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I've come to the conclusion
that one of the most valuable assets a person can have
is the love of other people
All the fancy money things which are nice to have and make you
look good
Just aren't worth a short walk to the Five and Dime
when it comes right down to it
I thought I'd just throw that in
to get things started out on the right foot
as I sit here rockin away on this early winter night
On nights like these I have a tendency
to listen to those cold wind blowin sounds outside
They can test you sometimes by makin you feel desperately alone
But on this particular night
no matter how hard I try to be serious and desperately alone
I can't
Because of humorous little thoughts
dancin around in my head
like the night my brother fell down a mountainside in the fog
and damn near killed himself-------
Anybody else would have been headed to that
Great Sanitarium in the sky
but not him
he bribed Lady Luck with a two-dollar bill
and a shot of cheap whiskey
I think
The early morning of a day is special
to this ole buzzard
there's coffee pot aroma driftin from the kitchen
nudging all lingering spirits away
and lookin out the front door you get the feeling
that this ole planet is giving a gentle sigh of relief
at having made it through another night
If you have the luxury to be able to sit and watch a sunrise
take advantage of it
it can give you strength and hope
or maybe just fill your mind with wonder
as you think of every sunrise
from the beginning of time
That's enough to make you cry or go crazy
but I'm already crazy
and it's my policy not to cry before breakfast
if at all possible
Waking up is a mighty gradual process
for a while there it's difficult to seperate dreams
from morning scenes
that woman looking back from a horse on a country lane
or a blackbird staring from the leafless branches
of an old oak tree
they seem the same
Then finally with a little help from that last cup
and the sound of a skillet frying
the magical mysteries fade
It's another day
Listening to that crazy jive music on the radio
will shift a rockin chair into third gear
Believe me
and with a storm brewin
no tellin what can happen
The wind is whippin around the kitchen corner
and you don't need no broadcaster to tell you
that all hell's fixin to bust a gut
But hold on to your britches
cause a storm is one of those rare moments
when you don't have to look so hard
for inspiration
In fact it finds you
with an earnest motion
and leads you out
to wait for the rain
Don't tell me about women
it's confusing enough
I'll tell you about one
Well truthfully I didn't notice her at first
she was like your shadow-----
in the daytime you might forget it's there
but then late one night under a streetlight
with no one around
that shadow makes quite a sheet-shakin impression on you
After that moment this woman was a dogwood bud
blossoming right before my eyes
but I didn't dare let her know I was interested
except for the fact that when she was near
my eyeballs switched sockets
and my tongue came close to polishing my boots
Then one night at a get together
I came the nearest damned thing to love
as I have in a long time
She was dressed in buckskin
and as far as I'm concerned
she was a reincarnation of an Indian Princess
I've never gotten over it
Well I believe she knows how I feel
but you can't rush those things
it's like the seasons
you can look forward to Spring
but don't neglect Winter's own special beauties
I'll never have front row seats to watch the
Hoover Dam bust
but that's how it feels sometimes
when you let emotions or events build up to the point
of popping buttons right off your shirt
As for myself
I've been feelin sort of like that lately
and have had to take a little time
to study the situation
For one thing
I've noticed that I've become sarcastic and cynical enough
to knock a squirrel out of his tree at a hundred yards
just by saying "Good Morning"
For another thing
my day to day relationships have lacked
colour and electricity
I might as well be a cedar fence post
watching ragweeds grow
Creativity has become something
I vaguely remember some Hollywood star
mumbling on a late night talk show
Just how do you get in this shape?
Well for one thing
the day to day routine of going to work
then hittin the weekend with the ole gang
can dull your blade
You've got to sharpen it every now and then
Lets face it
most people will go to their graves
without having done anything
particularly creative or adventuresome
To capture that spirit of the great wilderness pioneers
or sea captains
sailing the Seven Seas
you have to really work at it
Use your imagination
I remember hearing that your only limitation is your imagination
How true ... How true
anyway I guess I haven't been trying hard enough
Another problem I reckon
is not being able to run upon
the right kind of romance
I've been watching those bar room flings
and soap opera scenes
everybody's takin notes
slipping around
whispers and lies
Heartaches
then someone left to cry
Guess that don't appeal to me anymore
I ain't interested in those fast lane games
or subtle comments behind your back
I'm lookin for
A long conversation
A fight just to season
that moment of passion
memories wooven strong
with blood flowing warm
A little farfetched for a windy December morning
with clouds and Winter sounds
guess I'll get out the old stone
and sharpen up my blade
That Train keeps a Rolling
It's about time you showed up
I know it's easy to get caught up
in your schemes
and those everyday things
sometimes your banana boat floats downstream
before you realize it
Let's put on a pot
or grab a beer
tell me what's been goin on
it's been so long
I heard you had a little trouble
but slipped out of it clean as a whistle
pretty slick ain't you?
Let's turn the music up
and tell some stupid jokes
my foot's a tappin
and I can't slow down
Sometimes you're crazy as a hoot owl in the opera house
but I hope you never change
cause it sure gets complicated in this ole world
I'm thinkin of hiring a team of specialist for advice
Let's hit the town one night
we'll stir up everybody
and leave a trail of smoke
What do you think?
You're lookin good
must be eatin a little more
and even gettin some sleep
Well look at it this way
you're not in jail
and you don't have enough money to worry
so let's kick up our heels
and hollar at the moon again
Nobody's gonna slow us down
There ain't nothin wrong with being wrong
every now and then
Any hoot
half the decisions you'll face
could be made with the flip of silver dollar
and the other half will probably be
just a shot in the dark
so don't panic
Remember those school days
when they crammed the ole noggin
with enough sugarcoated ideas
to make your eyes bulge
then bit by bit you begin to realize
that somebody was dealin from the bottom of the deck
How do you know just what to do?
Mixin a little intuition
with a dab of information
and a smudge of what the ole timers say
will probably get you by
Any hoot
if you don't get burned occasionally
you won't be able to irritate the devil out of folks
when they make the same blasted mistakes that you did
Well I don't think these two cats in my lap
give a highball to Heaven
if the whole town of Cincinnati
boards a bus for Tucson
so I'll kick off my boots
light up some candles
and wait till the Sandman
gets back from town
Ain't it a bit unnerving to think about times
you were sittin on top of the world
when with no warning
Lady Fate gave you a swift kick in the butt
with those shining new pointed boots of hers
finally you grow accustomed to it
like Taxes or Fried Taters
Didn't somebody say
hope for the best
expect the worst
and deal with whatever the hell comes in between
The reason all this came up
is because I was just sittin here
(the creeks up tonight you know)
reminiscing about the times opportunity knocked at my door
and I was either takin the trash out back
or lookin for a pair of matching socks
with no holes
in the toes
Recognizing opportunity
anticipting change
and takin a chance just at the right moment
can be as difficult as kissin chicken lips
In fact
I think that even a cross-eyed Mona Lisa
hangin in a museum
or some cross-town bar with Leonardo
would agree it's an art
Well tonight while I sit here rockin
I'll dangle my recipe for dealin with those things
right before your snubby little nose
but I just now made all this up
so don't call your lawyer if it don't work
Any hoot I'm broke
and you should have better sense
than to listen in the first place
First learn to recognize your deepest fears and weaknesses
work on them on a day to day basis
lookin them straight in the eye
and shakin your fists to high Heaven
just admitting you've got them is a big step
and with enough work your strengths will easily prevail
when opportunity comes
Next
have enough faith in whatever set of values
you might have developed
to let them stand against the tides of circumstances
as they roar and pound
if those values are strong and pure enough
change will not affect them
Finally
have a passion for your ideas and goals
fly after your dreams on the wings of your heart
that way you won't hesitate
when a chance appears
Well I don't know how all this will work
but I have a feelin if you give it a try
next time opportunity will knock the door down
and hollar for you
change will flow like a homeward bound current beneath your ship
and chance will pull you along by the ear lobe
Hold it ! Hold it !
this is beginnin to sound like a sermon ain't it
well if it is
then why are you just sittin there
put some money in the collection plate
and pass it on
I'm as restless as a silo full of honey bees
let loose on a clover field
Done tried smokin a cigar
don't care about no T.V.
can't find relief in a whiskey glass
ain't no use to tap my feet
already tired of those wacky mind medicines
too bad about the economy
I'm ready for the gas pedal on my ole pickup
and God's own Interstate to the Stars
gonna pass the Cadillacs
honkin at them truckers
cussin at the slow pokers
Wouldn't mind a gal by my side
but it don't matter
it's hot in my blood
I'll find them hilly country roads past the cornfields and along
the fence posts
out in the distance
like the clouds
all fluffed and silent
Towards the city dusk with those hypnotizing lights
and barroom games
and dizzy fast lanes
Ain't got no fear
crusin in passin gear
no use for philosophy
or poetry
all I need is the highway
out in front of me
The devil knows I don't remember arrivin in
this ole world
there's those bug-eyed little baby pictures
and a tiny pair of pea-pickin shoes
that wouldn't fit a single toe now
Well you know sometimes I'm still skeptical
but we wuz all thrown into this pot of stew together
so no use blowin a fuse worrin about it
Any hoot tonight I've been thinkin
(don't fall out of your tax bracket)
about creatures from wooly worms to whales
that share this stage with us
they ain't gettin a fair shake it seems
Sure we got our nosey know-it-all cats
and our
go-get-it
bring-it-back
dogs
but when's the last time a wild boar jumped into your lap
for a little pat on the head
I'm not sayin you should wear fig leaves
and run with a pack of wolves by the light of the moon
a little more awareness and deliberate appreciation
would do just fine
I'm just gettin worried you know
computers and cinema reviews
are peachy for us highbrows
but let's not ignore our friends into extinction
It goes even deeper than that though
much of the raw emotion of
and direct contact with nature
that brings fire to the eyes
and pumps blood through the veins
has been lost
our senses have been dulled
and it scares the hell out of me
Martinis, swimmin pools, and stars with enlarged sexual organs
are fine
but don't let these animals become
just more corporate lies
with a side of fries
Don't think all those possums are comittin suicide
wake up
step outside
look around
touch the Earth
french kiss a rattlesnake
stock your bathtub with sharks I don't know
just do somethin
Used to be the easiest and most natural thing
for me to do
was to run my mouth
it didn't matter what was being discussed
or who was talkin
the less I knew
the more I tried to say
Doesn't that make your porch light fliker ?
Well any Hoot
one day when I was in one of those lofty reflective moods
which come on me when the planets are lined up just right
I got to thinkin (which can be dangerous)
about being stuck on a South Pacific Island
with some jack rabbit who was exactly like me
down to the last scraggly whisker
and I came as close to crying
as if you'd stuck me in a pine box full of
chopped onions and ammonia
It was then I remembered someone sayin
that actions speak louder than words
and I'll sware on a stack of snuff boxes
that's true
and if you live by those golden words
you'll probably accomplish more
than your mother ever anticipated
But don't get me wrong
there is still somethin to be said for shottin the bull
for one thing
times get mighty boring around town
if you don't have some hot air
to curl about the ole social circle
You can only say so much that's intelligent
the rest is just to fill the gaps
A person who can shoot the right amount of monkey talk
could be considered a craftsman
and might even be elected to a high post in government
Another time tongue-runnin could be considered an asset
is when you're in a tight squeeze
Lord knows you can't always predict what's gonna happen
Calling the bluff on that
overgrown baboon-faced cowboy
who just put his arm on your girl
or explaining to the judge
that the stuff in your basement
is soley for religious purposes
Well you get the picture
©1983, 2003, 2010 Mark "T.Bone"
Cole
www.markcole.us
All Rights Reserved - Copying Prohibited
Write Me!
This site was updated Friday, March 5th, 2010
and is maintained by
Alan Cole Freeman
