Labor Day Weekend 2016 – Vicki and I are in Snowmass, Colorado for the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Experience.  We’ve been in Colorado now for two full days, and I just can’t get over how beautiful it is here in the Rocky Mountains.  It’s been at least ten years since we’ve been in Colorado and probably another ten since we’ve been in the mountains.  I’ve nearly forgotten what it’s like to see and experience such beauty!  The clean, crisp air and the gorgeous views from just about anywhere.  It’s incredible!

I’ve been pumped up ever since we arrived.  Even though the altitude and the hiking trails have gotten the better of me, I just can’t get enough of this place.  Yet, at the same time, I feel melancholy deep down inside.  As Vicki sometimes asks when we’re alone at home, “What’s the matter?”  My answers range from “everything” to “nothing” to “I don’t know.”  In this case, it’s definitely everything.

I love it out here!  Absolutely love everything about Colorado in the summer.  But I know it won’t last.  I know we’ll have to leave soon and come back home.  And to be honest, sometimes home is not where my heart is.  It’s been a very weird six months since I retired from the work world.  I’m still not sure where the next part of my journey will lead me, and I’m worried. I’m worried about everything and everyone in my life. I have no control over all these moving pieces and it drives me crazy! One thing that a regular job provided me was a sense of control.  At work, most of the time, I was able to be in some sort of control.  Or I was able to change a situation to become in control.

Top of Elk Camp at 11,000 feet.

Now, I seem to just let everything happen around me.  I try to exert control, but it doesn’t seem to take.  I did a decent job with a writing project in July, but after that I’ve been like a rudderless boat. Just bobbing up and down on the daily waves of life.  What am I supposed to be doing?  Where am I supposed to go?  How do I get there?  And what do I do once I arrive?

So for now, I’ll continue to look at the beauty of Colorado and the Rocky Mountains and sip on a local microbrew. And hope this “Rocky Mountain high” lasts as long as possible after I come down from the mountains.

Thanks, as always, for your time.

July 2016 – Health Update  My latest doctor’s appointment and CT scan went better than expected.  My tumors remain “stable” and there are no new growths to report.  In addition, the two spots that were ablated continue to heal normally and show no signs of malignancy.

Since my health has stabilized, I decided to begin to volunteer my time.  One of the places that I volunteer is the Blues Hall of Fame in downtown’s South Main Arts district.  The Hall is part of The Blues Foundation: an international non-profit organization dedicated to preserving blues music and it heritage, along with promoting contemporary blues artists and encouraging new generations of blues musicians and fans.

My volunteer job is to be a docent for the museum that encompasses the Hall of Fame.  It’s a great gig!  I get to meet people from all over the world and talk about blues music and music history.  I’m not necessarily a blues aficionado, but I love all types of music and the history of American music- especially music that came from Memphis and the Mississippi Delta.

As a high school friend told me on Facebook after I mentioned working at the Blues Hall, “the blues ain’t nothing but a good man feelin’ bad.”  That quote is attributed to Leon Redbone, but it also shows up in song lyrics and even song titles.  So, like a lot of early blues history, there is some legend and mystery around the quote’s origin.  In fact, two sources I found state the quote this way – the blues ain’t nothing but a good man feeling bad, thinking about the woman he once was with.

Little Milton Campbell hanging out in front of the Blues Hall of Fame.

I always like this quote about blues music by Willie Dixon, “The blues is the roots, the rest is the fruits.”  So very true.  Folk music, field hollerin’, and ‘call and response’ in black churches all became the basis for blues music.  And the blues became the roots for country music, soul music, and, of course, rock and roll.

As always, thanks for listening.  If you have the chance, stop by the Blues Hall of Fame.  I’ll give you a personal tour.

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Summer 2016 – As we all know, most of this year will be taken up with the presidential election campaign, and, as we have seen thus far, this campaign season is anything but typical.  Here we are in mid-summer and there have been enough headaches and head-scratchers to last for three or four presidential elections.  Right now, everyone is worn out…tired…maybe even exhausted – and it’s not even close to Labor Day!

The anger and vitriol of the American voters has seeped into every corner of our lives.  You can’t have an online conversation without someone getting ticked off because you criticized one of the candidates.  You can’t have a face-to-face conversation either without it somehow morphing into “What do you think about the election?”  You can’t even sit around your dinner table and enjoy a family meal without the conversation gravitating towards the pros and cons of the candidates or their parties.

And that’s putting it politely!  Most of the time these interactions immediately become “Trump’s a jerk,” or “Hillary’s a liar” positions that will not ever change under any circumstances.  So, we yell at one another – mostly through the Internet (sometimes, in person) – and never truly discuss why we’re so angry and frustrated.  We never try to address why one group feels the way they do.  And we’re certainly not respectful of other folks’ opinions or their right to express them.

It’s not just one side versus another…not one party out-of-touch…or one candidate being a bully.  It’s all of them and more importantly – ALL OF US!  And that includes me.  This is going to be a very long four months and a very, very long four years – regardless of who wins.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen people so mad.  It’s actually scary.  Throw in police shootings, the Orlando nightclub massacre, and Black Lives Matter demonstrations, and you’ve got truly treacherous times in America.

Yet, this is OUR country.  Our AMERICA…our home.  We should treat each other like we treat visitors to our own home. Courtesy…empathy…respect…understanding…helpfulness – these are things we would do (should do) when we have guests in our home.

I’m reminded of the famous comic strip “Pogo” by Walt Kelly. Kelly created a piece specifically for the first Earth Day back in 1970.  “We have met the enemy and he is us” is a takeoff on a famous quote from Navy Commodore Oliver Perry, who said after defeating the British in a naval battle during the War of 1812, “We have met the enemy and they are ours.”

Like the cliche – He is his own worst enemy – we need to remember that we all share this great big country that we call home.  And we’ll eventually destroy this home if we don’t learn to temper our anger and realize that what makes America great is that everyone has a voice.

I think it’s only fitting that we remind ourselves that our biggest demons come from inside our own hearts and it takes true strength to keep those demons from tearing us apart.