Words of Wisdom from Tim McGraw

I love music. If you've read my blog, you know that. If I had to give up one or the other, there is no question, the TV's would go and the radio, CD players, and iPod would stay. My music is me. I am my music.

Music transcends and permeates everything in my life. I write with music on. I know exactly what music I need, what artist I want to listen to, for what I am writing that day, that hour. My novel - like my life - has a definite soundtrack to it. Hopefully one day soon, you will get to see that when you read my novel.

There have been a few songs that have stopped me in my tracks. A song did that a couple days ago. I was driving down the road when a new song - at least a song that was new to me - came on the radio. I was glad that I was near a parking lot because I had to pull over. The song - Nothin' To Die For by Tim McGraw.

There's a whole lot of things you say you're living for
You've got to fight it somehow, stop and turn around
'Cause this ain't nothin' to die for

Tim was singing about alcohol and spending too many hours at the office in his song. Well, I like a margarita or a Landshark Lager every now and then but I definitely don't have a problem there (too many empty calories)...and Lord knows back when I had a day job - you know, back before the "economic downturn" when several of us were outsourced/laid off - I would put in too many hours but that's not been a problem for much too long now (anyone need an excellent business analyst?). No, Tim's words were a direct belly blow.

I stared at the radio. When the song was over, I sat there and hit scan until I found it playing on another station. OMG! He was right! All the crap I'd been wandering back towards eating again lately...none of it was worth dying for!

We all have our own addictions. EVERY one of us. Some are addicted to drink, some to shopping, others to work. Me - it's food. I traded the food addiction for exercise addiction one time several years ago. That didn't work out so well either. I recovered from that addiction. Too well. I work every day to find that balance between food and exercise without letting either one be all-consuming.

You know what? Since I heard that song it's become easier. Honest to God. I'll look at my food choice and think "this ain't nothin' to die for". I've done the same thing when I think about skipping the workout to watch a TV show. What an easy concept to employ at every decision point.

Thanks, Tim!

Steamrolled...Man-oh-Man!

It's officially Christmastime. I saw Mannheim Steamroller in concert tonight.

We are very blessed here in Greenville to have a fabulous concert hall - The Peace Center. And, because it is so good, they are able to pull in excellent folks to perform. MS performed their Spring show here earlier this year and liked the venue so much that they wanted to come back for The Christmas Music of Mannheim Steamroller! Can you believe it?! Mannheim Steamroller in the same town TWICE in one year!!!

I have been a Chip Davis fanatic ever since my stint in Omaha in the mid-80's. When I graduated college, I moved there for my first "real" job. A company from Omaha came to interview on my college campus. I remember very distinctly asking everyone "Omaha - who the hell would move to Omaha?" Well, I was the one person from the class who did. And, I loved almost every minute of it. (The car crash and resulting ambulance ride to the hospital and losing a job for the very first time in my life were two things I could have lived without!)

There are two things you learn within the first half hour of living in Omaha - that food there is AWESOME (I mean, some of the best restaurants in the country!) and that Chip Davis and Warren Buffett are heroes in town. By the end of the first week, I was up five pounds, learned more about the stock market than I'd ever known up to that point in my life, and was absolutely in love with Mannheim Steamroller and Chip Davis.

Tonight's show was phenomenal. The music was, of course, top-notch. It included the MS classics that you'd expect - Carol of the Bells, Deck the Halls, We Three Kings, Away in a Manger, I Saw Three Ships, God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, and Silent Night - all the classics from "Mannheim Steamroller Christmas". But they also did several songs from their "Christmas Song" album and some of the Fresh Aire Christmas albums. The band's use of three small screens and one large screen was amazing. The screens never distracted but rather enhanced the music. Perhaps the most intriguing use of the screens was when the band was behind the large screen but fully lit - as in "seeable", not soused. The movie images were playing over and around the band and they melded into the scene so that they and the music and the images were all one. There was no delineation in the experience, they were all pieces of a whole and necessary to each other. Absolutely beautiful! And exquisitely clever.

The only thing missing tonight was Chip Davis. He is in Omaha recovering from neck surgery. I hope that Chuck Penington, Jeff Yang, Glen Smith, Tom Sharpe, and Joey Galizia and the supporting musicians remind him that he missed a really great show in a really great venue in an even better town. And, I hope he has a complete and speedy recovery - and that he rolls back into Greenville again in the near future.

If you get a chance, go see Mannheim Steamroller no matter the time of year. And if they're not coming to a venue near you, check out their CD's. My Christmas favorites are "Mannheim Steamroller Christmas", "Christmas Song", 'Christmas Extraordinaire" and "A Fresh Aire Christmas".

Songlines

Are you familiar with songlines? They are the Australian Aboriginal myths of Creation. And, they are fascinating...and beautiful. These Dreamtime stories tell of Australia's original wanderers giving names to places, birds, animals, etc. They explain everything. All cultures have their myths of creation. I mentioned in an earlier post that I also enjoy the Native American myths that Hillerman and Mitchell incorporate into their mysteries. But the Aboriginal songlines are especially close to my heart because as Bruce Chatwin says in his book "The Songlines", they sang their world into existence.

So...what does all this have to do with the Eagles tickets that I was about ready to pee my pants over yesterday? Well, I'm glad you asked!

Music has always been one of the most important things in my life. Music is interwoven through my entire world, my entire existence. I can tell you the first album my parents gave me as a child (Walt Disney Hits...and I swore that my mom's best friend Ruth sang Bippity-Boppity-Boo...and NO ONE could convince me otherwise...still can't...I don't care what the album jacket says), my first album as a teeny bopper (Wayne Newton Live! - hey! cut me some slack! we had just gone to Vegas and seen his show AND MET HIM and I thought he was SO cool!), my first 8-track (An Evening with John Denver...no excuses...I still love John Denver) - well, you get the picture.

Okay, okay...the Eagles. Heartache Tonight was released in 1979 and was a huge hit. The Sophomore class at East High School in Aurora will take credit for that, thank you. After all, we were the ones who called the radio station and requested it night after night as we worked our fingers to the bone on the homecoming float. Really. We twisted more tissue paper around chicken wire than you can ever imagine. And we constantly requested Heartache Tonight. And when it came on, we'd jump up from the garage floor and dance and sing at the top of our lungs. There was heartache for the Juniors and Seniors on homecoming night when our Tomcat beat their Tomcats. We'd sung out path to victory.

I could tell you stories for hundreds of songs in my life - including dozens of Eagles songs - but I'm only going to tell you one more for now. One that is immediate on my personal songline. You know, my path in the life I'm creating for myself.

I've already mentioned that music is important to me. My whole life has been and is set to music. When I think of a memory, I can immediately associate it with a song. When I hear a song, I immediately think of something that happened in my life. I've also mentioned that I am working on a novel. When you write a novel, they tell you that you should "know your characters". Things like what they'd eat, what's their favorite TV show, what's their favorite color, etc. Well, naturally, I also know what's on each of my characters' iPods. When I look at a person, I often think of a song. So, I associate my characters with songs as well. When the Eagles released their newest CD (Long Road Out of Eden) late last year, the song Busy Being Fabulous immediately became Stephanie's song. I don't know when Don Henley and Glenn Frey went on walkabout through my dreamtime but I'm glad they did. They nailed my gal Steph. Everyone should have a song. And Stephanie has hers. AND I'm going to get to hear the Eagles sing it live!

The Eagles have one other really special place on my songline. Yesterday I mentioned standing in line for tickets. That was on November 13, 2004. A Saturday morning. With snow flurries. It was a fabulous day and all was right with my world. Four days later, on Wednesday, I had a stroke. At age 40. I remember laying in the critical care area of the emergency room thinking "well damn it, I have Eagles tickets". (I couldn't piece it together at that very moment, but I had four months until the concert - March 8, 2005.) One of the legs that I had used to stand in line for those tickets would not keep my balance. The hand that I had used to hand the lady my credit card would not move. I knew what I was thinking but that's not always what I was saying. Only four days had passed since I stood in that line and requested those seats and paid for those tickets and at that moment, nothing was right with my world.

So, almost exactly four years to the day later - November 14, 2008 - I bought Eagles tickets again. I didn't have to stand in line but I could have if I had to. And, I used that hand that didn't move to type on the keyboard to purchase the tickets because it moves again. And, on most days, my mind and mouth do work together unless I'm REALLY tired or REALLY excited. And once again, all is right with my world. Now I just have to get through November 17th. (Stay tuned!)

Find your songs and dance along your songline in life. What are your songs? I hope that one of them is Life's Been Good!

Life's Been Good To Me So Far...

...and today was no exception. Eagles pre-sale tickets were made available to people with American Express cards today and I got awesome seats! WOOHOO!!!

I saw the Eagles here in Greenville three years ago. It was the only group that I'd always wanted to see but had never had the opportunity to. When I say wanted to see, I swore that if they ever did another concert tour, I would crawl across the country on my knees if I had to to see them. Because remember, they had done their Farewell Tour so I was sure I'd never have the opportunity to see them.

But, they did a Farewell Tour 2! And, it came to little ol' Greenville! I wouldn't have to crawl on my knees anywhere! Instead, I'd just have to go down on a COLD, COLD day and stand in line for tickets because the only time they put tickets for any good concerts on sale in Greenville is on COLD days. Yes, Greenville is in the south. But it doesn't matter. Elton John, Cher, Eagles. They seem to come here in the winter or early Spring so the tickets go on sale in the winter and it's always on COLD days. So I went downtown and stood in line and it started snowing. No lie! Snow flurries! But I got my tickets!

I went to the concert with a sense of absolute excitement and a bit of dread. I'd looked forward to this concert all my life. How could it possibly live up to my expectations? Oh My God! I've seen at least sixty or seventy concerts in my life - and probably a few dozen more than that. None of them compared to the Eagles concert. The clarity of sound (in a venue known for often having poor sound quality, no less!), the quality of their voices and instrumentation, the non-stop entertainment (the show went on for over 3 1/2 hours and it was just them!), the mood they created in the arena, the rapport with the crowd... It was FABULOUS!

I figured it was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Then two days ago they announced the Eagles were coming back. To Greenville! After the Farewell Tour 2! Go figure! And they're going to be here three days before my 45th birthday. AND even though I got the tickets through the pre-sale where you can't choose your seating section (it just pops up the available seats and you take what it offers or you don't get any tickets) it came up with my favorite section - the one that I always choose when I go to the box office to purchase tickets. What are the chances?! Indeed, life's been good to me!

Now, some of you are probably thinking "Chill Charmi, it's just a concert!". Tomorrow I'll explain why this is such a big deal to me.

11/21 Update...Eagles tickets went on sale at the box office today and just to prove my point from four paragraphs up, it was 27 degrees this morning. The wind chill brought it down to 14 degrees. I TOLD YOU! Concert tickets don't go on sale in Greenville, SC, unless it's COLD. (Thank you, American Express, for letting me sit in my warm, cozy living room to get my tickets this go'round!)