Landmarks, part 2

Todays landmark is not a place but an item from my childhood. This is the 1982ish fisher price record player. My first turntable. I remember being in the back bedroom in the old house on Means ave. In New Orleans east. Back then i was mostly listening to "see & say" records(kid stuff) or "show and tell" records that went along with books that I couldn't ever find. But I also started swiping my parents 45's and listeng to their music, everything from KC and the Sunshine Band to Elvis, Michael Jackson, The Beatles, and Gino Vanelli(that's right, Gino Vanelli), which is probably one reason why I like the old stuff so much today. This is also the 1st turntable I ever tried to "scratch" on. Hip-hop was in its infancy and I liked it from the begining, I haved moved away from it in the last 15 or so years but from Kurtis Blow to the Fat Boys to RUN-DMC, I was hooked





Here is the Record player/"Wheels of steel" that I am refering to, and yes, you could close the top and it has it's own built in handle. You know we 2nd grade DJ's need to be portable.

The control on the front left isthe volume dial, the one on the right is the speed controler. 45rpm or 33 1/2 rpm. Only problem is that if you wanted to play 33's you had to take the lid off because the ablums were so big.

I don't recall what ever became of this audio masterpiece but I do know That whenever see a DJ spinning records or I hear the pops and hiss's of vintage vinyl, this baby will be on my mind.

Fishing and Fighting

a couple months ago I went with two of my best friends on a trip to Virginia. We stayed in a cabin owned by one of the friends family. The goal of the trip was to just relax and have fun. We had some ideas about what we wanted to, but nothing was set in stone. We accomplished our objective, we relaxed for a week and had a lot of fun.

I'm not gonna give out all the details but mailnly we watched the tour de france in the morning and then headed to the river for some fishing. evenings were dinner and dvd's.

I was looking for a picture earlier and came across the one above. No, that's not me. That's one of my friends. But it is my favorite picture from the trip. It reminds me of all the things I always wanted to do but never took the time to actually do.

This trip, this summer, and really the last 2 years I have started to change that. I realize that there places I want to see and things I want to do, but I often let those things remain just a wish.

These days I look at things I want to do and make plans to do them. No one's gonna do it for me, I have to do it myself, and that's the way it should be.

I always wanted to do a marathon, so I trained for it and did it. I always wanted to do a triathlon and did it. I wanted to learn to fish, I did it, I wanted to take a spur of the monent trip, I did it. I wanted to be more relaxed and impulsive, I did it. I wanted to be financial responsible and independent, I did it. The list goes on.

I always wanted to take a fishing trip to the mountains and stand in a cold clear stream on a beautiful day in the company of good friends. Now I have.

The point is that fear used to control what I did. I feared I would fail, Ifeared i couldn't afford, I feared, it wouldn't turn out right. That fear made me into someone else. Those of you who know me well know who i am, my silly, fun-loving, outgoing side. And that's me. fear turned me into a quiet recluse. I stifled myself(as Archie Bunker would say). But, as the last 2 years, and especially the last 6 months have passed by I have realized that this is my life and I only get one chance to live.

So, I will not live in fear. I will hold my head up, be strong and courageous, and do the things I always dreamed to do. You see, there is a battle going on inside of us all. A battle between this and that, it's diferrent for us all, but the battle does not discriminate. Your battle may be different than mine, but your battle is just as much a struggle as is mine.

That battle is called life, and it is really hard sometimes. But the only one who can make it better is you. Look your battle dead in the eye and let it know that you are hunting it, and that you will defeat it. Because to fight is to live. if you do not fight, you will surely die.

As Simon and Garfunkel put it:

"In the clearing stands a boxer

And a fighter by his trade

And he carries the reminders

Of ev'ry glove that layed him down

Or cut him till he cried out

In his anger and his shame "

I am leaving, I am leaving"

But the fighter still remains"

Sometimes you lose, and you WILL lose. But, as long as the fighter remains, the battle continues, and it's THE BATTLE I LOVE.

Don't give up.