Music in my everyday Life

As I watched Katie Couric interview John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth on 60 Minutes the other night, I was astonished by the questions she asked.  As you probably already know, Elizabeth is suffering from incurable cancer.  Sure., we need to know that John, if elected president, can perform his job if things turn worse for his wife.  But after all, Bill Clintons preoccupations didn’t seem to worry us that much.   Katie, it may be noted, continued to work during her husband’s terminal illness.

Music is part of my everyday life.  I enjoy all types of music, but, my preference by far, is country music.  I listen to music as I mow the grass, work in the garage, work on my PC or while driving down the road.  I know many people that prefer their quiet time.  I mostly use music as a backdrop for my thoughts.  I seldom pay much attention to the words being sung, just the rhythm of the music in the background.  Occasionally, a song will come on that is a favorite and that’s when I crank up the volume.  Somewhere in me is that teenager of long ago that preferred his music loud and boisterous.   This has been known to aggravate Jerilyn and she desperately reaches for the volume knob.

We have a lot of wildlife visit us each morning as we eat breakfast and look out at the backyard and Lambs Creek.  Most days we see a rabbit, several squirrels, plenty of birds (we have 4 bird feeders) ducks, geese, Great Blue Herons and occasionally a raccoon and ‘possum.  It’s so wonderful to watch how God’s creatures interact with each other.  Of course, we know the reason they come is to eat and drink from the bird bath located close to the food.  We are endlessly entertained by their antics.

We had planned on visiting my brother Jerry today.  He lives about an hour away, just across the state line in North Carolina.  His wife, Patty, called this morning and she is not feeling well and the trip has been postponed until another time.  I am taking my truck to the garage tomorrow to get the AC recharged and have them check to see why my gas mileage has dropped from 16 mpg to 13.5 mpg.  I suspect it is because I had a sensor replaced on my catalytic converter several months ago (Service Engine Soon light came on).

During a telephone conversation with Uncle Stewart last week something very unusual happened.  After a 15-20 minute conversation, we prepared to say our so longs, and he said to me “Now Tommy, I have your telephone number, and next time I will call youâ€.   I have never had that happen before.  I have never had anyone volunteer to help me keep the line of communication open with them.   Normally, I will think, “it’s been several months since I talked to ……, I need to call themâ€.   What a breath of fresh air!  I remember getting off the phone with a very warm feeling deep inside me.  I must say that my son that lives in faraway TN is very good at keeping in touch with me.  Probably, most of us keep in touch with our children and parents.  The more difficult contacts are those family members and friends removed from our daily lives.

Well, guess I had better close.  Thanks for reading…….

Tommy

“Chance is the pseudonym of God when he did not want to sign.”

Theophile Gautier