I, along with my employer, and good friend, Eric Chong, recently attended the Asian Bloggers Social Media Conference over the last two days. (July 28, 29, 2010) It was held at Berjaya Times Square and hosted the 'best of the best' of Bloggers from not only Malaysia, but many other parts of South East Asia.
It was quite an enlightening occasion, I must say, particularly for a young and budding Blogger such as myself. Every single speaker offered some golden nugget, some small piece of advice that one could not have helped but have prospered from. I am greatly in appreciation to all the fine people who spent months preparing this mammoth of a project, and further more, brought it to such a powerful and momentous conclusion, particularly 'My Events International'. Thank you.
However, while I was looking around, I was at first surprised at how many people from different industries were there. Then another thought struck me - how many people from different industries WEREN'T there.
I hear the same thing a lot, "You know, I'm a bit too long in the tooth for such things, and my company really doesn't have the ability to compete online right now." But that's just deflection, and trust me, I know. I used to do that myself. However, that won't do anymore.
Today is becoming increasingly dependent on what is called 'social media', particularly what some like to call 'social media 2.0' - which includes the use of Twitter, blogs, Linkin,Facebook, Foursquare, etc to communicate regularly with large groups of people. This makes communication of information so fast and so efficient, that it boggles one's mind to even think of it.
My point is this...it is no longer 'an advantage' anymore to be able to do this...its no longer just another feather for a company's hat. This is no considered 'accepted standard' for modern companies. A few years back, it might have been fine to have had a website, email and maybe a chat programme id, but no more. These are also 'standards' but more important is your ability to 'jack' yourself into the steadily growing global media platforms.
For those struggling to keep up with this, and yet not giving up, I salute you. Our perseverance will reward us some day. (Perhaps with free coffee even) For those who hope to keep their heads low, and wait for this wave of social media to pass them safely by, I quote my hero Bob Dylan.
"Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’"
People, the times HAVE changed, and if you want your company to be around in 10 more years, the time to make those changes are now.
I apologize in advance if anything I say has bothered some, but I think sometimes a wake up call is necessary...And we've all got to start swimming even harder now.
Do not go gently into that good night.
Dougie.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
My Quiet Spot
Been a while since my last blog, I really need to sit down more to write on this thing.
Well...as the psychics might say, better latent than never.
Today's talk is about "Finding that quiet spot".
When people talk about meditation or relaxation, they often mention the idea of 'finding' your quiet spot, and dwelling on it. That doesn't mean where you are sitting at the moment, so that might be important, but where you put your 'mind'.
I think that this 'quiet spot' is important no matter what you claim to be doing...be it relaxing, meditating or just zonin' out, you've got have a vacation spot for your mind and soul, and know it and feel enough to own that spot.
My 'quiet spot' is no big secret and isn't any fantastic magical island in the middle of paradise. It's just a small beach located with in Allenville, a small village near Parsboro, in Nova Scotia, Canada.
You know what gets to me in my travels? The little knowledge most people in the world have about Nova Scotia in the world. Mention Canada to most people, and you'll hear the 'big cities' mentioned: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal. But none of these places are anywhere near where I live. I have to explain every time that Nova Scotia is on the East Coast, and that it's just as...if not more...beautiful than those huge cities everyone wants to visit.
The Maritimes, as we call these eastern provinces of Canada, ARE beautiful. Not just Nova Scotia and Cape Breton (God Bless you, Rita, wherever you are), but Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick too. All four of these provinces have such an authentic natural beauty. But it's Nova Scotia that was my home for the biggest part of my life...and the one that lives burning in my heart.
As Lady Rita herself once sang,
"She grows on you slowly
The first time you meet
There's just so much beauty
The heart can believe
And you want to stay longer
And she's ever so pleased
You're one of the many who don't
Want to leave
So walk through her green field
Go down to the sea
The fortune in your eyes
Is more like a dream
She's called Nova Scotia
And she so makes you feel
You've discovered a treasure
No other has seen"
You said it Rita...better than I ever could.
Anyways...in this province, there is a small town near the coast called Allenville, named after my mom's side of the family. It's a rustic small area and certainly no one's going to accuse of it being modern and with the times...but that's why I love it. It's homey...its authentic.
Down a long series of hills, there is a small two story cottage that my grandfather, Douglas Darrell Skidmore built so many years ago. Now adays, they have running water and TV running on electricity with fancy electric lights. But in my day, we didn't have all that, and we even had an outdoor outhouse that we used - luckily we only visited during the summer I guess.
Imagine walking down a swirling path of trees, firs, elks, elms, and seeing the leaves bristle around you, nothing else making a sound around you, as you make your way down the steep path, then you see a small rustic brown cottage. It isn't much of nothing..but there's smoke coming out of the chimney and pleasant smells coming out of the windows.
Keep walking by that...walking down the hill, passing under the large porch hanging out the back of the cottage, dried seaweed hanging off the edges and blankets drying out... Walk further down to an old ricketty wooden bridge passing over a small ditch covered by long grass and pussywillows
Now you find yourself on the beach. here you see a series of sandbars in front of you, and sprawling rock cliffs to your left and right, and basically you see you are surrounded by water on all sides. The sand is crunching as you walk along and you see the many creatures of mystery which have come to haunt the shores disguised as driftwood, lying spent on the shore after their long hours of mystical journeying. There is water, sand, rocks and that's it.
Nothing more...save ..in the distance, in one direction....a voice of a man I loved so long ago..and still do...singing these words...
The sun was setting in the west
The birds were singing on every tree
All nature seemed inclined for to rest
But still there was no rest for me.
Farewell to Nova Scotia, you sea-bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed
Will you ever heave a sigh and a wish for me?
That's where you'll find me...and my soul. And someday, I will return there for good...and sing once again with that old man...when I take my final walk down the shores of Allenville.
Keep on dreamin'.
Douglas.
Well...as the psychics might say, better latent than never.
Today's talk is about "Finding that quiet spot".
When people talk about meditation or relaxation, they often mention the idea of 'finding' your quiet spot, and dwelling on it. That doesn't mean where you are sitting at the moment, so that might be important, but where you put your 'mind'.
I think that this 'quiet spot' is important no matter what you claim to be doing...be it relaxing, meditating or just zonin' out, you've got have a vacation spot for your mind and soul, and know it and feel enough to own that spot.
My 'quiet spot' is no big secret and isn't any fantastic magical island in the middle of paradise. It's just a small beach located with in Allenville, a small village near Parsboro, in Nova Scotia, Canada.
You know what gets to me in my travels? The little knowledge most people in the world have about Nova Scotia in the world. Mention Canada to most people, and you'll hear the 'big cities' mentioned: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal. But none of these places are anywhere near where I live. I have to explain every time that Nova Scotia is on the East Coast, and that it's just as...if not more...beautiful than those huge cities everyone wants to visit.
The Maritimes, as we call these eastern provinces of Canada, ARE beautiful. Not just Nova Scotia and Cape Breton (God Bless you, Rita, wherever you are), but Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick too. All four of these provinces have such an authentic natural beauty. But it's Nova Scotia that was my home for the biggest part of my life...and the one that lives burning in my heart.
As Lady Rita herself once sang,
"She grows on you slowly
The first time you meet
There's just so much beauty
The heart can believe
And you want to stay longer
And she's ever so pleased
You're one of the many who don't
Want to leave
So walk through her green field
Go down to the sea
The fortune in your eyes
Is more like a dream
She's called Nova Scotia
And she so makes you feel
You've discovered a treasure
No other has seen"
You said it Rita...better than I ever could.
Anyways...in this province, there is a small town near the coast called Allenville, named after my mom's side of the family. It's a rustic small area and certainly no one's going to accuse of it being modern and with the times...but that's why I love it. It's homey...its authentic.
Down a long series of hills, there is a small two story cottage that my grandfather, Douglas Darrell Skidmore built so many years ago. Now adays, they have running water and TV running on electricity with fancy electric lights. But in my day, we didn't have all that, and we even had an outdoor outhouse that we used - luckily we only visited during the summer I guess.
Imagine walking down a swirling path of trees, firs, elks, elms, and seeing the leaves bristle around you, nothing else making a sound around you, as you make your way down the steep path, then you see a small rustic brown cottage. It isn't much of nothing..but there's smoke coming out of the chimney and pleasant smells coming out of the windows.
Keep walking by that...walking down the hill, passing under the large porch hanging out the back of the cottage, dried seaweed hanging off the edges and blankets drying out... Walk further down to an old ricketty wooden bridge passing over a small ditch covered by long grass and pussywillows
Now you find yourself on the beach. here you see a series of sandbars in front of you, and sprawling rock cliffs to your left and right, and basically you see you are surrounded by water on all sides. The sand is crunching as you walk along and you see the many creatures of mystery which have come to haunt the shores disguised as driftwood, lying spent on the shore after their long hours of mystical journeying. There is water, sand, rocks and that's it.
Nothing more...save ..in the distance, in one direction....a voice of a man I loved so long ago..and still do...singing these words...
The sun was setting in the west
The birds were singing on every tree
All nature seemed inclined for to rest
But still there was no rest for me.
Farewell to Nova Scotia, you sea-bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed
Will you ever heave a sigh and a wish for me?
That's where you'll find me...and my soul. And someday, I will return there for good...and sing once again with that old man...when I take my final walk down the shores of Allenville.
Keep on dreamin'.
Douglas.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Heroes
I have been accused by many, probably rightfully so, of being stuck in the past. Often times, its not even my own past that I'm stuck in, but a past that existed much before my own. I wonder if it can be called being 'anachronistic' if I'm obsessing over things that are bygones from when I wasn't even an idea in yet? This is particular true when thinking about the people I look up to.
When I look back at the heroes I've had, or at least the people I became obsessed with the lives of, it quickly becomes apparent that my head was never connected to the 'now' but the 'then'. These include, but are not limited to : Marilyn Monroe, Baron Manfred Von Richtofen, Bob Dylan, Abraham Lincoln, and let's not forget, Clark Gable.
That's quite a gamut of people and a very motley combination. Yeah...I'm a strange person. And yet, my fascination with the lives of people from all over time has helped me many times. Often while teaching at Erican Language Centre, I find myself making use of the knowledge I have gained, and even more often, quotes from famous people. One time I did a series of famous historical radio broadcasts for a listening activity. The students were completely floored to realize they had been listening to broadcasts that signaled turning points in history. You can't buy these moments with money, folks.
I once read that if you want to become better, pick out the qualities of people you admire and try to take them on yourself. Make a list of your 'heroes' and isolate their 'positive qualities'. I would like to do that now. Using, for my example, the people I mentioned earlier.
Marilyn Monroe - Grace, Pose, Rising above the odds
Baron Manfred Von Richtofen - honorable conduct, commitment, respect for one's country, bravery
Bob Dylan - Strength to change, bravery to do 'what is right' without questioning whether others will accept or not, creativity, intelligence, pioneering
Abraham Lincoln - charismatic, guts to take on a hard job in a hard time, bravery to do 'what is right' without questioning whether others will accept or not
Clark Gable - handsome, charismatic, smart, great performer
What a list. Now, according to the previous advice, if you admire these traits, assign them to yourself. Take them on and become part of what you admire. If you like someone because they are brave, become brave yourself.
Do the traits above all describe me? Not yet...I wish they did. I want them to describe me...and yet I'm not there yet. I try everyday to add something of one of these traits to my persona, but it doesn't always stick. Someday I might just succeed.
Now, does that mean that all the people I look up are dead and gone (except Dylan of course)? Not necessarily. I continue to find traits of many people today that I admire.
For today's discussion though, I'd like to take this in a new direction. And I want you all to try something. Take a list of your friends or coworkers... Just a list of five people you see quite often, and find a trait or two you like about them. This isn't about quantifying or justifying your friendship or trust, but rather about seeing the positives in those around you, and perhaps understanding which things matter most to you. It's actually more self-analytical than you may think.
Let me try:
- Lynne McGready - Courage to say what she wants when she wants, able to talk to anyone at any time, very humorous, great advisor
- Eric Chong - Perseverance when people tell you 'its useless', clinging to certain values no matter what, great talker and motivator
- Macxell Lim - non-conformist, creative, fashionable, eternally optimistic
- Poh Tun Kai - friendly, knowledgeable, family loyalty, highly expressive and a great Editor
- Ivan Tam - dependable, stable, very smart and a wicked sense of humour
- Guy and Terry Larke - Pretty much all of the above
That finishes off this little expose on heroes and how we can use them to improve ourselves. But, I would like to end my discussion with a small word of caution (playing Devil's advocate) about becoming TOO obsessed with 'becoming' your hero, this time with a quote from Kurt Cobain.
"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are."
Remember, look up to those around you - to those who inspire you. But don't forget to be yourself. For that is who you are meant to be. Be true to yourself - because remember, no matter what happens during the day and night, you'll always have to wake up with yourself in the morning.
Keep on rockin'.
Dougie.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
How to get on the right side of the door
A show I used to watch had an opening theme that started like this.
"Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you've got;
Taking a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?"
I reckon that many people have a time when they're feeling down and out. Not everyone has the same amount though. Sometimes there are those who always are feelin' down. They get themselves into a rut, and they can't get out of it. Even the littlest things seem to be pushing their weight down on them. Other people rarely, if ever, seem bothered by things. In fact, they seem to be like a rubber tree. Things just bounce off them. I had one friend who got mugged and called me up cheerfully as he was getting stitches to describe what movie he wanted to watch the following night. Now that's positivity.
There are also those who desperately want to be seen as the latter, when they may be more closer to former. They talk a brave fight, but like the lesser majority, they find themselves in the dark a lot too. And yet...one can't help but respect them a bit. At least they're trying to talk themselves out of a hole. Better than just lying there and waiting for someone to wash you down the street again.
Again, I speak metaphorically. I mean, how can I tell some fellow who lost his job, his wife died, his children have cancer and his dog moved to Ohio that I understand how he feels. Well..that comes off a little shallow in the end. I don't understand...especially the dog part. But I can empathize. I can try to see the pain someone is in, and help them to find something, anything to hold on. But when you're on the wrong side of the door, it can be real hard to see that there is another side.
I confess, before all, that I myself have been guilty of placing myself on the darkened door. I could be standing outside a door full of friends, and not see them smiling at me, but rather scowling. Its a thin line between those two expressions, and often our own vision can decide what that is. It could have been someone was scowling on the other side of the door, but looking back, I realized there were times I walked away from a door that held a room full of friends and loved ones. I just walked away.
I'm no meta physicist. I don't believe that just because you think 'happy thoughts' that your world will improve. The fellow in my example can't expect his wife back, his children to be miraculously cured or his dog to quit its job in Cincinnati just because he starts smiling. Smiling won't change it. However, its knowing when to grin and bear and when to start making changes so you can grin and bear it. And when you are able to smile about things, the positivity does surround you. It just does. Somethings will try to knock it off...but you need to know when to smile and let it and when to know it's time to walk away.
A very good word of wisdom I try to remember is :
"God Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the strength to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference."
I tend to look at certain people and figure out how they got to be how they are. I ask them how they get so positive...and folks, despite what the books say, there is no 'one' answer. If I had to choose one common 'answer', it must be finding that magic thing that brings you satisfaction at the end of the day, and finding a way to achieve it. I've heard people say 'knowing I got something done', 'feeling I've reached someone' or 'knowing I am needed'. These are simple things, and maybe you felt one or all of them at different times.
The one thing I've learned to do is to follow this list...and try to keep up with it.
If you find yourself on the dark side of the door,
1) Realize you're on the dark side of the door, admit it.
2) Decide you're going to leave that side ONE way OR another. Make that pledge.
3) What put you there? Isolate the items. If you say 'everything' you lose, go back to step 2.
4) Look at the things, can you confront these things and deal with them? If so, plan how.
5) If you can't, change things. People are afraid of change, but if you're really stuck in a nightmare, but you're afraid of leaving your 'safe' routine, start thinking - Maybe I should get out of this routine, and change. You'll be amazed how comforted you'll feel when you accept to cut yourself from something painful, like a bad relationship.
6) Find things that you have that ARE good. Count them...think about them, let them give you comfort you still have those.
7) Realize this, you have a right to be happy. Just because someone says 'no you should be miserable because blah blah blah...', don't buy into it. You can't do anything if you're always walking with your head down. Be happy - without waiting for the okay to do it.
8) If you fell down yesterday, pick yourself up today. If you messed up, fine. Own that mistake. Its yours. Admit and promise to make sure it doesn't happen again. But don't dwell on those mistakes. That's not saying you might not need to atone for it (Bank robbers, don't quote me in court), but learn to move on, and not hold yourself back because you messed up.
These are all likely steps you heard before, and some folks reading this blog will say "Yeah Doug, You should have thought about that, back when..." Yeah...I had my share of dark moments too. Back when I thought NO ONE stood behind me but my shadows on the floor. Once in a while, I still fall into that. But I think it's us who were behind the door a few times, and learned to scoot to the other side, who know when to open that doors for the others, so some of the light can shine on them.
And remember, you've only got one shot at this pot, don't waste a second to make it happen. Maybe you won't ever be Rockerfeller or Ricky Martin, but be happy... And furthermore be YOU...that's the biggest key to success. "Trying to be like someone else is just a waste of the person you are." Once you discovered and accepted yourself, you've already started to open that door. There IS someone waiting for you.
Take it easy.
Dougie.
"Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you've got;
Taking a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?"
I reckon that many people have a time when they're feeling down and out. Not everyone has the same amount though. Sometimes there are those who always are feelin' down. They get themselves into a rut, and they can't get out of it. Even the littlest things seem to be pushing their weight down on them. Other people rarely, if ever, seem bothered by things. In fact, they seem to be like a rubber tree. Things just bounce off them. I had one friend who got mugged and called me up cheerfully as he was getting stitches to describe what movie he wanted to watch the following night. Now that's positivity.
There are also those who desperately want to be seen as the latter, when they may be more closer to former. They talk a brave fight, but like the lesser majority, they find themselves in the dark a lot too. And yet...one can't help but respect them a bit. At least they're trying to talk themselves out of a hole. Better than just lying there and waiting for someone to wash you down the street again.
Again, I speak metaphorically. I mean, how can I tell some fellow who lost his job, his wife died, his children have cancer and his dog moved to Ohio that I understand how he feels. Well..that comes off a little shallow in the end. I don't understand...especially the dog part. But I can empathize. I can try to see the pain someone is in, and help them to find something, anything to hold on. But when you're on the wrong side of the door, it can be real hard to see that there is another side.
I confess, before all, that I myself have been guilty of placing myself on the darkened door. I could be standing outside a door full of friends, and not see them smiling at me, but rather scowling. Its a thin line between those two expressions, and often our own vision can decide what that is. It could have been someone was scowling on the other side of the door, but looking back, I realized there were times I walked away from a door that held a room full of friends and loved ones. I just walked away.
I'm no meta physicist. I don't believe that just because you think 'happy thoughts' that your world will improve. The fellow in my example can't expect his wife back, his children to be miraculously cured or his dog to quit its job in Cincinnati just because he starts smiling. Smiling won't change it. However, its knowing when to grin and bear and when to start making changes so you can grin and bear it. And when you are able to smile about things, the positivity does surround you. It just does. Somethings will try to knock it off...but you need to know when to smile and let it and when to know it's time to walk away.
A very good word of wisdom I try to remember is :
"God Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the strength to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference."
I tend to look at certain people and figure out how they got to be how they are. I ask them how they get so positive...and folks, despite what the books say, there is no 'one' answer. If I had to choose one common 'answer', it must be finding that magic thing that brings you satisfaction at the end of the day, and finding a way to achieve it. I've heard people say 'knowing I got something done', 'feeling I've reached someone' or 'knowing I am needed'. These are simple things, and maybe you felt one or all of them at different times.
The one thing I've learned to do is to follow this list...and try to keep up with it.
If you find yourself on the dark side of the door,
1) Realize you're on the dark side of the door, admit it.
2) Decide you're going to leave that side ONE way OR another. Make that pledge.
3) What put you there? Isolate the items. If you say 'everything' you lose, go back to step 2.
4) Look at the things, can you confront these things and deal with them? If so, plan how.
5) If you can't, change things. People are afraid of change, but if you're really stuck in a nightmare, but you're afraid of leaving your 'safe' routine, start thinking - Maybe I should get out of this routine, and change. You'll be amazed how comforted you'll feel when you accept to cut yourself from something painful, like a bad relationship.
6) Find things that you have that ARE good. Count them...think about them, let them give you comfort you still have those.
7) Realize this, you have a right to be happy. Just because someone says 'no you should be miserable because blah blah blah...', don't buy into it. You can't do anything if you're always walking with your head down. Be happy - without waiting for the okay to do it.
8) If you fell down yesterday, pick yourself up today. If you messed up, fine. Own that mistake. Its yours. Admit and promise to make sure it doesn't happen again. But don't dwell on those mistakes. That's not saying you might not need to atone for it (Bank robbers, don't quote me in court), but learn to move on, and not hold yourself back because you messed up.
These are all likely steps you heard before, and some folks reading this blog will say "Yeah Doug, You should have thought about that, back when..." Yeah...I had my share of dark moments too. Back when I thought NO ONE stood behind me but my shadows on the floor. Once in a while, I still fall into that. But I think it's us who were behind the door a few times, and learned to scoot to the other side, who know when to open that doors for the others, so some of the light can shine on them.
And remember, you've only got one shot at this pot, don't waste a second to make it happen. Maybe you won't ever be Rockerfeller or Ricky Martin, but be happy... And furthermore be YOU...that's the biggest key to success. "Trying to be like someone else is just a waste of the person you are." Once you discovered and accepted yourself, you've already started to open that door. There IS someone waiting for you.
Take it easy.
Dougie.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
I've Got a Name
"Like the pine trees linin' the windin' road
I've got a name, I've got a name
Like the singin' bird and the croakin' toad
I've got a name, I've got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did..."
These words were written by an Italian American songwriter, Jim Croce, and became a hit mere months after he was taken too soon from this world by a fatal plane crash.
When I first heard this song though, I didn't know that. All I remember was being danced across the floor by my Dad as he played song after song for me, giving life to all sorts of imaginations and possibilities. My Dad loved music, and so did my Mom, it was always playing at my home. I can still remember that long brown wooden turntable system my dad had. It was an authentic piece of 70's nostalgia bliss. I never found out where Dad got it or where it went to, all I knew was what came out of it was pure Heaven. Janis Joplin, Jim Croce, Elton John, The Eagles, The Beatles and lest we forget, Buffy Saint Marie.
I still get weepy eyed when I hear stuff like "Me and Bobby McGee" or "Your Song", but I'm not sure if that's because of the lyrics themselves or because of the emotions attached to them.
I do also remember me and my brother sitting there listening to our stack of albums for the evening and our old man coming in, sitting down and smelling of Old Spice and Players Light filter, and pulling a whole new stack of ideas...of lyrics...of thoughts we hadn't heard. Every single album that man owned was a damn classic, even if the cat found the albums more useful as a scratching post. Sad thing was - most people didn't know what a treasure he truly had.
Today I still hold on to those early evenings...and the words I felt and the melodies I drank...They shaped me and gave me visions of the person I wanted to be and places I wanted to go... And while 'some dreams have lost their grandeur coming true', I'd like to think I stick by my childhood promise to Croce to keep "movin' ahead so life won't pass me by".
This is a bit odd I'm sure as a starting post, and yet, I can't help but feel its fitting. It represents where I came from...and how I got to where I am now. This post - like many of the others from now on - may be written in a more relaxed lose style then I do for work. I think I need that to let others see a bit of my soul As Dylan himself once said. "This might be good for somebody, if not for me, it might be good for somebody..."
Well...I'll close this trip down memory lane for now..and leave you to your own memories.
Keep it real,
Dougie.
I've got a name, I've got a name
Like the singin' bird and the croakin' toad
I've got a name, I've got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did..."
These words were written by an Italian American songwriter, Jim Croce, and became a hit mere months after he was taken too soon from this world by a fatal plane crash.
When I first heard this song though, I didn't know that. All I remember was being danced across the floor by my Dad as he played song after song for me, giving life to all sorts of imaginations and possibilities. My Dad loved music, and so did my Mom, it was always playing at my home. I can still remember that long brown wooden turntable system my dad had. It was an authentic piece of 70's nostalgia bliss. I never found out where Dad got it or where it went to, all I knew was what came out of it was pure Heaven. Janis Joplin, Jim Croce, Elton John, The Eagles, The Beatles and lest we forget, Buffy Saint Marie.
I still get weepy eyed when I hear stuff like "Me and Bobby McGee" or "Your Song", but I'm not sure if that's because of the lyrics themselves or because of the emotions attached to them.
I do also remember me and my brother sitting there listening to our stack of albums for the evening and our old man coming in, sitting down and smelling of Old Spice and Players Light filter, and pulling a whole new stack of ideas...of lyrics...of thoughts we hadn't heard. Every single album that man owned was a damn classic, even if the cat found the albums more useful as a scratching post. Sad thing was - most people didn't know what a treasure he truly had.
Today I still hold on to those early evenings...and the words I felt and the melodies I drank...They shaped me and gave me visions of the person I wanted to be and places I wanted to go... And while 'some dreams have lost their grandeur coming true', I'd like to think I stick by my childhood promise to Croce to keep "movin' ahead so life won't pass me by".
This is a bit odd I'm sure as a starting post, and yet, I can't help but feel its fitting. It represents where I came from...and how I got to where I am now. This post - like many of the others from now on - may be written in a more relaxed lose style then I do for work. I think I need that to let others see a bit of my soul As Dylan himself once said. "This might be good for somebody, if not for me, it might be good for somebody..."
Well...I'll close this trip down memory lane for now..and leave you to your own memories.
Keep it real,
Dougie.
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