Water oh sweet water

 

We all know without water we couldn’t survive. That it covers roughly 70% of the earths surface. We swim in it, drink it, bathe and some are baptized in it. We surf on its majic waves leaving us with a feeling unmatched anywhere. We cook with water and mix our drinks with it. Water is the ultimate feeling of rejuvenation and freshness. Those of us born near a good river, lake or ocean know how it is simply part of your soul, making it not only vital for ultimate existence, but a happiness and connectedness with Mother Earth.

 

Water is unpredictable, dangerous and thrilling. It can bring despair and euphoria. It can calm the deepest of nerves. Just being in it’s presence makes us feel like the Creator is washing over us. Water babies, beach bums, river rats, lake lovers all know this feeling. Even land locked, mountain lovers are many times left speechless at the site of my Gulf of Mexico, with its gentle waves rolling and out. Reminding us that life comes and goes, seasons too and love.

 

 

I wonder how you feel about water. Is it just a means to an end? A way to get clean or to not dehydrate? Or does it have a deeper meaning, a spiritual connection? Does it center you? For me, water is medicine. It is healing and helps me make sense of a dry and sometimes cold, cruel world. So, sometimes I ride the waves, like I ride all the other waves in my life. Knowing good is always on the way and the best wave is only a set away ! Take a slash, take a sip, baptize yourself and become reborn into a world of deeper connections though one of our greatest natural gifts !

Southern Accent

I like traditions. I like old ways. I think there is value in them. I like the style and accents of good storytellers. Phrases that have long ago fallen out of fashion. While much in every tradition should be let go of, I don’t see any sense in throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Our country has become so homogenized that sometimes you can’t tell if someone is from Vermont or Georgia. There’s a damn Cracker Barrel, Lowes, TJ Maxx, and Toys R Us in every strip mall, in every town you go to. They have thrown a big sheet of blandness over the lower 48 ! Gone is most of the uniqueness that sets places apart. That makes them authentic. I don’t wanna get grits in New Hampshire anymore than I wanna get deep dish Chicago pizza in Gainesville Florida. Isn’t that what makes it interesting to travel, to see, while we are really deep down all the same, just how different our cultures are?

There’s a southern accent, where I come from
The young ‘uns call it country, the yankees call it dumb
I got my own way of talking, but everything gets done
With a southern accent, where I come from

While my ancestry is split, I am a Southerner, plain and simple. I understand the good and the bad of it. The depth and the breath of it. I also understand how outsiders see it and just what they think they know. Threaded through this post is a lyric to one of my favorite Tom Petty songs called “Southern Accent”.

There’s a dream I keep having, where my momma comes to me
And kneels down over by the window, and says a prayer for me
Got my own way of praying, but everything one’s begun
With a southern accent, where I come from

Perhaps I am a person that grew up in a regional world and now I’m living in a global world. I am happy to be here, and while my travels are not nearly as far n wide as some, I’ve been a few places. I’m not saying we should stick to our little patch of ground. I’m just saying hearing someone with a regional accent makes me smile ! To listen to the Billy Bob Thornton’s, Levon Helm’s, Lucas Black’s and Dolly Parton’s of the world is a good thing. And let me tell you all of those people are and or were as sharp as they come.

Got my own way of living, but everything is done
With a southern accent, where I come from

I’m not sure I’ve fleshed this out very well. I just like the feeling of being connected to those that came before me and some of that is in phrases and accents that for a time were all I knew. Before everyone sounded like the man on the six o’clock news !

In writing this post I was listening to Southern Accents by Tom Petty, Good Ole Boys Like Me by Don Williams, Going to Montgomery by Davis Raines, Just like Hank by Walt Wilkins and Down South by Kings of Leon.I was also watching “I ain’t in for my health” a documentary on the great, wonderful and deeply missed Levon Helm. Hope ya’ll enjoyed this and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Local Tourist

With a few stops along the way, I have lived in three places in my life. All tourist towns. I grew up in and my home is Pensacola Florida. I lived for a few years during high school in Saratoga Springs, NY and for the past 16 years I’ve lived in Nashville TN. So I have always hoped to never be a tourist and still don’t. I’ve always been drawn to being a traveler but never a tourist.

Recently my wife and I went out to eat and decided to ride downtown just to see first hand the explosion of Nashville. We see the growth in other ways and my job reminds me often how many folks are moving to Nashville, but to see downtown was amazing. A friend is a pedi cab driver and he toured us around to places we’d heard of but hadn’t seen. The new Hatch show building, the mega huge convention center, the cool vibe of the Pinewood Social Club, where you can drink, eat and yes bowl a few games in a very hip atmosphere.

This town has so much energy and cool things going for it, no wonder it’s projected to double in size in twenty years. I really think it is the jewel of the South as far as major cities. I say all of this to simply say this; if you don’t get out wherever you live, you should. You have no idea what is going on out there while your home watching Game of Thrones! This generation of young minds is doing some pretty cool stuff and designing and shaping a life totally unique.


So if you find yourself in a rut like we have been, then take it from me, sometimes the best entertainment is to just get out of the house. There’s more to this story but the main thing is,cruise around your town, stop in someplace new, see your world from a little different angle. It feels good !