Today’s gift is simple. How about the gift of relaxation? Put on your favorite song and give your significant other a full body massage. Afterwards have them do the same for you. As a matter of fact you should do this EVERYDAY!

Okay. The countdown has begun. World peace, albeit an ambitious wish, is a good start to the Holiday Season. My wish for Day 24? Show some respect towards one a other. Be courtteous towards one a other. This is not that difficult people. If these are values that we instill in our children why can’t we adults be better examples? We can. Respect and courtesy are my wishes for Day 24.

My how time flies. The Holiday Season is upon us once again. And once again I have compiled a list of gifts that includes someone for everyone. Starting the countdown at day 25: I wish for World Peace. I pray for World Peace. Just once in my life I’d like to have one day without war, shooting, killing and people hurting people. Just one day is all I ask.

WARNING ⚠️: Please eliminate any forms of resistance in your life that keep you from realizing your true calling!

First you must recognize where or who the resistance is coming from. Once you do you have a decision to make: allow the the forces of resistance to hold you back or pull yourself out of the grip of it.

For example I am being “called” to own this Yamaha MT 09 SP. As you might imagine I am facing a good bit of resistance from some powerful forces. But no worries. I KNOW who I am. I must follow my calling. I’ll keep you posted.

Yes, marijuana IS everywhere. It seems like wherever I go whenever I go the smell of weed is not too far behind.

I started noticing this on July 4, 2022. My wife and I like to check out fireworks at either of the few local displays nearby. So on 4th of July 2022 we went to a popular watching spot. Got there about an hour early for the 9:15pm display. As we sat in the car watching the countless families gathering my wife says, “What is that smell?” Lol! I had a good laugh and said, “You grew up in the same era as me. YOU know what that is! It’s marijuana! She was shocked. “And people are just out here smoking out in the open like that?” Yep.

Man how times have changed. 2022. Here we are at a public park, families of all races with children all around, police patrolling the grounds, and the unmistakable scent of marijuana out in the open for all to share. And none of the parents seemed too concerned. I wonder why?

As a youngster growing up in my neighborhood it was forbidden for anyone under the age of 18 to be anywhere near the smell of marijuana. The OGs would tell the “hoppers” to go home or get away when it was time for them to party.

You know, ever since that July 4th I notice that public marijuana usage has become more prevalent. Lowe’s parking lot on a Friday night? I smell marijuana. Local shopping plaza on a Saturday afternoon? I smell marijuana. College football game at the local university? I smell marijuana. Driving on the interstate and local roads? I smell marijuana. Fourth of July 2023 at the same park for fireworks? Yep,you guessed it.

Now for the record I was not counted among considered as recreational users. I indulged twice in my lifetime. Once at age 13 and again at age 16. Both times influenced by the presence of desirable older women. Believe me at that age having attractive older women around got me high enough if you know what I mean. I’ll leave it at that.

Funny thing about smelling marijuana nowadays is it takes me back to the days of my youth, particularly my days in junior high school. Clear summer day, leisurely late afternoon, music from station V103 blaring out of stationary car stereos and boom boxes simultaneously. Groups of neighborhood kids gathered sparingly. Idle teenaged boys finding excuses to talk to idle teenaged girls. And youthful mischievous thoughts……

Yea. Smelling marijuana these days does not take me higher, it takes me back. You know what, I’m gettin’ hungry. Wonder what kind of snacks we have?

Most people prefer sunny days over rainy days. Save for maybe farmers and meteorologists most of us do not wish for rain unless it is “convenient” for us.

Likewise, most people prefer sunny days over cloudy days. Count me among those people. But……..I think cloudy days are underrated. I think overcast days are misunderstood.

In my generation most kids spent a good deal of time outside. Unlike the times of the most recent generations of adolescents there was more to do outside the confines of home. But ask any person of any age and most will speak fondly of fair weather fun outdoors.

My appreciation for cloudy or overcast days began in my childhood during the Fall season on a day similar to this one. I knocked on the doors of my neighborhood friends and none would or could come out to play because it was cloudy and “might rain”. So, I grabbed my football and remote controlled planes and went to “the field”. Kicked and threw the ball around, ran with the ball avoiding imaginary defenders. Flew my planes until they ran out of fuel. The peace and quiet of those solitary overcast days left a lifelong impression on me.

To this day I still enjoy being outside on a cloudy fall day. Time seems to slow down just bit. The air is crisp. Your senses are heightened. The background noise is subdued. Most other people are indoors. Try it for yourself. Do not take your phone. No texts. No email. No alerts. No notifications. No messages. No likes. No tweets. No calls. No FaceTime or Meets required.

Go out and take a walk amongst the clouds. Just listen to the silence and you will hear your true voice speaking to you. And don’t be surprised if you develop your own appreciation for life between the sun and the rain.

Hello. I know, I know. It’s been such a long time since I’ve posted. As a matter of fact I can’t even remember the last time I wrote for The Real Life Corner. Can’t remember the last time I posted to Facebook or Instagram either.

Man, look. On one hand I had a couple of life events that sapped my creative spirit. Then, on the other hand, I had so many things to write about that the ideas just got stuck in a traffic jam in my head. They compounded and I didn’t know where to start. Until today Sunday September 17, 2023, for the record.

So, to get right to the point, a good bit of my creative space has been hijacked by a new and unexpected obsession. The items pictured above are an Epiphone ES 335 guitar and a BOSS Katana Artist mkII amplifier. Two of my favorite things, these musical instruments have become my obsession. My long journey here, while mostly unremarkable, is fascinating in the sense that it is where I’ve always belonged.

My first real musical instrument was a guitar that my mother bought without any solicitation from yours truly. She just came home from work one day with brand new guitar and amp in boxes and sat them on my lap. Her only words to me were, “here”. I looked around in a bit of confusion. Then I proceeded to open the boxes. Slowly and carefully. To my subdued excitement and surprise I was the owner of a new guitar and amplifier. I was 12 years old. If I only had the time and words to express how my mother changed the course of my life with this one act of kindness.

Fast forward to the December 2019. After years of (trying to) play electric bass I had not owned one for nearly a decade. Itching to get back to playing I visited a local music store and started to tell my family about my desire to play. What I did not tell them was I that I was deciding between continuing with the bass or starting new on guitar. They bought me a bass for Christmas. I was happy. Got a gig immediately in January 2020. Then the Corona Virus came calling and ceased live music performances. I was sad. And so……

Being idle leaves lots of time for creativity. It also leaves lots of time for contemplation. As I practiced bass playing and explored the social media community my interest in electric guitar started to consume my thoughts. I developed a keen interest in guitar amps in particular. I sought out notable guitarists and became fascinated by the lives and careers of the professional studio guitarists throughout history. And then I went to the music store and picked up a semi hollow body guitar. And then I demoed the Katana Artist. Then I bought ’em. And now I’m obsessed!

I can’t put this guitar down. My appetite for learning new chords is insatiable. To my surprise I’ve learned guitar basics ten times faster than I learned bass guitar. When learning new songs it’s almost as if I’ve played the changes before. It comes so much more naturally than the bass. With the guitar in my hands my whole world just feels right. I’m at total peace. I breath easier. I become who I am. I am empowered. I am home.

So. I’m obsessed. And it’s a good thing. But I am writing again. And will continue to do so as soon as I put the guitar down.

It’s amazing how fast time goes by as time goes by. A half a century takes on a new meaning when most of your friends have reached that milestone of living years. As the Holiday season approaches each year I am reminded of yet another impending birthday which for me happens just more than a week into January.

But this Holiday Season has been somewhat challenging. Actually the entire Fall season had me moving and living in slow motion for various reasons. Hence the long pause of time since I last added to this blog.

For the past few years I’ve included a 25 day countdown to Christmas wish list of my most desired gifts. It took a minute but I think I am finally in the “Christmas Spirit” this year. As today is December 19, 2022, I will have to back track to December 1st to get all 25 days in. So with that here is the “25 Days Of Christmas” list for 2022.

For the days of December 1st through December 19th the list goes as follows: I am grateful for the gift of life for all of my living family and friends. I am thankful for family and friends for being such a positive influence in my life. Thoughts and prayers to friends and family who’ve lost loved ones and wishing you the best that this Holiday Season has to offer. To be continued…….

A long time ago in a galaxy far away I was once 35 years old.  I’ve never been one who was overly concerned with “getting older”, but as I look back in time I am often fascinated by how some days, weeks or months  seem to last forever while simultaneously ensuing years seem to fly by.  I referenced age 35 to share a related story

Back when I was 35 I played my last game of “touch/tackle” football.  It was around Thanksgiving so myself and a few neighborhood fellas got together for the annual “Turkey Bowl”, the Rite of Passage for football wanna be’s who were not ever good enough to be considered a “has beens”.  Lotta fun though. 

So, as I said this was my last time playing in the game. It had been a few years since I was injured playing football.  But the injury in this game made me realize that I was in fact getting older. I was on defense playing safety.  A pass came my way.  I jumped to defend the ball, got my foot clipped and landed on a part of my body that I didn’t know I had: my tailbone.  Never knew that it could be so painful. 

So the following Monday I go to work still sore from the fall.  My manager walks up to me and says, “Hey Randy you look like you’re really dragging ass today. You feeling alright?” I say to him, “Lou, I AM dragging ass today.  I’m 35 years old and for the first time in my life I can actually feel my ass in my pants as I walk.” Lou had a good laugh and then told me he had to talk me later. I said fine.

That afternoon Lou asks me to come to the office.  We sit down and he says, “Hey Randy.  Do you know why 35 is THE most important age in man’s life?”  I did not.  Lou says, “35 splits the difference between 20 and 50.  You see how fast you aged from 20 to 35. That’s how fast you age from 35 to 50.  It seems even faster since you’re getting older. Whatever you wanna be in life you have to be working on it by now.” I had never heard that before, but it stuck in my brain from that day forward. 

Many years have passed since I was 35.  A few more have passed since I was 50.  But you know what?  I still feel the same even though the mirror is a constant reminder of the years gone by. Reasonably healthy.  Reasonably happy.  Hopefully a little wiser. But it IS football season. Maybe, just maybe, I have ONE more Turkey Bowl game left.

Yesterday was Saturday. Friday was two days ago. You’ve been at this place in time more than a thousand times. And yet, each time one fades away you still cannot believe how fast time goes by. No matter how much gets accomplished in a weekend there is always more that needed to be done.

Despite your best efforts, the inevitable end of the weekend comes around to remind you of just how precise it keeps time. It never changes. It is never too late, always either early or right on time. Ready to cast it’s shadow whether you are ready or not…

So, here I am. Covered by the latest weekend’s shadow. Wondering how I put so little into sooo much time, or so much into sooo little time. Either way….

Once again covered by the weekend’s shadow. Counting the hours and wishing that time goes by.