Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Music Monday: Blowing by

Time is always moving at light-speed, and few have lamented its swiftness as often as I.  But this summer has been especially quick.

I feel like I got to this summer movie an hour late.  I'm sitting here ready for it to begin, yet the calendar says intermission has already passed.  Oh well, maybe at least I'll be there for the climax.  Or more likely, as the September credits start to roll and everyone else is making their way out into the lobby discussing their favorite parts, I'll be sitting there wondering what just happened.  (And leaves are falling, in the lobby!  Because the lobby represents autumn.  Am I the only one getting confused by this film/seasons analogy?)

And yet, bygone years have taught me that the next one may be even more fleeting.  So lest I while away the last precious moments of this summer bemoaning its brevity, I should get in gear and see if I can't somehow figure out this plot.

I'd like to squeeze in a trip to Cincinnati yet this season to see the Reds.  And at some point a date needs to be nailed down for a white water rafting trip for which tickets have already been purchased.  But August is my busy time, what with the toddler birthday party circuit coming up and all.  And of course, all this has to be done before September, because that's college football season.  And that's a movie I never miss.

We did manage to fit in a canoe trip over the 4th of July weekend.  I always look forward to being in a place with no cell service.  It's nice to be off the grid for awhile.  That feeling lasts about three hours.  Then I'm looking to trade my soul for someone's WiFi password.

The canoe trip is ordinarily a most relaxing excursion.  The river virtually empty.  If you encounter 4 or 5 other canoes, that's about average.  But this year, there must have been a boom in the local water recreation industry.

There were at least 3 or 4 different canoe companies that had started up since the last time I was there, and they were all taking busloads of people back and forth.  My once quiet getaway now provided about as much peace and seclusion as an amusement park.

The river was an almost non-stop cluster of canoes and 10-year-old kids in kayaks.  It was my worst nightmare.  (Except in my nightmare I whack the kids in the head with my canoe paddle and they instantaneously regenerate into even more annoying versions of themselves.)

However, this was a nice twenty seconds:


Unfortunately, views like that were far between and way too few.  I think I'm beginning to understand the allure of becoming an astronaut.  It's the only way to get away from people anymore.  In fact, is that mission to Mars still on?  Seven-person crew.  55 million square miles.  I think I can handle that.  Can we go ahead and put internet there?  And a golf course.

I also found time to discover some new music recently, downloading the new album from Jason Isbell.  He's originally from Alabama.  And as with many local things, I'm not sure I have a good grasp on how widespread or popular he is.  But he was on Letterman, so... more popular than me, but probably not as popular as, say, the Beatles or Richard Marx.  Somewhere in between.

Anyway, it being Tuesday and all, I figured it was time for a Music Monday post.  The album is titled Southeastern.  The songwriting is splendid.  And this particular song has been stuck in my head for most of the past week.



"I had to summon the confidence needed to hear her goodbye / And another brief chapter without any answers blew by..."

14 comments:

  1. Hi bone...I love discovering new music too, and i agree this summer is really flying by. Nice that you took time canoeing. A get away is always nice even if it wasn't as quiet as you had hoped. Wishing u an August that feels as long as a ny winter. 👊

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  2. First... that song was delicious. I'll be picking him up on iTunes.

    Second... "Then I'm looking to trade my soul for someone's WiFi password," is just about the most hilarious thing I've ever heard. I can totally relate. I complain that I can't disconnect... but I never really want to.

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  3. Summer's intermission--that's the All-star break, right? Glad to see you're canoeing.

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  4. Oh wow, that's a great song - he's very talented. Thanks for the introduction, Bone! I completely relate to your desire to escape to Mars and get away from the people...living here in the D.C. area, both my husband and I are burnt out from the traffic and overwhelming human contact! We are counting the days to retirement and a less crowded place/pace.

    Your mention of the Cincinnati Reds brings back such fond memories...my family went to games at Riverfront stadium when I was a kid. I have a baseball with Johnny Bench's autograph on it. Those were the days!

    As always, thanks for sharing your wonderful writing with us. Have a good day. :)

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  5. ah a young Bone's erotic journey from Milan to Minsk. a musical too. with violence thrown in as well.

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  6. Lucy ~ Wishing u an August that feels as long as a ny winter.

    I can definitely say that's the first time anyone has ever wished me that :o) Love the fist bump. Where'd you learn to do that? ;)

    Robyn ~ Isn't it though! Aww, thanks friend. Yes, we want what we want, but only until we want something else.

    Sage ~ I was thinking 4th of July. But All-Star break works even better. I'm pretty sure at some point during the trip, I thought, "I bet Sage never has to deal with this nonsense."

    Sherri ~ How did I not know that about you!! The Cincinnati thing, I mean. I never got to see a game in Riverfront, but I love the new ballpark.

    Thanks so much, Sherri.

    Renee ~ That was good. You should probably get out on a high note now.

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  8. This post made me all kinds of sad. Mostly just because I too am wondering where summer has gone and when I'm going to have time to sit down and enjoy it... I'm gearing up for the dog days of summer, though, prepping for my August travel. I don't recall the last time I took this much vacation time in one month! I'm very much looking forward to it, but at the end, I have a feeling I'll be very much looking forward to doing NOTHING, too.

    PS: The Reds play in Cincy the next two weekends. There is still time for you fit in a game before the fall movie begins :)

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  9. Oh lord Bone you are funny. The toddler birthday party circuit, going to Mars....

    I read that times goes faster as you grow older because you're not learning new things. (When you're a kid everything is new and being learned....) so I devoted this summer to learning. They lie. Still the fastest summer of my life and I have devoted so much time to learning etc I haven't done summer things!

    Beautiful song. He reminds me of Marc Cohn

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  10. It is debatable whether time travels at the speed of light, It made me start thinking though.
    TO me, summer is half over when the days start getting shorter, that, technically, is the FIRST day of summer.

    Speaking of music, check out Lindsey Sterling. She plays the violin.

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  11. Maybe now's is not the time to admit this since you just waxed poetically about summer but...I was just shopping online for new turtlenekcs for the 2013-2014 turtleneck season. :-)

    There is one region of Alabama that seems to be quite popular due to the musicians that come from there. Musicians like Alabama Shakes and the guy from The Civil Wars. I think there were others but I'm drawing a blank and forgot what my Southern Living article about that taught me. Is this guy from that same region?

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  12. What I always wonder is, how is it that a working day can pass so slowly when a Saturday disappears like a motorway beneath a speeding car? But it's true: in general time goes way too fast. I'm in the summer holidays at the moment, loving the freedom and wishing it would all slow down a bit so I could enjoy it for longer.

    Beautiful song, by the way.

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  13. TC ~ Ooo, the dog days! That means it's about time for NaBloSoFroDraWe. I gotta get on that.

    Pia ~ Thanks! It has been the fastest summer, hasn't it? Doesn't time go slower if you're in outer space or something? Maybe I should go to Mars.

    MarkD ~ I've thought that a lot. The first day of summer should be the mid-point of summer instead. But no one ever asks me.

    Murf ~ There's a turtleneck season? :)

    Yes, Muscle Shoals. He's from near there, I think.

    J Adamthwaite ~ As I sit here on this Sunday night lamenting another quickly disappearing weekend, your comment is quite apropos.

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  14. "And as with many local things, I'm not sure I have a good grasp on how widespread or popular he is. But he was on Letterman, so... more popular than me"


    Keep writing Bone.

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