I was doing my usual dreary drive to work this morning. You know the one I’m talking about. The mornings where you wish you had about 30 more minutes of sleep, the sun’s not really out yet, and your rhythm hasn’t caught up with you yet. TGIF in the worst way.

So while driving, I was stopped at an intersection. There was this pick up truck in front of me with two all black dogs excitedly pacing the truck’s bed. One looked at me, puffed his chest and barked heartily. You could have lit up the world with his smile. It occurred to me that no matter what kind of morning I was having, these two dogs were having the time of their lives. Sometimes it takes a simple thing like that to remind you of life lessons and happenings. Allow me to elaborate.

#1 Take A Ride In The Truck Bed- Like most dogs, I enjoy riding in the bed of a truck. I am not sure the legalities of this, but I see it often in Texas to believe that it can be done. There’s something about the open space and rush of wind. It’s a simple pleasure really. One fine memory I have is coming home from a gig, and riding in the truck bed with the equipment with a walkman. Two hours of the open starry sky and a Social Distortion tape was probably some of the greatest soul searching I did that year.

#2 Never Forget The Power Of The Mixtape- I’m not sure what the kids do these days, but over a decade ago, when I was in high school, we made mixtapes. This was important, because we had to establish our coolness through our music, back when music was like a treasure hunt, before the popularity of the internet and easy downloads, and we had to go out of town to decent record stores.
Nowadays, there are podcasts, playlists, burned CD’s, etc…. but I would like to think that some version of the home mixtape still exists, at least in the form of a burned CD. It really shows someone’s taste and creativity. Especially in the “young relationship” phase. It was always important to make a good mix of songs back then… after all she wasn’t dating you for your awesome collection of ratty band t shirts. It works both ways too, one of my first girlfriends gave me a mixtape and to this day, when I hear The Smiths- “Reel Around The Fountain” I am transported to a high school hallway when she first introduced herself to me and I blew her off… Strange how things work out.

#3 Give Them An Honest 8- My dad always said this. I believe he still does. I love my dad, because that work ethic is not around much anymore. It has carried over to me. I don’t leave my jobs easily. I am celebrating my 6th year of employment in my current job, my last job before this I held for about 6 years as well.
I guess I’m a little appalled at why so many people look down on immigrants doing day labor. I mean, most Americans won’t do those jobs anyway. I feel a certain amount of respect for a man who will do anything for his family, including coming to a country he has to break the law and sneak across to despite what the huge statue on Ellis Island says. I’m not hip on my politics nowadays, I could care less about the bills and demonstrations making the news. But I do think that focusing on people who do day labor when we still have refugees abusing flood relief debit cards to buy jewelry and nights in strip joints, we may have our priorities a little skewed.
There’s more than just holding down the job. It’s doing the best job you can while you’re doing it. Carlos Santana said “If you’re gonna sweep the floor, sweep it better than anyone in town”. Complacency is for losers. If I was to let that get me down, my life would be similar to the movie “Office Space” and I just can’t have that. So while I’m here, I shine. If I have the chance to shine, I will blind the world. Thanks Dad.

#4 “The odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field are approximately 3720 to 1" – If you are ever in this situation, I suppose you will be glad to have this info. Never tell me the odds.

#5 Rent The Game Before You Buy It- I love my Xbox. I like the first controllers they came out with. They were huge. Now, if you buy an Xbox, they give you the little S-controllers… they are about the size of playstation controllers, made for dainty little hands…
The thing about the Xbox and other video game systems is, even though it is a great system, there are some pretty lame games out there. I learned my lesson the first time I bought a game based on what other people were saying. A fifty dollar game deserves a test drive first.

#6 The Blues Ain’t Nothin’ But A Good Man Feeling Bad And Missing The Woman He’s With- There are other Blues-isms. You can take your pick, another one of my favorites is “Women are only as evil as you let them be.” It’s a blanket statement. The Blues actually doesn’t depress me, it makes me feel good. I dig the real life experience ringing through the old Blues Masters’ voices. Everyone needs an outlet.

Well morning is long gone. The day wasn’t as dreary as it started. But I’m sure those dogs had a much better day than I did.

Have a good weekend.