A few years ago, I had a string of "magical" experiences that lasted for several weeks, if not months. I had just spent six months in the county jail. I could barely walk after being released because I hadn't exercised at all during my stay. That's my fault. Nonetheless, I made my way to the bar where I began my road to recovery! Sounds funny? In fact, it's not what you might think, kinda. Carrying cases of beer up and down stairs is exercise! Believe it, or not!
I don't keep up with all the pop music there is. As I've said before, the music I listen to is mostly passively, whatever is playing in the bar. I don't have a portable playlist I listen to, and I don't have a device I could listen to that portable playlist on anyway. Yet, there I was beginning my road to recovery from poverty to imprisonment... Only this time it was more taxing having only been locked up for weeks, or days at a time before. Physically, I was drained. I had actually gained weight, and lost muscle mass. If you've eaten jailhouse food, you understand why that seems impossible.
It wasn't until now, I found any meaning in the weeks long experience of Taylor Swift "showing up" in song for what seemed like every time I walked in, or out of the bar I frequented. I mean, I'm 39 years old, and I listen to music passively. I didn't know any of her tunes, but this happened with such great frequency, I finally asked who sang the song... Shake It Off, I had found myself UNASHAMEDLY, kind of dancing to as I made Jello Shots, or did my duties for getting ready for the business day.
My Sister, the bartender and GM, who employed me as her personal bar back, paid me in beer and on many occasions let me crash there. The place became my home! When it occurred for the bajillionth time that Shake It Off would play when I crossed the threshold, I finally asked her if she was putting it on just to mess with me. She just laughed and said, "No, but it is strange"! She also told me it was Taylor Swift. I ended up looking up Taylor Swift and found her to be a very talented singer, and musician. It was revealing because I knew the tune, but I didn't know it was her. As I said, I listen to music passively.
Likewise, now, a few years later, for the past few weeks, I have been seeing news report after news report about Ariana Grande. I didn't know any of her music either... At least, I didn't think so?!? I subscribe to several news sources that show up in my Facebook feed. Some of those are entertainment news sources. To see Ariana Grande in entertainment news comes as no surprise, but that changed suddenly.
Just on Tuesday of this week, I saw another Ariana Grande news report, but this one was from a Sports news source SB Nation. This, after also learning that she had recently gotten a tattoo that seemed to indicate she liked Japanese BBQ Grills instead of whatever she thought it meant when she had the tattoo made. Whoops! This new story in SB Nation indicated that when she was five years old, she had been struck in the face, or mouth, by a hockey puck! I took notice of that. How couldn't I?
If that wasn't enough, I went to work that night in a new job working with two people I hadn't worked with before. You can't judge on appearance, but if I had to guess, I'd have said these two were gay guys. Normally, we don't play music where I'm working. But, this was a different crew for the night. After about an hour, one of the guys decides to go put on some music.
I listened as I worked, and found myself moving to the music as is normal for me to do. To work in a kitchen, or any setting where there is movement is a dance anyway. So, why not incorporate the music into your steps. It really is unavoidable and inevitable. Why do I make it sound like a choice? You just move to the music and get the job done whistling while you work.
After listening for about forty five minutes, I finally asked who it was he was playing. The one guy says, "It's Ariana", nonchalantly, kind of like as if to see if this old man of 39 years even knows who Ariana is...
Well, I might not have been able to identify who it was by the sounds coming out of the speaker, but the one cut that prompted the question was Thank You! Next! It's sort of like what you say at the counter when you serve one customer and are ready for the next one! Thank You! Next!!! However, according to my co-worker and resident DJ for the night this is a break up song and has something to do with the now deceased Mac Miller who was Ariana Grande's former boyfriend as I have come to learn. I had never heard of him at all until his recent demise. Why, and how, I'm not sure; but it must be because of one of those news sources other than SB Nation!
So, when he told me who it was, I said, "Ohhh, really? Did you know she got hit in the face with a hockey puck when she was five years old?!?"
DJ Order busted out in laughter in a high pitch upon this announcement and when I turned to look at the other guy, he was laughing too. It was a matter of fact, as I told them, "I just saw that in my news feed today in a Sports publication".
DJ Order had only a few words in response to my question and that was, "It's probably true", as he laughed out loud again, with the high pitch, of course... It is only slightly ironic, if you know anything about me and my history. Mainly, that I just told an allegedly gay guy something about Ariana Grande he didn't know!
See, I was Mister Crazy Christian that spent several years with my head twisted like spaghetti from my own indulgence to the Bible and religion... one of, if not the leading cause of mental illness on the planet. For me, to be sharing yet unrecognized information about Ariana Grande to a possible homosexual who had attended a Mariah Carey concert the night before, ain't much different than me wanting to vote for Dolly Parton in 2020! Huh?
It has nothing to do with sexuality. It's just a matter of fact that Ariana Grande took a hockey puck to the face. Rumor has it, she actually caught it with her teeth like you see those people catch bullets with their teeth, but that cannot be confirmed. Regardless, you will never see me dressed in drag singing Life is a Cabaret! However, I do have some soul for a white guy, and if I knew any lyrics to any Ariana Grande songs I might sing those, but just Shake It Off for now. Plus, I don't dance often, but when I do, I don't dance like some other white people I've seen dancing on YouTube!
It's just that this town has all kinds, as does this country, and this world and is not a theocracy. So, we don't kill our gay people, or any others that do not seem to fit into some homogenized state of being where everyone basically conforms to certain standards like being a Republican, a Cubs fan and driving a Buick. In this case, we just kill with laughter!
Heck, make everybody laugh, even though that seems to get tougher by the day because so many people are so overly sensitive. We would do well to remember the laughs of a child. A sense of humor is something even infants have. They laugh, and smile, shortly after they open their eyes. Then, somewhere along the way we so often somehow stifle it. As if, natural joy is somehow bad, and conformity to standards, even who we vote for, becomes more like rooting for your team rather than voting for the right vision of a dignified society where we must freely admit, even if we differ on moral opinions, nobody ever accomplished anything exclusively on their own, or by their morals. Not even, learning to dance, or sing!
...
The shift went on, as did the music, and I finally knew who Ariana Grande was not just by sight, but by sound. So, the night came to a close. We all made our departures. I was the last one to leave as I was closing down the dish pit... at 39 years old! I actually like the dish pit because when it's cold outside that water is warm. And, warm water is soothing. So, if you ever feel stressed out, wash some dishes. It's probably one of the best things you can do besides taking a bath to reduce stress.
It was time for a cigar. I made my way down the street to the store. Standing up for five or six hours at a time makes my 39 year old legs tired. But, I made it, and as soon as I got to the front door and took a stride over the threshold, there she was again, singing, "Thank You! Next!". Ridiculous.
Where's Taylor Swift? She's gotta be coming up next, huh?
So, strangely, coincidentally, in a Disney kind of way, to Taylor Swift, and Ariana Grande, it has taken many years to Shake It Off, to recover physically, mentally and even spiritually from some pretty big mistakes and some significant jail time, but Thank You! NEXT!
The consequences I still deal with each day, but mentally, I am now capable. Whereas, until recently it was questionable. Every day, I lived in guilt, and anxiety, and even bouts with depression that have occupied my daily life for most of it's entirety. Many can claim the same. Some of whom I have come to know personally. That time is gone, minus occasional flare ups often spurred on by overconsuming alcohol. Otherwise, I'm on my Lily Pad.
Yet, when strings of coincidence are all too frequent to ignore, words have spirit and meaning behind them. You can't get caught up in patterns, or read too much into them. You'll go mad and end up on the street corner trying to explain the universe to everyone passing by in five minutes, or less.
But, as when you read a book and you can almost feel the words beaming into you from the energy that put them down on paper. So, it is with song. It's like I told the lady at the church one day after drawing the number 39 five times in a row when going to eat at the Community Kitchen. On the sixth visit, I drew 21. Upon sitting down at the table and just a few seconds later, the woman who had been handing out the stack of numbers came and put them to rest on the table where I was sitting. What was on top of the stack? 39, of course. I told her, these are just little signs from above that everything is under control, and it's ok!
Shake It Off! Thank You! Next!
Previously Posted 2015:
https://gabenewmanblahgs.blogspot.com/2015/10/shake-it-off.html
Song Birds Update:
March 21, 2019
The string of "coincidents" continues, as of just moments and a few days ago, these things never cease to amaze me. It's just that, what are you supposed to do with them? So, I BLAHG!
Yes, major strings of "coincidents" I have seen as it relates to two artists I didn't even know who they were, Taylor Swift & Ariana Grande. I keep in touch with my father by calling once a week, just to check in. I told him about how I learned who Ariana Grande was. Of course, he didn't have a clue. However, by the next week, just last week, when I called again he said, "You're not gonna believe this, but just a couple of days after you called last, I went out for a walk", which is about all he can do now as he is getting up there, a few years past 39, for sure.
He continued to tell me what happened with, "I came upon a piece of paper lying on the ground, so I picked it up and do you know what it said?" I hadn't a clue what he was going to tell me but it was only two words, and those were "Ariana Grande". Just a random piece of paper lying on the ground it was, of course.
So, just an hour ago, I was having lunch with a couple of people I didn't know, but we started a conversation. He started it off talking about a guy he knew who funded his own tours, a country music artist, I had never heard of either. Today people have the freedom to listen to what they want to rather than being force fed what to listen to by the radio. Though, radio still has listenership, most people are building their own play lists and listening to a wide array of things.
We started talking about how they could make anybody a star if they wanted to, but some have a higher level of quality in their talent like Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift, whom I mentioned in the original post prior to this update. I finished up my plate and as they did as well, grabbed my bag and bid farewell to them. The one guy there said, "Have a good day Buddy".
"You too", I responded and made my way to this desk top computer for an hour session I am using to report this latest in a continuing string of things that I don't know what to make of, but I feel like I'm gonna walk around the corner and both of them are going to standing there because of the frequency of these things that keep happening, but I have yet to meet any celebrities because of either coincidence, or dreams. So, I just write it down. What else am I supposed to do, right?
Anyway to wrap it up, as I walked back to town and I was passing by the food co-op store, I heard a voice behind me say, "Excuse me". As I turned to my left to see who it was, a man on a unicycle came rolling by, and if that's not enough he had music playing which was none other than Shake It Off by Taylor Swift. This, not even five minutes after I had told the people at lunch about this stuff!
That's all I gotta report, no jokes about it, but indeed impossible to ignore. So, if you have any ideas about what I can do other than post this BLAHG please let me know. Otherwise, just accept it as at least very entertaining for me personally because as far as I'm concerned I don't need television to entertain me when I can just walk down the street!
It's a beautiful day people!
Stay On Your Lily Pads!
And, once again, Shake It Off, and Thank You! NEXT!
As I believe these are both break up songs, the main message is to move forward. Releasing our pasts is a hard thing to do. You can never forget, even when you do forgive, but we must not be in bondage to things we cannot change lest we carry guilt over things that are now only memories.
I am reminded of the serenity prayer, as you may be too. In being granted serenity in accepting the things that can't be changed, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. And, watch out for the guy on a unicycle!
Amen
I don't keep up with all the pop music there is. As I've said before, the music I listen to is mostly passively, whatever is playing in the bar. I don't have a portable playlist I listen to, and I don't have a device I could listen to that portable playlist on anyway. Yet, there I was beginning my road to recovery from poverty to imprisonment... Only this time it was more taxing having only been locked up for weeks, or days at a time before. Physically, I was drained. I had actually gained weight, and lost muscle mass. If you've eaten jailhouse food, you understand why that seems impossible.
It wasn't until now, I found any meaning in the weeks long experience of Taylor Swift "showing up" in song for what seemed like every time I walked in, or out of the bar I frequented. I mean, I'm 39 years old, and I listen to music passively. I didn't know any of her tunes, but this happened with such great frequency, I finally asked who sang the song... Shake It Off, I had found myself UNASHAMEDLY, kind of dancing to as I made Jello Shots, or did my duties for getting ready for the business day.
My Sister, the bartender and GM, who employed me as her personal bar back, paid me in beer and on many occasions let me crash there. The place became my home! When it occurred for the bajillionth time that Shake It Off would play when I crossed the threshold, I finally asked her if she was putting it on just to mess with me. She just laughed and said, "No, but it is strange"! She also told me it was Taylor Swift. I ended up looking up Taylor Swift and found her to be a very talented singer, and musician. It was revealing because I knew the tune, but I didn't know it was her. As I said, I listen to music passively.
Likewise, now, a few years later, for the past few weeks, I have been seeing news report after news report about Ariana Grande. I didn't know any of her music either... At least, I didn't think so?!? I subscribe to several news sources that show up in my Facebook feed. Some of those are entertainment news sources. To see Ariana Grande in entertainment news comes as no surprise, but that changed suddenly.
Just on Tuesday of this week, I saw another Ariana Grande news report, but this one was from a Sports news source SB Nation. This, after also learning that she had recently gotten a tattoo that seemed to indicate she liked Japanese BBQ Grills instead of whatever she thought it meant when she had the tattoo made. Whoops! This new story in SB Nation indicated that when she was five years old, she had been struck in the face, or mouth, by a hockey puck! I took notice of that. How couldn't I?
If that wasn't enough, I went to work that night in a new job working with two people I hadn't worked with before. You can't judge on appearance, but if I had to guess, I'd have said these two were gay guys. Normally, we don't play music where I'm working. But, this was a different crew for the night. After about an hour, one of the guys decides to go put on some music.
I listened as I worked, and found myself moving to the music as is normal for me to do. To work in a kitchen, or any setting where there is movement is a dance anyway. So, why not incorporate the music into your steps. It really is unavoidable and inevitable. Why do I make it sound like a choice? You just move to the music and get the job done whistling while you work.
After listening for about forty five minutes, I finally asked who it was he was playing. The one guy says, "It's Ariana", nonchalantly, kind of like as if to see if this old man of 39 years even knows who Ariana is...
Well, I might not have been able to identify who it was by the sounds coming out of the speaker, but the one cut that prompted the question was Thank You! Next! It's sort of like what you say at the counter when you serve one customer and are ready for the next one! Thank You! Next!!! However, according to my co-worker and resident DJ for the night this is a break up song and has something to do with the now deceased Mac Miller who was Ariana Grande's former boyfriend as I have come to learn. I had never heard of him at all until his recent demise. Why, and how, I'm not sure; but it must be because of one of those news sources other than SB Nation!
So, when he told me who it was, I said, "Ohhh, really? Did you know she got hit in the face with a hockey puck when she was five years old?!?"
DJ Order busted out in laughter in a high pitch upon this announcement and when I turned to look at the other guy, he was laughing too. It was a matter of fact, as I told them, "I just saw that in my news feed today in a Sports publication".
DJ Order had only a few words in response to my question and that was, "It's probably true", as he laughed out loud again, with the high pitch, of course... It is only slightly ironic, if you know anything about me and my history. Mainly, that I just told an allegedly gay guy something about Ariana Grande he didn't know!
See, I was Mister Crazy Christian that spent several years with my head twisted like spaghetti from my own indulgence to the Bible and religion... one of, if not the leading cause of mental illness on the planet. For me, to be sharing yet unrecognized information about Ariana Grande to a possible homosexual who had attended a Mariah Carey concert the night before, ain't much different than me wanting to vote for Dolly Parton in 2020! Huh?
It has nothing to do with sexuality. It's just a matter of fact that Ariana Grande took a hockey puck to the face. Rumor has it, she actually caught it with her teeth like you see those people catch bullets with their teeth, but that cannot be confirmed. Regardless, you will never see me dressed in drag singing Life is a Cabaret! However, I do have some soul for a white guy, and if I knew any lyrics to any Ariana Grande songs I might sing those, but just Shake It Off for now. Plus, I don't dance often, but when I do, I don't dance like some other white people I've seen dancing on YouTube!
It's just that this town has all kinds, as does this country, and this world and is not a theocracy. So, we don't kill our gay people, or any others that do not seem to fit into some homogenized state of being where everyone basically conforms to certain standards like being a Republican, a Cubs fan and driving a Buick. In this case, we just kill with laughter!
Heck, make everybody laugh, even though that seems to get tougher by the day because so many people are so overly sensitive. We would do well to remember the laughs of a child. A sense of humor is something even infants have. They laugh, and smile, shortly after they open their eyes. Then, somewhere along the way we so often somehow stifle it. As if, natural joy is somehow bad, and conformity to standards, even who we vote for, becomes more like rooting for your team rather than voting for the right vision of a dignified society where we must freely admit, even if we differ on moral opinions, nobody ever accomplished anything exclusively on their own, or by their morals. Not even, learning to dance, or sing!
...
The shift went on, as did the music, and I finally knew who Ariana Grande was not just by sight, but by sound. So, the night came to a close. We all made our departures. I was the last one to leave as I was closing down the dish pit... at 39 years old! I actually like the dish pit because when it's cold outside that water is warm. And, warm water is soothing. So, if you ever feel stressed out, wash some dishes. It's probably one of the best things you can do besides taking a bath to reduce stress.
It was time for a cigar. I made my way down the street to the store. Standing up for five or six hours at a time makes my 39 year old legs tired. But, I made it, and as soon as I got to the front door and took a stride over the threshold, there she was again, singing, "Thank You! Next!". Ridiculous.
Where's Taylor Swift? She's gotta be coming up next, huh?
So, strangely, coincidentally, in a Disney kind of way, to Taylor Swift, and Ariana Grande, it has taken many years to Shake It Off, to recover physically, mentally and even spiritually from some pretty big mistakes and some significant jail time, but Thank You! NEXT!
The consequences I still deal with each day, but mentally, I am now capable. Whereas, until recently it was questionable. Every day, I lived in guilt, and anxiety, and even bouts with depression that have occupied my daily life for most of it's entirety. Many can claim the same. Some of whom I have come to know personally. That time is gone, minus occasional flare ups often spurred on by overconsuming alcohol. Otherwise, I'm on my Lily Pad.
Yet, when strings of coincidence are all too frequent to ignore, words have spirit and meaning behind them. You can't get caught up in patterns, or read too much into them. You'll go mad and end up on the street corner trying to explain the universe to everyone passing by in five minutes, or less.
But, as when you read a book and you can almost feel the words beaming into you from the energy that put them down on paper. So, it is with song. It's like I told the lady at the church one day after drawing the number 39 five times in a row when going to eat at the Community Kitchen. On the sixth visit, I drew 21. Upon sitting down at the table and just a few seconds later, the woman who had been handing out the stack of numbers came and put them to rest on the table where I was sitting. What was on top of the stack? 39, of course. I told her, these are just little signs from above that everything is under control, and it's ok!
Shake It Off! Thank You! Next!
Previously Posted 2015:
Song Birds Update:
March 21, 2019
The string of "coincidents" continues, as of just moments and a few days ago, these things never cease to amaze me. It's just that, what are you supposed to do with them? So, I BLAHG!
Yes, major strings of "coincidents" I have seen as it relates to two artists I didn't even know who they were, Taylor Swift & Ariana Grande. I keep in touch with my father by calling once a week, just to check in. I told him about how I learned who Ariana Grande was. Of course, he didn't have a clue. However, by the next week, just last week, when I called again he said, "You're not gonna believe this, but just a couple of days after you called last, I went out for a walk", which is about all he can do now as he is getting up there, a few years past 39, for sure.
He continued to tell me what happened with, "I came upon a piece of paper lying on the ground, so I picked it up and do you know what it said?" I hadn't a clue what he was going to tell me but it was only two words, and those were "Ariana Grande". Just a random piece of paper lying on the ground it was, of course.
So, just an hour ago, I was having lunch with a couple of people I didn't know, but we started a conversation. He started it off talking about a guy he knew who funded his own tours, a country music artist, I had never heard of either. Today people have the freedom to listen to what they want to rather than being force fed what to listen to by the radio. Though, radio still has listenership, most people are building their own play lists and listening to a wide array of things.
We started talking about how they could make anybody a star if they wanted to, but some have a higher level of quality in their talent like Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift, whom I mentioned in the original post prior to this update. I finished up my plate and as they did as well, grabbed my bag and bid farewell to them. The one guy there said, "Have a good day Buddy".
"You too", I responded and made my way to this desk top computer for an hour session I am using to report this latest in a continuing string of things that I don't know what to make of, but I feel like I'm gonna walk around the corner and both of them are going to standing there because of the frequency of these things that keep happening, but I have yet to meet any celebrities because of either coincidence, or dreams. So, I just write it down. What else am I supposed to do, right?
Anyway to wrap it up, as I walked back to town and I was passing by the food co-op store, I heard a voice behind me say, "Excuse me". As I turned to my left to see who it was, a man on a unicycle came rolling by, and if that's not enough he had music playing which was none other than Shake It Off by Taylor Swift. This, not even five minutes after I had told the people at lunch about this stuff!
That's all I gotta report, no jokes about it, but indeed impossible to ignore. So, if you have any ideas about what I can do other than post this BLAHG please let me know. Otherwise, just accept it as at least very entertaining for me personally because as far as I'm concerned I don't need television to entertain me when I can just walk down the street!
It's a beautiful day people!
Stay On Your Lily Pads!
And, once again, Shake It Off, and Thank You! NEXT!
As I believe these are both break up songs, the main message is to move forward. Releasing our pasts is a hard thing to do. You can never forget, even when you do forgive, but we must not be in bondage to things we cannot change lest we carry guilt over things that are now only memories.
I am reminded of the serenity prayer, as you may be too. In being granted serenity in accepting the things that can't be changed, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. And, watch out for the guy on a unicycle!
Amen
Comments
Post a Comment