What a crazy day yesterday was. We went to the Post for a very productive meeting, you almost never hear meetings being productive, and had a couple adult beverages with the folks that were present. It was a nice early evening.
Eddie Van Halen, the guitar god of the universe, died yesterday. My son Frankie was a huge fan of his. I became one too. That was one group he played I didn’t holler at him to “turn it down!” We had a bet one time, who was better, Eric Clapton, or Eddie Van Halen. Clapton is a master, but Eddie may have single handedly influenced more young musicians than anyone else on the planet – including Clapton. And on top of that – he was married to Valerie Bertinelli. That alone would make him a hero.
I love the videos of him playing incredible riffs, and looking up with the boy-like look he always had, and smiling with pure joy. That’s how we’ll remember Eddie. Bless Wolfgang, his son, and his wives. Sad days for them. After all is said and done, I think it’s always, always, simply about the music.
I saw a Tweet that stated, “There are guitars gently weeping all over the world.”
And we’re almost to the next Zoom meeting with Sam Tyler, my book coach. We have a few things to discuss tomorrow, and then I think there will be more writing going on. I do look forward to it, and now it’s been three weeks, not just two. More about my new adjusted plan tomorrow.
Yes, this is how it is. When people speak of gratitude, it’s easy to have gratitude for the easy things, the things you want. It’s hard to have gratitude for hard times, missing your commuter train, getting fired from your job. We must learn gratitude for even the hard things. It’s only then, can we truly appreciate the gift we receive after the hard one. It’s hard to remember.
And people who you must love from afar. Difficult parents, former spouses, siblings who are hard to deal with. We all have them, somewhere. It’s ok to love them from afar. You don’t have to spend time with them. More people would keep their sanity if they would embrace this. It takes a long time to do that, when you feel as if you’re alone in a crowd. But you really aren’t. The rest of us are there, too.
So as I go to the deck and enjoy the fresh air, I hope you all have a wonderful day. Listen to some music. Read a good book, or at least decide on something relaxing to do. We owe it to ourselves to be nice to ourselves once in awhile. Pick today. Pick tomorrow. Just make sure you do it. And it’s even better with a beautiful puppy to pet. See you tomorrow!
Kathy Raabe 