Finders keepers. Losers keepers.

Recently I met a person who tragically lost not one, but two loves of his life.  I have only met him a couple of times but I have been told of him much longer. They spoke of how smart he was. They spoke of how intuitive he was. They spoke of how funny he was.  They spoke of how cool he was. They were right.  

Just Ride the Painted Pony

Some people say karma is a bitch.

I say she doesn't even exist.

Call it tit for tat. Call it quid pro quo. Doesn't matter. It's a fallacy.


To think there is a huge game of Battleship going on in the universe where my battleship gets sunk just because yours did, is completely wrong.

See, we want to believe it because then we can rationalize and justify things in our mind. It puts things in a nice little box. It's just not true.

What goes up, must come down
Spinning wheel got to go round
Talkin' 'bout your troubles, it's a cryin' sin
Ride a painted pony, let the spinning wheel spin

Blood, Sweat and Tears got it right. What comes up, must eventually come down. What is down, eventually goes up. If you are putting yourself out there in the world, you are going to experience highs and you are going to experience lows. That's it. There isn't this mysterious vixen named karma controlling things (now if you want to talk juju or mojo, then we can talk).

It's not karma, it's just the spinning wheel.

Love that place. Or is it you?

Do you have a favorite vacation destination?

A local hole in the wall bar where you can linger for hours?

A coffee shop that is Goldilocks for you? It's just right.

Even a recliner that fits your ass like a glove?

We all have these personal faves that get 5 star ratings from us but...is it the place or is it the company?


Does the place bring out the best of us or does the best of us bring out the place. Chicken or egg?

Recently stopped at what I affectionately call my four-minute offense (topic for another day). Wasn't expecting anything different. Seats are the same. Selection was the same. Same chichi look and feel. Same isn't bad. Same just is. That being said...this night was different.

The cast of characters was outstanding. Even the "special appearances by" category was superb. Made me think...do I love this place because of the place or the people.

The head and heart company wins. Not the bricks and mortar kind.

Landon Pigg, the next one is on me.

Rinse and Wash. Not Repeat.

Life is a cycle. 

But not the kind you think. 

Rinse. Wash. Repeat.  That's not life. 

It's not that simple. 

Sure, you can see where you are today and see similarities with the past. Resemblances, but not full reality. 

We go through periods of time that define us. We go through periods of time that re-define us as well. 

In our 20's, we plant our flag in the ground.  We start our careers.  We fall in love.  Weddings. Births. New beginnings.  Flying for the first time. Defining. 

In our 30's we become established.  Things settle. A little bit of a routine or flow happens. Comfortable predictability. Steady as she goes. 

Then...the 40's.  Redefinition happens. The proverbial bottle of life gets shaken up.  The things that settled at the bottom of the bottle get mixed in with the rest. Divorces. Deaths. You fly upside down.  

Not sure about the 50's. I'll let you know when I get there. 

It's not a bad thing. It just is. 

Don't worry.  The colors may fade a little.  Some stains may be harder to get out.  But in the end...everything comes out clean. 

Wear it well. 

Freeze Frame

Yeah, I know you thought this was going to be all about the 1981 hit album for the J Geils Band, right?

You know, the band's only number one album where songwriters Peter Wolf and Seth Justman did not share credit for every song? Some will argue though that this album was not neccessarily a musical and lyrical success but more a flag in the ground for MTV and a harbinger of things to come for the music video era. But I digress.

This freeze frame is about a snap-shot in time. A picture in your life's photo album that defines the story today.

We all have them in life.

Some are incredibly obvious at the time that your life will never be the same again. I will never forget the day my children were born. I will never forget the day my dad died. I will never forget the day my ex-wife died. Those are the easy ones that we can point to. When you reread your story though, there are less obvious ones that appear. Something seemingly small, mundane or irrelevant at the time becomes a key piece to the puzzle.

They define us. They create us.

You don't have hindsight in the moment but when you reflect, these snap-shots create your reflection.

The next time you are walking down a path and go all David Byrne on yourself asking "how did I get here," remember where the path might have really started.

"Snapshot image froze without a sound."

Click.

I wear a size 10

Ever meet someone and wonder "what's their story?" 

We all have stories. We all have suffered disappointment. We all have enjoyed riding the high tide. We all have experienced the low point and the high point of the roller coaster. But each of us is who we are because of what we've done and how our individual past has built our individual blueprint. 

Here's the thing though...

It's not fair for us to judge someone else's story. We can not understand their story. We can not like their story. We can choose to ignore their story. But we were not born with a gavel in our hands yet we are all quick to use one.  

We all carry some type of backpack of burden.  One is not greater in weight than the other. It's relative to the individual. We are all hiking through the path of life whilst carrying this. One may perceive that an individual backpack is heavier than an other but one cannot judge the individual's strength to carry it. 

Ever hear the saying "if only you could walk a mile in my shoes?" It is the most difficult leap for people to make. Hell...one doesn't need the whole mile. Just take one step and you will get a glimmer of what the weight/strength balance is really like for that person. 

Remove your gavel. Replace it with a shoe horn. It's a better fit. 

Blind Tiger

The essential part of the word creativity is create. 

Creativity in thought only is nice but creativity in thought and action is where the real magic happens. 

The creative idea is only a nail. On it's own, it serves no real functionality. It may sit in the drawer or toolbox forever; never being used. The creative action is the hammer. The more force you use with the hammer, the harder the strike. The more belief you have with the creative action, the greater the impact. 

A lot of people get stuck on the idea and never want to take action. They are fearful of failure. The action part becomes public for the world to see. The idea part can stay quiet and private; never seeing beyond the closed off crevasses of our minds and hearts. 

I recently stumbled upon a new upscale local watering hole where the bar manager takes mixology to a whole new level. One night at closing time, he had me taste-storm (that's a brainstorm for the pallete) several new concoctions and spirits. It's a prohibition era themed joint so drinks need to have some character and class. They need to scream power and grace all at once. Imagine Capone. Imagine Ness. Imagine Rita Hayworth. 

We tasted and tested for a couple of hours into the night and while the bar juices oiled our creative juices, we came up with what we called the "Blind Tiger." (A Blind Tiger was another word for speakeasy back in the day.)  We felt we had a name and a taste that blended together into a symphony for the patron. 

I didn't think twice about that night. Until the next time I was in...

The bar manager came over for our regular closing time ritual and showed me the new drink menu. The Blind Tiger made the cut. 

Seems like a small success but I thought it was pretty damn cool.  

Creative idea. Creative action. The hammer hit the nail. Bullseye. 

Don't be afraid to create. Your creation could be the hammer for someone else's nail.  

Go ahead take a swing...

Cheers!