Making History at Red Rocks, Distractions, Tools of the Devil and the Thick Gravy of Emotion
“Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly.
Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply.
Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.
So throw away your baggage and go forward.
There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet,
trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair.
That’s why you must walk so lightly.
Lightly my darling,
on tiptoes and no luggage,
not even a sponge bag,
completely unencumbered."
— Aldous Huxley (Island)
Well, I think we made history last night at Red Rocks. We had four friends join us; it was a general admission show, we got in a little early, got a center mid high row and placed our blankets. The opening band came on, and I think, again, made history. The opening band was called Clam, I think, and they were the worst band I’ve ever seen grace the stage at the church of rock and roll.
Their music was a cross of the ’50s and EDM, I could not follow what was going on, it was a four piece, one guy played a plastic box, the drummer had a suit with shorts on, the lead singer was a jolly lady, and the lead guitarist was serviceable. I’m a happy shiny fellow, but that band caused me some pain, misery, and confusion.
But then Greta came out, and everything was OK. I’ve been following Greta since they launched, I saw them in a small room in Indianapolis, caught them a couple times in Denver and last night experienced them at Red Rocks and let me say these young men will be filling stadiums soon. They are set to open for Metallica’s next run, if you get a chance, do not sleep on Greta Van Fleet.
Sorry, this was the first thing on my mind. We got home about eleven since it was a school night we took it easy, I had a couple of cocktails, but since I’m the driver, I keep it clean. It’s a gift to take folks to our neighbor hood venue; it’s my duty to make sure we travel safely. It’s a good governor for someone like me.
We have one more show this season on Wednesday night, and then we will swear off outdoor shows. This is the start of our busy season; I’m trying to eliminate any distractions. Distractions are the devil’s tool.
I’m a lot better at staying focused these days. I am by nature a shiny object little boy always catching the shine of that new, cool, idea, toy, thing, it matters not, I have a want for the shine. But as I’ve aged, I’ve chased a few fewer objects. I know my strengths; I tend to stick with those, letting others chase the bouncing balls.
Today I’ll run our monthly sales meeting; we use Zoom, it’s an effective tool for our company, it reduces drive time and allows our sales people to show up where they are, not where they need to be. I’m a fan of virtual meetings; we tend to have more and more of those, why drive an hour or so to meet with your team when you can easily send a link and all connect sans the personal touch.
I think drive time kills a lot of time, and the more we can use virtual and conference calling, the more time we have to focus on our clients. I try and be as efficient with my time as possible, virtual meetings and conference calls allow for a freedom of place and time.
I’ve got other meetings today; I need to see my doctor, get some T shot in my ass. I had someone ask me of any side effects with my T program; after two years, no side effects only benefits. I cannot stress enough, if you are a man over 45 and feel sluggish, check your Testosterone. That’s my pro tip of the day.
I see a lot of talk and action on climate change. I see children screaming, crying, due to the warnings some have made that the earth will die in 9 years. Many are claiming they will not have children; they are scared to bring them into this world, and I think that is a great idea. If you are gullible enough to believe the world is ending, you should not reproduce.
Climate change is real, it’s an issue, but the U.S. is about 15% of the problem, other countries like China and India account for much more of the warming of our planet. I don’t think it a great idea to kill our economy, we need a global solution, and if history has anything to say, a global solution is almost impossible today.
My solution for climate change is to first remove the emotion and anger from this debate. It’s an interesting thing to watch adults prop up sixteen-year old’s as spokespeople for their cause. When I was sixteen, I was a silly kid, with silly ideas and misguided thoughts about how the world worked. I’m not saying kids today are not smarter than I, but at 50, I’ll take what they say and know that their thoughts are clouded by a thick gravy of emotion.
I think we are too emotional today with many of our debates. Reason and logic are thrown out and replaced with feelings. The person that screams the loudest wins, well they think they are winning while the rest of the world watches and says a collective “bless their hearts.” Here’s an idea, be reasonable, learn your facts, have data to support your conclusions and be ready to sit down in a civil conversation and help people understand your point of view.
There is reliable data for every conversation; you can even cherry pick your data to support your cause. But over time as you learn more, you might begin to see a thread of data that rejects your ideas and opinion. Only after we walk through the entire forest can we explain to others the lay of the land. I think today, folks see a photo of a forest and begin screaming they know every tree, animal, and insect that occupies the woods without ever taking a step into that foreign land.
Happy Tuesday, I hope these words resonate with you or at least get you thinking about something you otherwise would have skipped over. I’m here to brighten your day, sometimes challenge your thoughts, but for the most part, share the joy and happiness that guides my daily journey. Cheers, I’ll see you tomorrow.
“Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly.
Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply.
Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.
So throw away your baggage and go forward.
There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet,
trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair.
That’s why you must walk so lightly.
Lightly my darling,
on tiptoes and no luggage,
not even a sponge bag,
completely unencumbered."
— Aldous Huxley (Island)