In The Right Place

We were visiting a family friend the other day and while he was talking to my brother-in-law, I rudely interrupted and asked him to put on some Dr John. He jumped on it right away. And he put on In The Right Place. It was blasting and beautiful. I sat there and just listened. Music that I grew up with.

Let me back up. As I looked around this house that I had not seen since I was 5 or 6 years old, I was taking it all in. Framed art was all over the walls. Some that I remember from when I was young. And Some new. Many were painted by our family friend. 

On a wall, there were vinyl albums leaning against it on the floor. Five separate rows of albums leaning there with about 25 records per row. Lots of great music in there. Jeff Beck and Bob Dylan and Linda Ronstadt and Van Morrison. They were easy to get to and visible, but sort of had that look like they could be sent out with the trash at anytime. When I was young, there would have been shelves for albums. A whole entertainment system devoted to these large presentations of music.

But times have changed. With a whole collection and more able to be on our phones, we are continually trying to minimize. I can pull up Dr John's entire repertoire. I can listen to most of his music right now. Or most anywhere. Anytime.

At some point in my youth, I got my own turntable in my room. I had started my own collection of records and I would go in my room and listen to them. When I got a brand new one like I Just Can't Stop It by The English Beat, I would listen to the whole album. Both sides. And that became the method. Listen to the songs. Learn all the songs from the band. Some were good. Some not so good. When payday came around, go get another one. But that was the experience. I had a limited amount to work from.

With Apple Music and Spotify and Amazon and other music subscriptions, the album experience is gone. Looking at the album, focusing attention on the band and the artwork and the lyrics. It used to hold our attention. With so much available, our attention moves on so quickly. 

Being able to hold a record in my hand and carefully get it on the player, making sure not to scratch it was part of a ritual that most anyone could do. However, to do it with finesse, was something to take pride in. Take the paper jacket out of the cover. Remove the album from the jacket without ripping the jacket. Don't get your fingerprints all over the album, so handle it only on the edges with two hands. Slowly place the needle in just the right spot on the outer edge of the album. Crank up the volume because now you are in the zone!

But then, there is technology and all this other stuff to do. We have places to go, people to see, inventions to create, worlds to change, ideas to be shared. How could we have time to mess with vinyl?

I don't know about others, but I like slowing down. I like the peace. Even when the music is loud...

He Ain't Heavy. He's My Bottle

The other day I was scorned because of my water bottle. The small-mouthed Nalgene just doesn't cut it anymore when it comes to the early adopters. They are busy showing us all how it is done with their new water bottle. A big, heavy weaponized water bottle. Something early man would have used to club the heads over other early man for the rights to the pond. 

I took a look at this new kind of bottle and wondered: When did marketers decide that everyone needed to carry a thermos around with them everywhere? 

Nothing wrong with a good, old-fashioned thermos. They were fantastic in my great-grandfather's lunch when he was working as a ship-wright. He could pull it out and get his hot coffee or his iced tea. But it was a thermos. It was not a status symbol. He did not have stickers on it with the name of the tool brands he used on it. He did not pull it out and show his fellow workers how down he was with the times. He was getting something to drink because it was lunchtime.

Now we have something monstrous for everyone to carry around. But each of us have our own. That's important. Our own burden. Our own proverbial bag of rocks slung on our backs. The price we must pay... for cold water. 

I thought it was a funny joke when Doc Brown had that gigantic machine which ran for a couple minutes only to create a couple of ice cubes for iced tea. 

Imagine the accessories for this thermos. You can get a nice nylon, shoulder strap for carrying it in the desert. Extra stickers so everyone can see how hip you are with brands no one has ever heard of. Facial recognition so no stranger can open your thermos. Iodine compartments, cooling compartments. This is gonna be huge.

I thought the CamelBak concept was it! We can't get anymore streamlined than that. We are essentially drinking our own sweat because the bladder compartment is so close to our body. Throw the bladder in the fridge and there ya go. Cold water as you walk around.

But uh oh. Backpacks are not cool. Plastic is not cool. Heavy blunt objects are all the rage!

It just seems like we are going backwards in our quest to save the world. If plastic is so bad for the landfills, how are we solving the problem by having plastic but going heavier with more metal? 

These things get dented too. Sure that's added character, but so are scars.

Heavier. More metal. Carry it with your hands. Not easily stored. Would not work well on the space shuttle...

Ship it!

HOA - Hardly Object Anymore

I know a guy who has a tree on his park strip which looks awful. It has grown down so low that no one can park in front of his house. When someone asked him about it, he said that is the very reason he will not cut it. He does not want anyone parking in front of his house. Now, many would say that this is ridiculous. Some would challenge him by saying he has to cut it down. Some might even try to cut it in the middle of the night. Others would wish his neighborhood had an HOA (Home Owners Assocation) to take care of matters such as this.

An HOA! 

Really?! 

I cannot understand how people in the United States of America could agree to having HOAs. What is wrong with us? How could we let this happen in a country where we value individual freedom so much? Do people just need to have that kind of structure running their lives?! Somebody coming to their door to tack on notices that they: 

• have to cut their lawn a certain way? 
• have their Christmas lights a certain way? (Excuse me, Holiday lights. The HOA wouldn't approve of them using Christ in our naming.) 
• not park cars on the street. 
• have a functional garage door. 
• water their lawn. 
• not have lemonade stands! 
• not do fireworks after 2am! 
• not pee in my own backyard.

With this friend, I am glad he has the freedom to leave his tree like that. For no other reason than that he wants to do it. No committee is coming along to insist that he change. No outrage from people who have nothing better to do than come up with ways to nitpick each other. I love freedom. This is what it is all about.

The unyielding HOA scares me. When did we become so sheeplike that we would not only be willing to give up our freedom, but also pay for it? We are paying quite a lot of money for others to keep us in line. The government is bad enough...

I guess conforming is kind of a natural human tendency. We do it so that we can fit in. We want others to think like us and be like us. 

I have seen people actually excited about being in a house which is regulated by an HOA. They get all these benefits from it like: 

• Cable TV
• Internet
• Snow removal
• Lawn mowing
• Tree trimming
• Clubhouse
• Pool

I guess a community pool where everyone gets to cool off might almost be worth it. I get that those things have to be paid for, so I can understand a Clubhouse/Pool Fee. But when they start going after my own house and my own individuality, forget it!

.

Their argument is that our property values go up. I think it is interesting that the word value just showed up, because if an HOA is something you value, you have clearly lost your values. Your individual values. But how much property value is it if the value of your soul has been lost? 

I think a neighborhood would do well to advertise that they are Non HOA..

I really hope that this is something that starts to go away in the near future. These entities just want control. Any way that they can just put their thumb on someone else. It is just a local thing, but it is systemic. These are the things that creep in. And I live in a state that professes to believe so much in the country's freedom, the Constitution, and the founding. When it comes to HOAs, do they say: "Well, I don't want that much freedom!"?

I want a guy to be able to build a baseball field in the middle of his cornfield and have everyone go completely nuts about it, but not be able to do one thing about it. 

Now, I just need a cornfield.