Time Travel

Time travel was invented long ago and even though this might sound like news, it isn't. If that sounds like a crock, what I write next will surely indicate that I've lost my mind. Not only was time travel invented centuries ago, most of you have used it at one time or another. Music has been transporting men and women across chunks of time for ages.

There is not one of you that has not been transported to another time and place when a certain certain song or music begins to play. Whenever I hear "Stand by Me" I am immediately beamed to my teen years in Independence, Kansas where I'm sitting in the swing with Linda Anderson on her front porch. I can feel the heat of a typical Kansas summer night and the closeness of a girl who was the subject of my teenage crush.

Another record drops to the turntable and I'm standing in the quadrangle at Lincoln University with my cousins Linda and Jude Bordeaux laughing at David Enyard. The Four Tops coming from the hi-fi sing "Bernadette," which was David's latest girlfriend that had done him wrong. The next thing I know, I'm at home, not where I live now, but in the house I grew up in. Not only am I there, but I'm in a "big boss line" doing the Madison.

If you're like me there are certain songs that take back in time. Suddenly, people you shared moments with are back in your life at the exact moment you recorded the memory. The music is the time travel machine that keeps those memories real as if it happened just moments ago. Another record falls from the spindle and I watch as my mother and father ballroom to Duke Ellington "Satin Doll.

Music has the power to take us paces we thought we'd never see again. It puts us in touch with people and feelings we thought forgotten. It allows to reexperience an indelible moment in our lives. We all have one and most have many.

So, with this in mind I'm asking you to share your music with the rest of us and allow us to share that time with you. There is a song that reminds you of a certain place, a certain time and certain someones. Share and you be surprised how the same songs have no affect on many.

Keep it to Yourself

For some people humbleness, is an acquired taste that often comes with side order of crow. In corporate America, college degrees seem a popular item on the menu much to the chagrin of those of us that must rub elbows with these unknowing diners.

If I am not hiring you or seeking advice, I don't give a damn about your college degree. Most people do not care about your educational accomplishments or want to hear about unless they are related to you and even then, asides from your mother or father, that is not a sure bet.

This 2012 and announcing your college credentials to the world is considered bad taste, country and worst of all, uneducated. People that have it--don't announce it and that goes for everything from money and cars to where they live or the size of their house. In my neighborhood we have a saying, "you better pull over and ask somebody." It means to error on the side of caution or "look before you leap."

Whether you know it or not many, not some, many of the people you regale with tidings of your educational accomplishment have degrees, often more than one and often advanced degrees, again sometimes several. You have a BMW? So do a lot of people. You make six figures? Again, so do a lot of people and even if they don't, they don't want to hear about yours, especially from you.

I know it's hard to be humble when you're great as you, but when you see people whispering don't think for a moment they are talking about you--know it! They are talking about what an ass you are, which is probably the nicest thing they'll say. When we were kids, anytime were about to go out in public my mother used tell us to "act like you've been some place." That meant, keep our mouths shut or don't say anything that reveal our ignorance.

My father made it very clear when he told us, "It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." That advice served me well. I had more than my share of opportunities to make a fool of myself but bragging on myself or what I had or had not done was held to a minimum thanks to my parents.

By the way, a 2.9 GPA is a high "C." In other words, it is the least expected. As person from the sales world, 100% of what you're supposed to sell is what is expected. It is a "C." In other words, it is not bragging material just as a college degree isn't. It only counts to the receivers, those who helped or family, and to those that think it "might" make for a good employee. Otherwise, no one gives a rats ass.

Occupy Movement Reloaded

Harsh winter has lost its grip on the country and with the blooming of May flowers comes new energy and new purpose to the Occupy Movement. It is far too important to let the movement slip into obscurity because it is a new year. The same demagogues are still there. Wall Street is as crooked as ever. Politicians still ring the lie bell frequently. Big business is raking in record profits, but not hiring. No one is in jail after one the greatest shakedown scams in the world. In fact, we paid off the bookie bets and the thanks we get is a stick in the eye in the form of cutbacks and higher prices. With that in mind, I am posting this video as a reminder of what happened last year to emphasize the importance of becoming active again.

Sucio El Bailar

ArtsyFartsy is a springboard for film, photography, poetry, and fun stuff. It is also a place for serious and not so serious thought on just about any subject. I encourage my Facebook friends and family to contribute their original writings, films and photographs so their friends may share in their genius, I will start it off with a little poetry and follow with a film about depression. As you can see there is a wide range between the two and that's the way the page is meant to work. That's why I am seeking a wide  of ideas, opinions and thoughts on any subject.  DRB