Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Ventures in the R&R Hall of Fame

Long Long ago in a far away place called North Dakota a young boy and a band of musicians played songs of the times up and down the roads less traveled. I was one of those boys. I had hair and weighed almost half of what I do today. I remember well. We played songs of the day.

One of those songs was from a group of northwest musicians called the ventures. The songs they played were easy, 1-4-5 and loud.

They got older. They are now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.





The discouraging part is we got our pictures back from the photographers today. Church Pictures. Who are those old people? Who are these old guys playing rock and roll? When did we all get older?




Time is not my friend any more. I know that when I strap on my guitar and stand up in a couple days I will be casting an image that is very much like these.

Old guys playing guitar remembering days of yore.

I think Yore forgot.

Not a pretty sight.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't feel too bad. At least your name isn't Alice Cooper, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, or Boy George.

Feel blessed Boy Gene. Many a person would give anything to play guitar for Jesus.

Besides, have you wondered why Jesus looks at your heart, and not your face? Look in the mirror and there's the answer.

Anonymous said...

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, almost the
person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime
despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging
butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my
mirror, but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful
life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've
aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself.
I've become my own friend.

I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or
for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I
didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled
to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world
too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with
aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on
the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with
myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and if I, at the
same time, wish to weep over a lost love .. I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched
over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I
choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set
They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some
of life is just as well forgotten . And I eventually remember the
important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How
can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child
suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But
broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and
compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will
never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to ha ve my
hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched
into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so
many have died before&n bsp; their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You
care less about what other people think. I don't question
myself anymore.

One area I am still growing in is God's Word. I am amazed how
much more I learn everyday. With all the changes during my life, God has been the
one consistent, never changing, all loving entity that made this ole life feel so special.
I have learned to love as He has loved me....with no end.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has
set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to
live here forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time
lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.
I will however, delight in praising the Lord everyday with the talents He
gave me to do so, regardless of what I look like. My Father sees my heart, the best
part of me.

Anonymous said...

"There are so few who can grow old with a good grace..." (Steele,The Spectator) When cratchety old guys get older and cratchetier, we thank God that His grace covers all....grace ever new, ever amazing, ever free, ever forgiving, ever eternal. H.A.H.