Welcome to Florida. Now go home.
Tom Brady is performing in advertisements for Hertz Car Rentals. They feature Brady in a “talk show” format, discussing all manner of car rental things with the “host” of the show, comedian Yvonne Orji (with whom I am not familiar at all, but whatever).
Does anyone remember the last world-famous athlete who hawked services for Hertz on a national scale?
Yep. O.J. Simpson.
And we all know how that worked out, don’t we?
I’ve spent a lot of time in recent months catching up on country music after an April Nashville visit that drew me back. I’ll write about why and what I’m listening to in another post. This one is about a really great album.
George Dearborne is a Texas-based performer who is something of a regional legend in East Texas, but isn’t known much outside of Beaumont. If word about this new release, Lotta Honky Tonkin’ Left In Me, ever gets out, that will change.
Dearborne is a country artist in the traditional vein of George Strait, Mark Chesnutt, Tracy Byrd and George Jones (to whom he pays homage in the album’s final track, “By George”). He’s recorded a number of records over the years, and the enthusiastic commentary that I read elsewhere motivated me to hit Spotify and do a search for this. You should, too.
One listen to Dearborne’s new album will ensure you that great country music is still being made in traditional ways. None of the songs on Lotta… are written by Dearborne. What he did instead was to record a number of songs (with one exception) by some not-so-well-know songwriters, and he’s put together an album of really strong material played by a team of knockout musicians and solidly produced by Jimmy Ritchey, a guy also known for his songwriting.
The album gets you on your feet right from the start and will keep you there for the duration.
My immediate favorite song was “One More Reason To Love You.” The tune is a classic honky tonk toe-tapper, with a lyrical theme aimed right at my heart. He sings about the woman in his life and tells her that every day, he finds one more reason she’s the best thing in his life – a sentiment that I live daily.
Lotta Honky Tonkin’ Left In Me is available to stream on Spotify (and the other sites, I’m sure). You can purchase a CD from his website.
Kelly sometimes uses really precise analogies to express her opinions. She came up with a great on the other day. We were discussing the pressure being applied to Joe Biden to drop out of the current Presidential race against Donald Trump.
Kelly’s analogy was very familiar. Biden being pushed to drop out is similar to any elderly man or woman being told by family or friends that they shouldn’t drive a vehicle any longer. Not an uncommon scenario and one Kel and I will likely have to face in a few years ourselves.
Her point was that a senior being told they shouldn’t or can’t drive any longer is seen as the first step is taking away their independence. They’ve lived an lifetime of being able to do what they want, when they want, including the ability to hop in their car and take off, hopefully without triggering a Silver Alert. Someone in that position, if honest with themselves, knows they probably should give up the keys. When their vision and hearing start to deteriorate and their reflexes slow, they can easily become a menace to themselves and others on modern American roads, already pretty dangerous places. Nevertheless, that person is likely going to be extremely defensive about that independence and refuse to comply until convinced or forced.
How does this relate to Joe Biden? Neither of us are Biden supporters – we’re both very conservative, but without the fire-breathing antagonism. Many Democrats have deployed a rapid and painful abandonment of Biden, everyone other than Doctor Jill and Six-Gun Hunter. As much as I find his entire presidency pretty horrible, Joe Biden is still the President of the United States, which affords him the right to make up his own mind, as addled as he might appear to be.
He spent a half-century holding public office, clawed his way up the ranks to senior status in the Senate and eventually ended up Obama’s safe pick for Vice President (safe for Obama – knowing no matter how bad things got, elevating Biden to the top job was just too frightening during those eight years – you know, sort of like Kamala Harris today). He benefited from four years of Trump fatigue and the cultural upheaval of the pandemic by managing to get elected President while rarely going outside.
He holds a position few can dream of attaining. Can you blame the guy for not wanting to let go? Hell, Donald Trump did everything he could to keep from giving up the office while continuing to be incessantly hammered by the media. Joe thinks he’s doing a great job and that there’s more to be accomplished. Jill and Hunter don’t want to give all this up, either, leading many to believe that they are pulling the strings hard and convincing him to stick it out.
Joe Biden is being asked to give up his keys. He wants to keep driving. But if he does and he loses control of a crisis or doesn’t react quickly enough to a threat, the nation is going to see a lot more than just a traffic accident.
Here is some medical advice, even though you didn’t ask. If you have ever had chicken pox (and a lot of my fellow boomers did as kids, as we didn’t have a vaccine for it), go get a shingles vaccine. Go today. Now. Do not wait.
I am in the tail end of a shingles breakout, because I didn’t listen to my lovely wife and never had the vaccine. (I was in an anti-vax mode after getting the COVID shots and still getting COVID three months later). Shingles sucks so much, I can’t even begin to explain how awful it can be. I’m at the end of three weeks with it and it’s slowly healing. Shingles burn. They itch on the inside, where you cannot scratch. The rash is awful and as it heals, it scabs up. Shingles is contagious to people who never had chicken pox, the chicken pox vaccine or the shingles vaccine – they will get chicken pox, not shingles.
I can get the vaccine, but I have to wait a few months until I’m clear. I’ll be there as soon as I can.
Go do it now. Today.
When I stopped running one of these a long time ago, I never thought I’d bother again. I’m bothering again. Just a place to drop some random and occasionally disturbing thoughts when the mood strikes. This will change a lot, so be prepared.