1. Lord is it Mine-Supertramp
2. Walk on the Wild Side-Lou Reed
3. Whole Wide World-Wreckless Eric
4. Been Caught Stealing-Jane's Addiction
5. On Broadway-George Benson
6. Ordinary World-Duran Duran
7. Lonely Teardrops-Michael McDonald
8. Mannish Boy-Muddy Waters
9. Hoochie Coochie Man-Muddy Waters
10. Sex Machine-James Brown
They're great and inspirational, every last one of them. If you don't know then take a listen and go get them. Nuff said.
Mac
Monday, January 21, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Whose Head is That?
My hair was really long and I decided to get it cut. I anguished over this decision for a while because I kind of like the way that my hair has waves and body when it is longer. I think that it is nice and no I am not a metro-sexual by any means, I just like my hair.
I can always tell when it is getting time for a cut and that is when I put a ball cap on my head and there are shocks of curls that jut out near my ears. It looks like there is a bird under the hat and its wings are shooting out from under it.
Well, so there I was at the stylists (fancy name for a barber-oh and BTW I always have a woman cut my hair. I mean come on! I would rather have a woman running her hands through my hair than a man). OK, so I am at the stylist's getting my locks chopped when she does the obligatory mirror routine. You know, when she's finished and picks up a smaller mirror and stands behind you to show you its reflection into the enormo-mirror right in front of you.
I never know what to say then, other than "That'll do stylist. That'll do." Well she goes into her routine (which is sim-ya-lar to Sally Rand) and I am about to tell her that it will do when I notice a peculiarity in her mirror which is showing the crown of my head. I catch a glimpse of scalp! It was there as plain as plain could be: a bald spot, or to be more correct-a BALDING spot.
The sight freaked me out. Not because I am afraid to go bald or that I am aging gracefully. It freaked me out because I had not clue whatsoever that I was losing any hair anywhere! My hairline is not receding and I do not see clumps of hair in the drain after I have showered. So where has it gone?!
I really don't want to go bald but I cannot stop the process. And I am not one who will fight it with Rogaine, comb-overs, or toupees. If I go bald I go bald-even though I don't believe that I have a head that is shaped for baldness, but again that is beyond my control. I will embrace my baldness with pride and dignity. There it is in print. I WILL ACCEPT MY BALDNESS, if and when it comes.
I am fine with my grayness. I kind of dig my Salt-n-Pepa look to my hair-Oh Baby, Baby! I even was tolerant of that fact that my grayness is not just bound to my head. I have gray in my beard and moustache. I have seen gray underarm hair. Gray nostril hair. A gray chest hair or 5. Gray eyebrow hair, and yes dear reader a gray hair even there...on my toes. Where did you think that I was going to say? Well there too, happy?
My grayness and its encroachment into my life, and the way that I have dealt with it has led me to my current harmony with my impending baldness. You see I fought the good fight against graying. I plucked, cut and nipped any I could find but they always came back, and that with a vengeance. I even did the coloring thing with my beard and stache. It didn't look natural and I realized that I was engaged in a losing war. I knew that I would waste millions of dollars, years of my life, and needless worry to remove the gray.
Then one day, thumbing through the Good Book, that's the Bible for you heathens, I found the following passage: "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life."-Proverbs 16:31. OK, so I might not be as righteous as I should be but the passage made me realize that there are just some things in life that you can't change as much as you might want to and that you have to accept them. So I accepted the Graying of Me, and I will also accept my balding. So let it be written, so let it be done!
Be happy with who you are!
MAC
I can always tell when it is getting time for a cut and that is when I put a ball cap on my head and there are shocks of curls that jut out near my ears. It looks like there is a bird under the hat and its wings are shooting out from under it.
Well, so there I was at the stylists (fancy name for a barber-oh and BTW I always have a woman cut my hair. I mean come on! I would rather have a woman running her hands through my hair than a man). OK, so I am at the stylist's getting my locks chopped when she does the obligatory mirror routine. You know, when she's finished and picks up a smaller mirror and stands behind you to show you its reflection into the enormo-mirror right in front of you.
I never know what to say then, other than "That'll do stylist. That'll do." Well she goes into her routine (which is sim-ya-lar to Sally Rand) and I am about to tell her that it will do when I notice a peculiarity in her mirror which is showing the crown of my head. I catch a glimpse of scalp! It was there as plain as plain could be: a bald spot, or to be more correct-a BALDING spot.
The sight freaked me out. Not because I am afraid to go bald or that I am aging gracefully. It freaked me out because I had not clue whatsoever that I was losing any hair anywhere! My hairline is not receding and I do not see clumps of hair in the drain after I have showered. So where has it gone?!
I really don't want to go bald but I cannot stop the process. And I am not one who will fight it with Rogaine, comb-overs, or toupees. If I go bald I go bald-even though I don't believe that I have a head that is shaped for baldness, but again that is beyond my control. I will embrace my baldness with pride and dignity. There it is in print. I WILL ACCEPT MY BALDNESS, if and when it comes.
I am fine with my grayness. I kind of dig my Salt-n-Pepa look to my hair-Oh Baby, Baby! I even was tolerant of that fact that my grayness is not just bound to my head. I have gray in my beard and moustache. I have seen gray underarm hair. Gray nostril hair. A gray chest hair or 5. Gray eyebrow hair, and yes dear reader a gray hair even there...on my toes. Where did you think that I was going to say? Well there too, happy?
My grayness and its encroachment into my life, and the way that I have dealt with it has led me to my current harmony with my impending baldness. You see I fought the good fight against graying. I plucked, cut and nipped any I could find but they always came back, and that with a vengeance. I even did the coloring thing with my beard and stache. It didn't look natural and I realized that I was engaged in a losing war. I knew that I would waste millions of dollars, years of my life, and needless worry to remove the gray.
Then one day, thumbing through the Good Book, that's the Bible for you heathens, I found the following passage: "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life."-Proverbs 16:31. OK, so I might not be as righteous as I should be but the passage made me realize that there are just some things in life that you can't change as much as you might want to and that you have to accept them. So I accepted the Graying of Me, and I will also accept my balding. So let it be written, so let it be done!
Be happy with who you are!
MAC
Friday, January 4, 2008
2008
I guess that I should have a post that ties the loose ends of 2007 while cracking open 2008. It is in the Blogger's Rule Book that this MUST happen at some point in time within the first week of a new year. So, forced by that rule, I offer this installment of Here I Stand...
2007, I must admit, was a very good year for me. No I didn't win the Powerball/Mega Millions/Big Game lottery and no I did not find Mrs. Right, and no I did not get my dream job of lying on a tropical beach somewhere soaking up the tropical sun. What I did do was make it through the year with my head and life up. I am far better off now than I was a year ago and I owe that first and foremost to God. He has richly blessed me beyond my wildest imagination. I praise Him for His tender mercies.
I also owe a ginormous debt of gratitude to my friends Mike and Pam and their families. These two people are the closest thing that you will find if you are looking for the model of a Christian man and woman. They amaze me constantly with their love and compassion and on top of that they share my twisted sense of humor.
I owe thanks to my friend Kyle who, though I moved 1,000 miles away from him, continues to keep in touch regularly and inspires me to keep looking up. He is a great guy and one of the very few silver linings in the dark cloud that has been the last four years since my divorce. We have been through a lot in our time at The Pier and his humor kept me afloat (forgive the bad pun).
I owe thanks to Erin. A new friend who, in a short period of time, has crawled into my heart and makes my life brighter. She is a kindred spirit who can speak volumes with a single glance. She lights up a room upon entering and I don't know one single person who doesn't love her and who doesn't want her around. She is a rarity in today's world and I am honored to have her in my life!
I owe thanks to Melissa. An angel from my past who re-appeared in my life and has lifted me up in ways that only she could. She is a class act and I am a better person for knowing her. My love for her is everlasting and I am tinkled pink that she is doing well with a great husband and beautiful children. I still owe her for what she has done in my live over 25 years ago, so with that in mind I will always be in her debt.
I look forward to what 2008 has in store but for the first time in a very long time I am not content with waiting for it to come to me. This year I will run to it and enjoy each new adventure with all of the wonder that I can muster. 2008 will find me Wookin' Pa Nub and hopefully finding it. I have stood on the brink and stared into the abyss. What I saw I will keep to myself but the abyss stared back, and after trembling over it for such a long time I remembered laughter (Does anyone remember laughter?-Yes Robert, I do). I laughed in its faced and remembered who I am. I remembered whose I am. And I remembered joy!
May God grant you a peace-filled-Christ-blessed 2008!
2007, I must admit, was a very good year for me. No I didn't win the Powerball/Mega Millions/Big Game lottery and no I did not find Mrs. Right, and no I did not get my dream job of lying on a tropical beach somewhere soaking up the tropical sun. What I did do was make it through the year with my head and life up. I am far better off now than I was a year ago and I owe that first and foremost to God. He has richly blessed me beyond my wildest imagination. I praise Him for His tender mercies.
I also owe a ginormous debt of gratitude to my friends Mike and Pam and their families. These two people are the closest thing that you will find if you are looking for the model of a Christian man and woman. They amaze me constantly with their love and compassion and on top of that they share my twisted sense of humor.
I owe thanks to my friend Kyle who, though I moved 1,000 miles away from him, continues to keep in touch regularly and inspires me to keep looking up. He is a great guy and one of the very few silver linings in the dark cloud that has been the last four years since my divorce. We have been through a lot in our time at The Pier and his humor kept me afloat (forgive the bad pun).
I owe thanks to Erin. A new friend who, in a short period of time, has crawled into my heart and makes my life brighter. She is a kindred spirit who can speak volumes with a single glance. She lights up a room upon entering and I don't know one single person who doesn't love her and who doesn't want her around. She is a rarity in today's world and I am honored to have her in my life!
I owe thanks to Melissa. An angel from my past who re-appeared in my life and has lifted me up in ways that only she could. She is a class act and I am a better person for knowing her. My love for her is everlasting and I am tinkled pink that she is doing well with a great husband and beautiful children. I still owe her for what she has done in my live over 25 years ago, so with that in mind I will always be in her debt.
I look forward to what 2008 has in store but for the first time in a very long time I am not content with waiting for it to come to me. This year I will run to it and enjoy each new adventure with all of the wonder that I can muster. 2008 will find me Wookin' Pa Nub and hopefully finding it. I have stood on the brink and stared into the abyss. What I saw I will keep to myself but the abyss stared back, and after trembling over it for such a long time I remembered laughter (Does anyone remember laughter?-Yes Robert, I do). I laughed in its faced and remembered who I am. I remembered whose I am. And I remembered joy!
May God grant you a peace-filled-Christ-blessed 2008!
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