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So today on “Everything is Broken” I tried to keep from being shrill. I chose silly old auto related music, eschewed a strong political theme, and chose an ostensibly more balanced and mentally healthy guest, one J. David Gray. Ok, health is relative. David and I discussed Sonoma, California. We tried to go beyond the “wine country” label and focus on the history and uniqueness, the beautiful surroundings and the culture. While I was hoping for some war stories about his mid 70’s debauch entry into such a place, David did not disappoint in that he provided the listeners with a picture of Sonoma with breadth and depth. A very lovely little town in a very scenic valley in a very cool place that hasn’t changed so much that it is now a caricature of itself. Sonoma is real; so are the tourists. But enough about the tourists. I was left wondering if perhaps it is time to move the show beyond the whining and the outrage. Is it time to hit the reset on the radio gig? It’s like what I say to my now very dear friends of the North Country Peace Group: “how are we doing!? We started off protesting a war (invasion of Afghanistan) and to date (13 years later) only more wars and more apathy and more counter demonstrators. Why are we still standing here?” So is the radio program getting anywhere? Are we really an outlet for alternative media? Are we presenting issues that the mainstream media deliberately ignores? People that don’t wallow in the pathos of politics are truly turned off by passionate ideology; hell, so am I. But what about PASSION itself? hm? I’m passionate about a select few family members, photography, cars, cats, geography, travel and getting the hell out of the boring burbs. So crucify me! But enough about me. So perhaps it all boils down to a matter of style. The USA culture is big on that I am told. Ok, the USA culture is big on style, appearance, fluff and not rocking boats – got it. We are a bit of an empty suit culture to begin with, eh? So should I be Mister Smooth; Mister Calm and Melllloooo? Time will tell. It was actually great having a leftover cold; there seemed to be a radio voice there – wow! Disease is good! Ok, that’s it for my day in the office. Now back to mucking about and wondering why my office desk looks the very same as the one I left behind when I retired! Oy. Oh, and I even figured out a way to work in the theme from Mister Ed. Take that! 
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 Friend, writer, and occasional collaborator/partner-in-crime, one J. David Gray once wrote: "None of us is anywhere close to where we imagined we'd be by now." Since David is a native of the USA Northeast and lives in California wine country; and I a native of Pasadena living in New York … well, I guess we both know a thing or two about that little rumination. And we are both smart enough to keep an entire continent between us ... most of the time. We picked this clueless bloke to accompany David's poem "A Man In Full" for our book "Synergy" - still makes sense, don't you agree? |
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