What Gear Am I In?
"Money can't buy life."-B.Marley
Summertime is upon us here in Sydney.
My season.
Heat. Humidity.
Bring it on.
Life has so much more than music, you know? But, Lucinda is pretty damn amazing….don’t ya think? She is singing about some memories here.
My thoughts go to so many other places. You have to believe me.
Music always brings back a memory or a thousand.
We 2 legged folks have over 6,000 thoughts a day. Think about that.
There goes one.
For example, Bob Marley is singing about some sheriff and what happened to me?
Imagine if you paid much attention to each thought you had.
That is what they would call madness.
Back to music and memory now.
Bob Marley comes on and I think of album covers, the Wailers, how they looked, which Wailers are the real Wailers, and on and on.
As the tunes drift these thoughts come tumbling down.
Meanwhile, how many other thoughts are circling about the weather, time, and planning that you only glance at?
1979 I graduated from the State University of New York-Oswego and I left for Long Island soon afterward. I recall my Dad coming to my graduation. Also, remember driving back to Long Island with a cat that did not want to be in the car.
My dear friend Joel contacted me one day, you know, on a long-distance phone call. He said he had front-row seats to see Marley and The Wailers. I was living 6 hours away and I had no transport. I would have to hitch, find a ride, or take a bus.
As I had just made the trip, I bowed out.
I was living in New York City and Bob Marley would be around many times. There were many reasons to want to be there with Joel in a cloud of smoke raising our heads higher than we could.
But I passed.
The 1980 tour kicked off in Europe and came to America in September 1980. Life was busy being a 23-year-old and I did not go see his last shows at Madison Square Garden on the 19th and 20th of September. I might have been selling ice cream or some other food at festivals.
Bob played one more show in Pittsburgh and that was his last show.
He died on the 11th of May 1981.
My biggest musical regret was not making the trek to the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse to be with my good mate, smoking spliffs and dancing.
We made up for it through the years. But Bob never came with us.
In a roundabout way, I wanted to say I desire to write about other memories, moments, and some other of my 6,200 thoughts a day.
But I got sucked into a memory that was about a concert I did not attend.
Music and memory they say help you recall life events.
This is going to take a little bit of work.
Stay with me though, should be fun.
You don’t have to stick around now.
Although, I hope you stay around for the memories and some of my 7,000 thoughts a day.
Summer or Winter I hope you are in a loving and peaceful space with snow or salt on your skin.
