Captain’s Log: Summertime; As Willie says, “On the road, again.”
Aloha, amigos!
Miss me?
That’s what I thought. Of course you did. You see, in my
Walter Mitty-esque brain, thousands of you have been wondering where my
irregularly scheduled blog has been lately. Many of you are worried that I may
have taken ill or gotten eaten by a shark. Some of you are panicked at the
thought of carrying on much longer without my words of wisdom. A few of you are
walking around in an audio-less stupor, not knowing what Jimmy Buffett song you
should listen to. To the masses of my
readers, please accept my humble apology. I’ve been busy.
Having a restful and rejuvenating summer doesn’t register in
my mind. When I’m greeted by colleagues with a greeting of, “I hope you’re well-rested
and revitalized after the summer break,” I just stare back and try to mouth a
reply, but nothing comes out.
I liken my time off to my hall closet – I try to cram as
much into it as possible.
During the summer, I keep my “need to’s” to a minimum, completely
ignore my “should’s,” and focus on my “want to’s” while carefully considering
my “able to’s.”
That means I engage my gypsy soul by hitting the road.
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| Surfside Beach |
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| DCI in Atlanta |
Upon our recent return from Texas, I’ve been to Surfside
Beach with my wife, son, and parents for a getaway; to Atlanta with my wife and
son to see an amazing display of talent at the Drum Corps International
Southeastern Regional Championships; to Wrightsville Beach with my wife to spend
some time on the beach and water there with some dear friends; to Atlanta (again)
with my fam to catch a Braves game and visit the College Football Hall of Fame;
and back to Surfside tonight with my family to close out the summer
(shhhh – don’t remind me). Those are my “want to’s” that have been influenced
by my “able to’s.” In between, I’ve visited Bat Cave and Lake Murray to clean
houses. Those are my “need to’s,” which help provide my “able to’s.”
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| Wrightsville Beach |
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| Go Bravos! |
In any case, I’ve been on the move and I love it. I’m not a homebody,
that’s for sure. While I don’t return rested and relaxed, I do experience a
change in attitude – no daily grind, no same ol’ scenery, no chores that I’ve
put off for far too long. Life is just better out and about.
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| Image courtesy of Amazon.com |
Today’s tropical tune is “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” – a Jimmy Buffett classic. It’s one of those non-negotiables at his concerts
– songs that must be played to prevent a Parrot Head riot. It was originally
released in 1977on his fantastic album by the same title. The song sticks to
Buffett’s autobiographical formula that has worked well for him for years. The
same formula that has created the Buffett persona that has driven the whole
Margaritaville mystique and escapist empire. Although my own latitudes unfortunately haven’t
varied much this summer (thanks to my “able to’s”) my summer location has been
on a constant shift. This continual state of being on the go gets only a few
moments of reprieve and reflection. And that’s fine with me. Like the song
says, “…yesterday’s over my shoulder. So, I can’t look back for too long.
There’s just too much to see waiting in front of me, and I know that I can’t go
wrong.” Well, I can certainly go wrong, and often do, but that doesn’t stop me.
Like, Buffett, who has been a worldwide troubadour since day one of his career,
the relentless journeys satisfy some innate traveling jones of mine, produce more smiles
and laughter, and, yet, seem a bit senseless to some. But, as Jimmy sings, “If we
weren’t all crazy, we would go insane.”
Truth.
Aloha, amigos!
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| Corso's replacements |
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