Thomas Sowell has been one of my favorite columnists for years. Every few months, he'll publish a column that he titles "Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene", where he briefly comments on a wide variety of topics (usually non-political) that I assume he's been pondering lately.
I will, at times, post a similar blog, sweeping up a diversity of subjects that have been on my mind, but on which I don't have enough opinion material to constitute a substantive post in its own right. Sowell always has around 15-20 pithy sayings in his columns; I won't have nearly that many most of the time, and I won't be as concise or as eloquent.
Soooo, here's the first one:
Alan Jackson is an American treasure. His newest CD has 17 songs, all of which he penned himself. There are a few duds, but most of them are melodic and interesting, equal parts thoughtful and fun. And his voice just keeps getting more mellow and heartfelt as he approaches 20 years in the music business. I still tear up when I hear "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?" and I can sing most of it myself.
On a similar note, why do so many of us love American Idol? I like it because I enjoy music a lot, and there's a competitive edge to it that is fascinating. Simon Cowell's comments are what we all wait for every week, of course. And there are those moments of amazing talent that burst through unexpectedly every once in a while. By the way, David Archuleta will be the next Idol.
Don't wait until spring to rake your leaves! I did, and I wore a blister on the inside of my right thumb before I was even 1/3 of the way done. So now, the rest of the yard is still waiting. I was SO busy last fall, but I won't let that happen again. Better to catch up every Saturday for a while, then try getting it done after the leaves have fragmented and soaked up all that moisture under a winter's worth of snow.
Easter means more to me every year, but it sure wore me out this time. We had 2 hours of choir practice last Wednesday, a Maundy Thursday service, a community Good Friday service from 12:00 to 1:00 at Grace United Methodist Church where our choir sang 2 songs, our evening Tenebrae Service that same night where we sang 5 songs, the Easter Eggstravaganza on Saturday for the kids and then the Sunday services. We were exhausted by Sunday afternoon, but it was so meaningful and memorable. I hope we do it all and more next year, though; in comparison to Christmas, it's still just a smidgen of celebration.
I took Carli on her field trip today to the Johanning Auto Museum here in Kokomo with her pre-school classmates. The cars were interesting, but I enjoyed equally as much the markers along the way with brief descriptions of what was going on in that particular decade. Did you know that in the 1910's, the average yearly salary was $750.00? Additionally, the average life expectancy was 48 for men and 51 for women? Also, in the '70's (I believe), the average yearly salary was around $8,000, but round steak still cost $1.30 a pound. This confirmed my belief that people tend to overdramatize the "good old days." I'll take my salary now and my monthly food budget, although neither are overabundant, along with my central air and refrigerator over the ice boxes and stifling heat of the 1910's any day, thank you very much! It's all about perspective, folks.
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2 comments:
On Alan Jackson:
Captain Obvious and me do battle on a frequent basis and I guess I missed this song was even about 9/11 until I watched a youtube post on it. I couldn't help but wonder: how does a country go from being so united to being divided this quickly?
David Archuleta:
He's got some pipes on him, but I watched his performance of "You're the voice" and kept thinking, "This kid's been singing too many showtunes and needs an edge."
Good ole Days:
I could use some of that stifling heat today.
Hi, Glen! OK, I'll bite and leave a comment on your blog. Re prices: yes, but big ticket items weren't as expensive proportionally, I think. The prof I worked for at UW-Madison got his Ph.D. at Ohio State University in the 1960's; his grad student assistant salary was $10,000 per year. His wife didn't work, they had three kids, and they bought a house on that salary. Presumably, they had a car, too, and no credit card debt. Grad assistant salaries were about the same as that when we were at Madison in the 1990's, so I had to work, and we STILL had a lot of debt. (Plus the university was stingy and wouldn't give TAships very often, so Paul usually didn't have one; even the paltry $11,000 a year would have helped us enormously if we'd had it.) Another factor is taxes. There was no income tax in 1910, was there? Now, you have to figure roughly 30% of your income goes to taxes and social security. Just in case you were wondering why you don't FEEL like you have much money! Still, God bless America. Best country in the world, and I wouldn't live anywhere else. I often think of something simple that George Gilder says in his book *Men and Marriage* (great book, by the way, if you haven't read it): The poor have to get used to the idea that they just have to work harder than other people. It's true, and thank God we live in a country where there's still a lot of work lying around for the asking if you don't have too many lazy bones in your body.
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