#gratitude – Page 5 – The Boring Old Man

According to the Associated Press (AP), California lost 117,552 residents in 2021. That was the second year in a row of dropping population, bringing us a current count of 39 million and some change.

For politicians and economists, this is terrible, frightening news. You see, relocation is expensive. The people leaving? Yeah, they’re the ones with assets and high paying jobs or retirement accounts. And they’re taking all their taxable income with them! Huzzah!!

That dark red color comes from bleeding us dry!

As someone that was born and raised here, as well as raising my own daughter here, I welcome this news. There is very little left of what made this place awesome. And what IS left, you can’t get to without spending half your day in traffic, and then you’re surrounded by the hoarde. It’s just become extremely overpriced and crowded, and since less than (I’d guess) 20% of the people here now are “natives”, there is NO culture or pride anymore. Nor should there be.

The recent culture is “money” and the pride is all about “how much money do you have”…it’s kinda gross. I’ve lived within 30 miles of where I’m sitting right now, my entire life. And I’ve never felt less “at home” anywhere. California dreaming has turned into nothing more than a get-rich-quick scheme and it has destroyed the state.

Now if we could just come up with a plan to shed another 15-20 million, this state might be a nice place to live again!

Hey, a guy can dream can’t he?

Lately I’ve been getting some traction in the quest to play with a band again, so I’ve been digging up a lot of “oldies” to listen to and prepare for auditions and such. These trips down memory lane brought up lots of recollections of past bands and gigs, and then out of the blue a song came on the radio that I hadn’t heard in a very long time… ( yes, I do still listen to the radio from time to time!)

This song was the VERY FIRST song I ever learned to play on a drumset!

Now, I was only 5 years old when this album was released, and while I started learning drum rudiments at 7, I didn’t get my first kit until I was maybe 10. So this tune was already a “classic” when I was figuring it out.

For the life of me, I could not learn the bass drum part and then by chance one afternoon I was hanging out with a friend of mine – Mike B. – at his house and he had a much older brother that was a drummer (with an amazing Ludwig kit, that put my jalopy kit to shame!). The brother was cool enough to let me sit down at his kit and he spent about half an hour teaching me that drum part.

After that day, everything just kinda clicked and I was off to the races. 4 years later I was starting my first band. Nearly 4 years after that, and a few bands later, I played my first gig at a nightclub I wasn’t even old enough to legally be in.

Forty-plus years later, hundreds of songs later,I STILL remember the first song I learned like it was yesterday.

It was pure serendipity. That afternoon in the finished attic space on Shady Lane in San Jose at that shiny Ludwig kit changed my life. Mike’s brother, who was close to twice my age, (and I’d never met before!) gave me a gift I could never repay.

It just goes to show, you never know what that small moment of kindness you show someone will lead to. I could never repay Mike’s brother, but I hope in my own ways I’ve paid it foreword, helping others along their path.

Just something to think about…

Thanks for reading!

Tag: #gratitude

Well, that’s good news!

You never forget your first…