How would you like to live the rest of your life with that on your conscience?

Turn The Page

The page has turned.  Waylon Jennings died February 13, 2002.  He had a stellar career in country music.  Along with Willie Nelson, he became one of the top country singers of the 70's, 80's and 90's.

As the years go by, memories and the importance of "The Day The Music Died" seem to fade.  Time and distance have a way of doing that to events.  One thing that is certain, is time continues its march, like a giant river flowing to sea, it stops for no one.  The earth continues its revolution.  The wide arc of the globe is turning.  If you listen, you can hear the hills scrape the sky and maybe shed a tear for Buddy Holly, JP Richardson, Ritchie Valens and Waylon Jennings.

                                                                Revolution Earth

Not Fade Away

Harrison (almost) Drops Dead

Friday's weather forecast was for 3 to 6 inches of snow starting late evening through Saturday afternoon.  This was part of a massive winter storm system known as Jonas.  We were just to be on the northern fringe of this storm, so nothing to really worry about.

It started snowing around 4:00 and I thought to myself that maybe the weather forecasters might be wrong again.  I started to worry because I had a hockey game at 10:00 on Friday evening.  So naturally I took a look at several radar sites on the net and it did look to be worse than anticipated.  As the evening wore on I continued to look out the window every so often.  The snow never stopped.  It wasn't heavy thick wet snow, instead it was light and fluffy and coming down at a good clip.  At about 8:00, I started to get ready for my game.  I went out to start my car and what did I find?  A delightfully miserable winter hinterland.  There was at least 6 inches of snow on my car.  I decided to call a friend who has a jeep to see if he could pick me up.  He was at his parents and kind of far from here, but he said he would come and get me.  I really didn't want him to go out of his way, so I said I would go ahead and drive myself.  I went out to clean off my car and almost  decided to just not go.  A thought popped in my head.  "Victim or life's adventurer, which of the two are you" from "Neal Cassady Drops Dead".  I decided I was not going to let this god damned storm ruin one of the only things I love to do.

My trip to the rink was pretty uneventful.  The roads were terrible.  All were covered but they were navigable for me. I have a front wheel drive car and they are pretty good in the snow.  The hockey game was great.  We had just enough players and it was a fun skate.

After the game, my friend with the jeep asked if I was going to stop at the bar?  This was about midnight and it had been snowing for 8 hours.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do.  "Victim or life's adventurer" reappeared.  So I said what the hell and went to the bar.  By this time, we had at least 10 inches of snow and the roads were horrid.  I made it to the bar with no problem, as it is only a couple minutes from the rink.  There were about 10 people at the bar as we arrived about 12:15 am.  We got a big cheer when we walked in.  The patrons were surprised but quite happy to see us come in. I call all the people there my  "Friday Nite Misfits Club"  We are all kind of outsiders, so it fits.  High fives all around, for us making it.

We got a pitcher of beer and some pretzels, sat down and chatted.  I continued to worriedly look out the window as the snow continued its wicked descent.  I was definitely concerned about my ability to make it home because it was snowing at about 1 inch per hour.  At about 1:00 am a city plow truck drove by, clearing the main street.  That was it for me.  That was my opening, I had to leave.  We departed the bar and said our goodbyes and good lucks.  I seriously didn't think I could make it home.  By this time, we have had at least 1 foot of snow.

I cleaned off my car and nervously began my trek home.  It is normally about a 15 minute, 7 or 8 mile drive.  The roads in the city were not terrible because of the plow going by.  I got on the highway to where I live.  This road looked like it hadn't been plowed for like 5 hours.  It was amazingly treacherous.  I was having trouble seeing out of my windshield because the snow was so heavy it bothered my wipers.  I had to lean just above the wheel to see.  I just knew I was going to wreck and it was going to be all over.  Some how I managed to navigate this jeopardous highway, back to the road where I live.  I live about a mile off the highway up 2 very steep hills.

I pulled my car onto my road.  Stopped and got out of the car, cleaned the windshield and looked up with great forebode towards the 2 intensely steep grades.  If I wanted to make it home, I had to get this car up those 2 hills.  There was at least a foot of snow on my road and it had not been plowed.  This was going to be impossible.  "Victim or life's adventurer",  I thought and got back in my car.  I slammed on the accelerator and on my way I went.  Some how, some way my car barely crawled up over the hills and I gassed it and got part way up my driveway.  I didn't get out of my car right away.  I just sat there, emotionally drained and eminently thankful that I made it.  I was literally shaking as I made my way inside.  I sat for a long time at my computer desk rehashing what had just happened.  I literally cannot believe I made it home and didn't kill myself in the process.  So for once I can say, this time I was definitely life's adventurer.  I will not forget that night for a long time.

We ended up getting 16 inches of snow here.  Not quite the 3 to 6 predicted by the weather folks.

Planet Earth Is Blue

The news was quite shocking this morning when I turned on the TV as I was getting ready for work.  David Bowie had passed away from cancer.  For some reason I had always considered him immortal.  He was such an Icon and musical legend.  I thought he would live forever.  In a way I am right, his music, legacy and art will always live on.  In my mind, I can see him looking down on earth from the stars smiling and with his indefatigable spirit thinking "Now I'm on to my next adventure.".  I was unaware he had cancer,  I had read somewhere he had a heart problem and was keeping a low profile.  The cancer battle apparently lasted 18 months.  What a scourge cancer is on our society.  It has taken so many wonderful people.  And now cancer has taken one of the true greats of music away from us.
So many outstanding songs, too many to list here.  He was so innovative.  He reinvented himself over the years spectacularly.  As sad as I am to hear of his passing, I truly believe he should be celebrated for the years of  amazing music he gave us.  I cannot write words that can match the deserved praise he is receiving all over the world.  To me, his greatness can be summed up in that he was the one who set the trends, he made music and art his way and the world followed.  How many people who have lived on this earth can say that?  Very few, very few.  God Bless you Starman, enjoy the other side, we were lucky to be alive while you were on this side.

                                                                     Ashes to Ashes

                                                                            Fame

                                                                   Golden Years

                                                                      Heroes

                                                         I'm Afraid of Americans

                                                                          Changes

                                                                        Space Oddity

                                                                            Starman

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Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me. Major Tom?

Ode to a Fidus Achates

I preface this by saying I have never been friends with Scott Weiland, nor have I ever even met him. His music has been a friend/companion through my entire life.  So in that sense, he was to me a friend.  I have been deeply affected and saddened since I learned of his passing the other day.  He was the charismatic leader and creative force of The Stone Temple Pilots.  His music was always there, a part of my life.  I would turn on the radio, watch a video and it would be Interstate Love Song, Plush, Big Empty, Big Bang Baby, Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart, Sour Girl and so many more.  They were not only great songs, they were a comfort to me, like a good friend.  Knowing those songs, hearing them, enjoying them, always gave me a good feeling.  Now the man who sang and wrote them is dead.  Of course the songs will always live on but the voice who sang and the man who wrote them is gone.  There is some solace that the songs will always be there but never again will they be brought to life, performed live for people to enjoy by the incredible force that was Scott Weiland.

There is no doubt Scott had problems over the years with substance abuse.  Many cases of in and out of rehab and relapses.  I had always rooted for him to beat the demons of drugs and alcohol.  I wanted him to make it not only because of his incredible talent, but also because of those who didn't make it.  We lost his peers Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley to the scourge of addiction.  Now 3 of the greats of that era have been taken way too early.  I remember reading an interview with Scott and I thought this was prophetic.  He said he always had trouble handling the fact the same people who beat the hell out of him when he was in High School, were the same people who were now dancing and loving his music in the mosh pit of his shows.  He had trouble reconciling his fame, as did Cobain and Staley.  I wish someone could have helped Scott to avoid this tragedy but sometimes it is a situation that can't be changed because he had to change.  I cannot begin to know or understand what happens to cause addiction.  I also will never know or understand the talent and creativity of a Scott Weiland.  How do the two (addiction/drugs and talent/creativity) relate and how do they intertwine?

*** I had to add this small addendum.  I read an interview with Scott, where he said was molested by an older guy when he was twelve.  He said this had severely bothered him his entire life and caused some of his substance abuse problems.  I unfortunately can relate to him, as the same thing happened to me at age 13.  I know the toll this can have on your soul.  He did a cover of The Smiths "Reel Around The Fountain" on his "Happy" Galoshes album.  Many interpret this song as having implications of an older man molesting a young boy.

           It's time the tale were told

                                                       of how you took a child

        and you made him old     

                            

                                                        Reel Around The Fountain
        

                                                                       Kurt Cobain

                                                                         Layne Staley

                                                                   Scott Weiland

                                                                Interstate Love Song

                                                                            Plush

                                                     Trippin On A Hole In A Paper Heart

                                                                          Vasoline

Scott Weiland will always be remembered for his exceptional talent, creativity, energy and spirit.  The music will live on, even though he is gone.  His spirit will always be there because great music never dies.  I love you Scott, always will, I'll never forget you.

                                                             A Song For Sleeping
                                 
                                                               Rest in peace Scott

Liberté, égalité, fraternité

I am sitting here off from work today because I have Bronchitis.  I had to go to the Doctor yesterday to get antibiotics.  I have been contemplating the horrid massacre in Paris of innocent folks out enjoying a Friday evening in one of the world's great cities.

There are so many questions to ask.  The problem is there are no good answers.  I grieve for all those who lost their lives and their families and loved ones.  I pray for the wounded that they may heal and become whole again.  The French people are our brothers and sisters.  No one deserves to die in the way these people were butchered on Friday.  And on the other hand, no one deserves to die like the innocent folks in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan have died over the last years.

The usual suspects come out of the woodwork crying for more war, troops on the ground.  That worked really well when the US and Great Britain invaded Iraq.  Why would anyone listen to these idiots?  They have been consistently wrong on everything since the 9/11 attacks.  Why does anyone pay attention now?

How do you defeat an ideology?  How do you stop terrorist organizations from recruiting young men willing to kill anyone and blow themselves up?  How do you stop the hatred of the western world?  Bombing and killing indiscriminately will certainly not help any cause.  Poverty, desperation and no hope for a future will not help deter young men from joining a cause.  The more innocents that die in the middle east from our bombs is a recruiting poster for the jihadists.

I certainly don't have all the answers.  I do know bombing, drone strikes, boots on the ground and more war is not going to stop an ideology and cause.  This is not World War II or any kind of conventional war we have ever seen.  There must be a way we can work through this without mass killings of innocents and total destruction of peoples lives.  It is many ways our fault for intruding on the middle east with the horrific, unnecessary invasion of Iraq.  The worst foreign policy blunder in the history of The USA.  Many of the people there don't trust us.  Can you blame them?  How do you put the genie back in the bottle?  You can't, and there is the conundrum we find ourselves in.

God bless those murdered in France and God bless those murdered in the middle east.  I think of the words Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.  The proud and profound motto of France.  A true noble set of words to base a country, a people, a civilization on.  We need to apply it here and everywhere.  If we don't, the future looks quite bleak for a long time, maybe forever.

Great Songs of Christmas

                                                                           Jan Peerce

In my limited knowledge of music, I believe Jan Peerce has one of the best voices I have ever heard.

                                                                     Noel Nouvelet

The Way It Is

Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace;
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go;
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for its living;
But the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonnie and blithe, and good and gay.

Today I had to do some work in downtown Pittsburgh.  I do not particularly like driving there because of traffic and the difficulty of finding a parking space.  Fortune was on my side today, as I found a space right next to where I had to work.  I pulled in the space and looked out my window and noticed a lady of about 65 to 70 standing there begging for change with a small styrofoam cup.  I was a little bit surprised at first and then a feeling of sadness and pity went through me.  I thought that could be my Mother or my Grandmother or someone I cared about.  She could be some one's Mom or Sister or Aunt and here she was all alone begging in Pittsburgh.  I got out of my vehicle, retrieved my work items and got what spare change I had in my pocket and dropped it in her cup.  She said "God bless you."  I nodded, smiled and went on to my job.  As I was working, my mind drifted back to the poor lady on the street.  I wondered why she was out there.  Didn't she have anyone to help her or care for her.  A big city is a horrible place for an older lady to be on her own.  I completed my work and thought what else could I do for her?  I only had a couple dollars in my wallet.  So I decided to drop them in her cup as I left.  She once again said "God bless you" and I smiled and replied "I hope you have a nice day."  That was it.  I got in my truck and pulled out in traffic, on to my next job.  I felt good that I had given the lady a few dollars but in reality that's not very much.  Here was a poor soul on the street and that's the best I can do?

After some contemplation, I am somewhat disappointed in myself that I couldn't do more to help the lady.  I am seriously angry that in the richest country in the world, we have poor souls like her on the street who have no other choice but to beg.  The greed of this country is on high display as the Republican party held a Presidential debate last night.  The sparkling ideal of those charlatans is how to take more money from the poor and middle class and give to the oh so suffering wealthy.  No compassion for those with less.  To them, those with less are leeches on society trying to take money from the rich.  The Church is no less a villain in this tragedy.  Beautiful temples of worship, bishops living like kings and fiefdoms of lavish lifestyles.  Yes, there is a pittance put towards the needy but if Jesus Christ came back and saw what religion has morphed into, he would be seriously nauseated.
In the movie "Wall Street", Gordon Gekko famously said "Greed is good."  So many people today live their lives based on this motto.  What a sad epitaph for our society.  I think I can put it better - SHAME IS THE NAME.

                                                                     "The Way It Is"

                                                                  "Greed is good."

                                                                "Shame Is The Name"