White House Woes

The other day, Tim Thomas opted out of a team trip to the white house to be recognized for the accomplishments which he was very involved with: winning the Stanley Cup last spring.  With this decision, he has already received flak from what seems to be almost all New England media platforms, sports analysts, and every New Englander whose shallow perspective I get the displeasure of reading   through Facebook.  So with this as a hot topic, I’ve decided to touch upon a few things.

Everyone needs to stop pretending like his decision is affecting the teams’ political standing or affecting your life as if he is the new Governor of Massachusetts, and stop pretending that his decision is disrespectful to our Country.  By stating any of that, you are only fueling the reasons why he opted out, and making yourself look stupid because you’re forgetting the time that your parents told you to do what you want to do because this is a free Country.  Yes, believe it or not, even professional athletes have their own viewpoints and feelings towards the P word (that’s Politics, for those of you who are like me and also operate on a 5^th grade mental capacity most days).

How many people are NOT feeling a little angry towards the way our Government is screwing us over?  Thomas just showed us that not only the people who are struggling to make ends meet are upset with the way the Government is throwing around money, but the upper class as well.  It should be thought of as part of the wake-up call we are working on hitting Congress with, and people should embrace this action, not assume that he was being unconstitutional.

When celebrity-status people make statements such as this, it really shouldn’t be overlooked.  I’m not saying that Thomas is a God (though it is questionable, scientific studies have yet to determine his origin), but he is someone who definitely has his head on straight, and when he has something to say, people should be open-minded and listen, not just automatically scold him for his actions.

On Instrumentation

          A topic which you will likely read about a handful of times during my 52 week ranting will be music, which I have decided to explain a bit about this week.  I know that I have a personal attachment to music which supersedes most people’s appreciation, but I feel it is something that most people don’t realize can be more than just something they listen to at a bar or club, but an entire lifestyle and friendship bridge.

          When I first decided that I wanted to play an instrument, I was sitting in the garage at our cottage in Raymond, Maine with my brother Chris.  He was quickly becoming a guitar god, and I was merely a musically talentless dreamer, picturing myself rocking out to some tunes with him on a fictional drum set.  At that moment, I felt compelled to piece together a homemade set, and attempt to create something which sounded remotely like I was helping to keep the guitar playing on tempo (which my brother, still to this day, is surely superior at).  I placed two paddleball-esque paddles on top of two different sized buckets to create different tones, and used wooden ladles for “drum sticks”.  It was my first taste of what was to become an undying love for creating music.

          That Christmas, I received one of the most generous gifts my parents have ever graced me with – my first drum set.  I played EVERY day for months.  I was hooked.  I didn’t know the first thing about drums, but I had the motivation and passion to better my abilities.  I attempted to play along with songs that I loved, and it was that thought that I could actually create the sound which meant so much to me which kept me practicing, despite my constant failure.  I learned more and more, until finally I was ready for the next step: to play in a band.

          Our first band went by the name of “The Wrath of Michael Bolton”.  We were a cover band, and we LOVED it.  We practiced every week, and shared ideas and good conversation daily.  We played local concerts around Massachusetts, and it was an absolute thrill to perform on stage.  Over the next 5 years or so, my friends and I rotated through a couple of different local bands that we had created.  I next began another musical endeavor when my good friends’ band needed a bassist.  It was a completely different puzzle, though I picked it up fairly quickly (I attest that I had to practice for hours per day for a month).

Playing in a band was a way to share more and more time with my favorite and best friends.  It had become something that was huge to me, and was a release from the pressures and stresses of everyday life.  No matter what happened during the week or day, I still got to hang out with my friends and share the music we had come to create and love.  We wrote songs which meant the world to us, and got to express our love for them in every live concert we played.

Now that I have moved to California, I don’t have my drums or a bass with me.  My good friend Adam recently moved out here and brought my acoustic guitar (which I bought around the same time I began drumming, but never had the will power to overcome its impossible chords and tunings), which I have now devoted time each day to practice.  In only about a month and a half of practicing, there have already been drastic improvements.

No matter what your musical background is, or how much you convince yourself that you are not musically talented, you have it in you to create music with instruments.  It is a stress relief method which can only be experienced by those who attempt it, and a way to have a connection with friends that you can only understand through the music you create with them. 

Balance

During the holiday weekend, Kate and I took a nice walk on the 3^rd street Promenade in downtown Santa Monica, where we were immersed in the culture of a more well-off community.  It is truly amazing to be in a community where there is such a visibly skewed dispersal of money.  The town I come from (Shrewsbury, MA) is also an above-median household wage town, but visually, it would be difficult to tell that there is a large fluctuation of wealth throughout the town.  Here in Santa Monica, I observe the differences on a daily basis.

I found quickly that I was very much unfamiliar with basically all of the stores in the plaza.  They were clearly very high end designer stores that would make you think twice about entering, solely for fear of breaking something which would require a loan to repay.  Walking through the Promenade, we stopped for some delicious frozen yogurt, which seemed to be the only affordable place to find anything in the plaza.  To our surprise, we at last found a store which we recognized and felt half comfortable to explore: Nordstrom.  We discovered immediately that Nordstrom was also out of our league, as a disgusting blue sports coat (which literally looked as though it had been worn for a decade and graciously donated to Good Will, where a Nordstrom employee scavenged it and knighted it with a $500 price tag for shits and giggles) proved to up-end our hopes of finding anything within our budget.

A five minute walk from the promenade will bring you to the Santa Monica beach front and Pier, where homeless people are scattered throughout the grassy areas among the palm trees.  This type of difference in wealth is not noticeable in Shrewsbury, and I find it interesting to witness firsthand.  There are countless times where I have consciously watched people driving every imaginable type of new convertible and sports car past people who are walking their belongings in a shopping cart to their next sleeping destination.  This is by no means something I did not know occurred, but it is a lot more profound when you consciously experience it.  On the other hand, I will now explain why I never donate things to these homeless people.

A few weeks ago, my co-worker Tim donated much of his lunch food to a homeless man who was sleeping on a bench near to where we were enjoying our work break.  He suggested that I give my extra food to said homeless man.  I didn’t.   I understand that he is homeless, and probably doesn’t buy any of his provisions, but that does not mean that I should feel obligated to give the food which I worked hard to obtain to a man who is relaxing out in the sun and napping at noon.  Upon further conversation with the man the next day, Tim discovered that this man chose to be homeless and has been so for 30 years.  This leads me to an entirely different topic of why I feel so strongly against the workings of Social Security which this man will be able to suck from just for passing a certain age, but I will save that for a separate discussion…

                My point is that it is obvious that there are drastic differences between the wealthy and poor which need to be bridged, but it’s hard to know where to start when you see poor people who choose to live that way, and rich people who think the size of their penis will be directly proportional to the amount of money they spend on material items.  Where do we go from here?

A Quick Breath

Today marks the first of a new year, which has never been something I have been extremely excited about, but I do feel it is a good time to reflect on the years accomplishments and to explore some new ideas / goals / hobbies that you have always just “not had the time to do”.   For me it is mostly a time of nostalgic reflection; a good time to be thankful for all of the things I have done, people I have had the chance to meet, and the opportunity to experience new places and events.

Yesterday, Kate and I went for a nice bike ride through a canyon, which spills its trailhead not more than 5 miles from our apartment.  Though we were only able to explore for a few hours (pressed by daylight and a bike that disagreed with the idea of cooperation), we were able to get that fresh breath of air and solitude which I have come to appreciate more than almost anything else that this world has to offer – at least the offerings that I am at this state in time aware of.

If you are looking to find a new recreational pastime to lure you away from the almighty Facebook, know that a natural setting isolated from the pressures of everyday life, work, and social climates has an overwhelming ability to leave you begging to find the next utopian landscape, or to return to the same as often as you wish to check on your celebrity Tweets.

I speak from personal experience, obviously.  From my childhood, I recall the pure excitement of gathering our belongings and sustenance for an island camping trip from our pristine valley summer cabin in the remote town of Raymond, Maine.  The island was close - no more than an hour of canoeing would bring you to the destination from the cabin’s shoreline dock, but the excitement of the voyage was in full season.  This was probably the first time that I was consciously aware that such excitement could be brought from the isolation and exploration factor – despite the adventure being had only a quarter mile from the cabin.  Thus my initial yearning for the outdoors began.

I have since had the pleasure of exploring a number of amazing and seemingly untraveled areas of the globe, and dream of expanding those credentials every day.  This adventurous yearning and satisfaction is the feeling that people should be striving to experience, if they have not yet had such luck.  There is no greater feeling than that of connectedness and completeness with the natural world.  Admittedly, most people cannot stomach such adventure – cannot CHOOSE to stomach such adventure.  For those, I feel saddened that they are not able to see the true beauty and peace of mind it can bring – whether a shared or solo experience.

This year, attempt to get out of your town, house, room, apartment, etc. and find a place that submerses you in isolation from the things that you are accustomed to.  Leave your phone off.  Bring only what you need.  Bring a notebook and write down what you are feeling.  Try to find that feeling of adventure that only an adventure out of your complete comfort zone and routines can bring.  You will find that this will become something you will strive to bring in as a replacement daily routine – and a more fulfilling one at that.

I moved to Alaska the day before my official college graduation.  I had never been on a plane before in my life.  In fact, it was one of my biggest fears for 22 years.  The moment that my family vanished from view as I walked through customs at Logan Airport that day was a feeling that I will never forget, and that I will never try to explain with words.  I was lucky to have that feeling from an experience at such a young age.  I have cherished those types of moments and know the importance they hold, for I fear most people go through their lives without having such feelings bestowed upon them.

So go out and explore you backyard, a new job, new hobbies, new friends, new places, or question your thought process and ideals.  They are all different gateways to opening up a whole new world of feelings, thoughts, and viewpoints that you could be unfortunate to miss if you aren’t fortunate enough to explore.