Baby Baby We've Got a Date! Baby Baby Don't you be Late!!

We're gonna rock it baby rock baby, tonight, rock it baby rock it baby, tonight. Look that one up on You Tube and turn it up LOUD -- ideally while you get ready for that Friday night or Saturday night date. That would be the great rastafarian and purveyor of love and peace and soulfulness -- Bob Marley -- bringing you that lilting calypso gallop that will stick in your head for a while.

When Bruce Springsteen would hit the stage for his Tunnel of Love shows, he would have a dozen roses, and that great western, sharp-cut black suit with that string tie, crisp white shirt, black boots. He'd come up to the front of the stage, peer out across the audience, step up to the mic at center stage and ask a question... actually he would throw down a challenge to the audience.... he would ask a deep meaningful question that is all about relationships, and love, and how people "deal" as they say, not alone, but together in some fashion... by connecting your heart to mine little girl..... The Boss would stare out into the crowd before one more night of holy communion E Street style, and ask, implore, "ARE YOU READY FOR A DATE?"

We went on a date last night. I love dates, always have. I am a hopeless romantic, although many would not guess that or see it ostentatiously dripping off my skin. But that may depend on how close they look (into my heart that is), and what they really define as or know about romanticism. I am a hopeless idealist. I am all about people, and if you are all about people, you are all about relationships and feelings and connected-ness. You are all about trying to enrich your life and the lives of others by searching for deeper meaning, and you like to do that with some conversation, and nice wine, some nice craft beers, some good food, a sunset or some general ambiance is real helpful. And a beautiful early spring night in Mpls (I do mean Mpls, the city, not some aseptic, blandified suburb with no soul, I mean a city with a bit of personality, character, some grit, people milling about in neighborhoods, sidewalk cafes, music eminating from open 2nd story windows, that kind of Mpls) and a little adventure provides the perfect backdrop for date night.

Hit up (my kids talk this way, when they were 2 I started talking how they talked, now that they're a bit older, I'm still talking like them, ridiculous) a place called Buster's in South Mpls. Recommended by the Vin Man, even though his kidneys would not allow him to be here on this given night. Lots of craft beers, and owners who come sit at your table and taste test great beers, and learn your tastes, and make great, spot-on recommendations that go like this... "oh, if you like that, you will really love this..." And by God they are right, more right than that damn Lonely Planet that lies once in a while and say's banana pancakes right around the corner in the southern tip of Colombia, yea right. Next time maybe just stick with Axel Rose and not Lonely Planet. What is this Europe, where they really understand how to slow life down and enjoy good wine, good drink, good food, and good conversation with proprietors of small cafes and bars and bistros coming to sit at your table and chat and make great recommendations about life in general? I knew this would happen in America with a Democrat in the White House.

Food was great, beer was superb, complete with breaking new ground with this Fulton's Sweet Child of the Vine, brewed right in Mpls. Then another I will have to get the name of, that of course comes from the great state of Oregon. We will be back.

If you are going to be in love, if you are going to have successful date nights, if you are forever planning out little adventures and outings but often times don't plan every little thing, but leave some air for the date to breath, leave some flexible leeway for things to kind of unfold, let the spirit move you, let the music take you... well then you are going to call some audibles. Parents of young children - these kind of audibles depend on things like "well, how late did the baby sitter say she could stay?" Husband's typical reply, "ahhhh, ummmm, ahhhhh like until 3am I think she said, yea about 3". Responsible parent (read: typically the female in nature), "what? excuse me? 3am, yea right. Did you happen to get confused honey? She is a friggin' 8th grader, and she has a father who will kill you and come over and pick his daughter up at the stroke of midnight and leave our children home alone..."

So anyway, I'm rambling a bit, whoops, first time that's happened in my writing (not). Called that audible as we approached the stop light at Hiawatha Ave - left to the sparkling lights of downtown Mpls on a Sat night, or right and back to the burb's and maybe some bad tv and/or the local news? Just so happens, my research told me there would be some soul singing, some blues playin', some gospel-y jazz folks down at the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Mpls. Took Daughter #1 there back a few months ago to enlighten her about the great healing powers of Dr John and that New Orleans sound. This time around we had Debbie Duncan and Fred Steele and some pretty cool players laying in some pretty soulful stuff. ... and the music will fill your soul. You give a guy like me a beautiful woman by my side (oh and by the way important to note here if you are keeping score at home: that would be my first wife, the woman I'm still madly in love with a few years and a few children later...), and some soulful music and throw in some nice weather, there's not much else you really need.

So take it from me kids, life kind of stressing you out of late? Little tension in that kitchen as you get the kids breakfast, do the laundry, go to work, blah blah blah everday tedious tasks of life? Not enough zip or spice in your life? Looking across that table at that person you shacked up with way back when, hitched your wagon to theirs, and sayin to yourself, "who is this person? I feel a bit distant, removed, not as connected..." Need a shot of rhythm and blues? Need a pure shot of adrenaline? Need to go out tonight and find out if love's real? Need to connect your heart and your soul one more time to the person you need more than you need air and water? Then take my advice, call her up, stop by her house, hell in these days go ahead and text or skype or blackberry or send a carrier pigeon, and sing out, "Baby Baby We Got a Date.... Baby Baby Don't you be Late..." And for God's sake people if you are going to go on a date, rock it baby rock it baby, tonight. Turn the music up, open up that sun roof, take the T-top off that old Camaro, let the wind blow back your hair, and you too, that's you two I mean, can fill your hearts and souls with the great sounds of LOVE in the Springtime in the Northland as you hear that rock n' roll music blastin' off the T-top.

So Much Has Happened To Me, That I Don't Understand

... I remember being 5 years old, following your footsteps on the beach as I tried to learn to Walk Like a Man

Thanks Bruce, for that little snippet of father/son growing up thoughts off the great record Tunnel of Love. Named after one of those great rides in all those old amusement parks that used to dot the Jersey Shore.... or wait, is it instead a reference to his own life? "c'mon baby cuddle up, it's just the three of us - you, me and all those things were so scared of." In short order, very short order, our dear friend Bruce went from getting married for the first time to getting divorced, there's that roller coaster tunnel of love ride for you. I bought that record in 1987, I was living out in Denver, Colorado. Had me a new wife so I was entering into that marriage thang. Bought the record (that's right, they still came in black vinyl WAY back then people), came home to that fine apt at Fox Ridge, and put that record on. Laid on the living room floor and listened and thought a little bit. Hmmmmmm...., either old Bruce's marriage is coming apart, or he is writing completely in the 3rd person. It was the former, not the latter.

Life, life, the crazy ride of life. You may want to hold on tight, and you may want to put a seat belt on, and that's just for the relationships part of your life. You didn't really think life travels in a mostly linear, predictable path did you? The great Winston Churchill they say jay-walked through life, taking a rather circuitous path that did not always seem to make sense to the nay-sayers. Neil Young (kind of different than Winston Churchill, kind of different from a lot of folks) wrote "Heart of Gold", got some big radio airplay, folks thought it was kind of popular and mainstream. Old Neil said, "I had come on out to the highway for a while, where most everyone else was at, but I soon headed back to the ditch, where I belonged and the people I met were much more interesting." All the real learning and all the real fun may very well happen when you are off the beaten path, and kind of weaving and wandering. You can do this by reading books and physically never leaving your house, you can do this by getting married and having kids (you will learn a lot and see places you never dreamed you'd see), or you can also do it by heading to places like the Amazon over spring break and go on zip lines that are about 8 zillion stories above the canopy of the Amazon. Take your pick.

This blog post is a riddle, it's a metaphor, it's a similie. It may seem to travel in a circle, or not even that predictable a path. What does it mean? What is the hidden meaning? What is the point? Like most of Bob Dylan's songs, it means whatever you think it means -- to you and your life at any given time. Those songs are like perpetual or virtual maps to your soul. They will serve you well forever, no matter where you are on the journey. Because as you change, and your life changes, how you access the song, how you access the maps, will also bend and twist and turn and change. Who would want to follow a static map anyway? You'd always be in the same place, and you wouldn't be able to tell if you were at the beginning or the end. That map of 20 years ago that say's baseball on it could lead you right to the front door of the friggin' Metrodome, when instead starting Monday at 3pm, all the action is down a few blocks at Target Field. That map of 20 years ago may have led you to give up on love, to become cynical, to never put yourself or your heart out there again, but then you would not have had that beautiful, rich part of your life known as the 2nd wife and those 3 kids that fill your soul (Bruce) with love and happiness, just like Al Green said.

Because the new map, the vibrant, fully alive map say's - "keep trying, keep pushing on, keep living, keep looking around the corner for the next challenge, move toward the light, lift your spirits higher and higher, love will take you there, peace will take you there." And oh hey p.s. there sometimes weary travelers, have a big, loving, thankful heart as you go for all the blessings in your life, and oh one other thing please. Keep your eyes and ears open, you just may learn something along the way, and then you won't have to double back on the path you already traveled to relearn the same old lessons. Instead, you will be fully capable of getting to HIGHER GROUND. And Mama, that's where all the fun is, out where she was blinded by the light......

This just in: Baseball to bring Peace to the Mideast

Baseball's in the air, can you feel it? Can you just taste it? Twins Fest going on in here, one big love fest at the old hump in downtown Mpls known as the Metrodome. Lots of autographs, jerseys for sale, bats and balls, and chatter about the upcoming season and the Twins chances. Hope Springs Eternal for baseball fans each spring, as embodied by the ubiquitous Cubs fan chant as they end each season, "wait until next year...". When your team is 0-0 come April, you're dead even with all those other teams, including the guys who won the World Series last year.

Mauer, Mauer, Mauer -- lots of chatter about when will the Twins sign him, will he stay in Minnesota? This kid now has Rock Star status, an unbelievable amount of what is now national attention from the old and young, male and female. And he handles it all with aplomb and grace and style, kudo's to him for that public persona that matches the private persona. Nice guys can finish first, I knew it.

Jim Thome now a Twin, more power from the left side of the plate - consummate professional and all-around good guy. Very well a future hall of famer, he's hit 564 that landed on the other side of the fence (I'm going out on a limb here and assuming he's never had an inside-the-parker, but that's just me...). Gonna have to see what we got from the mound, both the starters and the relievers. Last time I checked pitching really matters in this game. See what Liriano looks like after wintering down in the Dominican. See if Pavano and Baker and Slowey can eat up innings and put up quality starts.

The Hot Stove League is alive and well in chilly Mpls/St Paul. God Bless Baseball. Oh and buy that new bio on Willie Mays I just read about in the NY Times. That will keep you warm through February.

We're Goin' Out West Where the Sand's Turnin' to Gold

He slid inside the door quietly, flat-brimmed hat pulled down hard over his eyes, if they can't see your eyes, they can't see your heart. He bumped along the back row, feeling for chairs and people with his feet. His eyes were still squinting from the quick move from brilliant Wyoming sunshine outside to darkness all around inside the bar. After a few more shuffles, some muffled, " 'scuse me.. thanks... sorry man.." he found a high-table in the back with a lone chair and slid on down into the chair. As the waitress stepped toward him and smiled and with every ounce of kindness ever embodied in a woman who had spent most of her lifetime being beaten down by life and another man that treated her poorly, she said lovingly, "how are you? You look tired. Can i get ya' somethin' from the bar sir?" Sir. Hell, it had been 20 years since anyone man, woman or child had addressed him as sir. "yea, thanks, just a tap beer and some of those good peanuts in the shell, thanks alot."

As he took the first sip from the tall glass he could feel himself exhale deeply, almost as if he was feeling the deep sadness and loss of the past few months leave his body, at least for a little while. A rather small man up in the front of the room, with long stringy hair and a beat-up old panama hat, a red and black checked plaid shirt and scuffed up black cowboy boots took one last sip from his drink, kissed a dirty-blonde girl next to him that was wearing one of those flour-sack sun dresses that the sun shone right through, and grabbed his acoustic guitar and stepped back up on the stage for his next set. With the harmonica rack around his neck he led into a slow, rhythmic lament, struming along in a strong, sturdy way while he quietly picked his way through the harmonica. When he finally moved his head toward the mic to sing, you could see a deep, reddish scar moving from his right ear down a couple inches toward the corner of his mouth. He looked to be about 40 or so, with a face that seemed to hold every mile of bad road that he had ever run down. His raspy voice started in a low register as he sang about a woman he had met and left in the high country of Mexico -- the Sierra Madre's, Cortelon, Azetal. He sang about how he spent years trying to find her, once he got out of jail in Ponchetula. He never found her, and now he longs to sleep, because he can only find her and see her face in his dreams.

Free At Last, Free At Last... Thank God A'Mighty, We're Free At Last!!!

I guess you're not really a Blogger, or a Baller for that matter, unless you ACTUALLY blog once in a while. Oop's. I never intended to go away for so long, I got so enamored with finally getting a blog site cranked up around Christmas, I then somehow got busy doing everything else, and have not had a post since. Embarassing, and ridiculous.

So now it's mid January, the Vikings are currently playing Dallas in playoff football, Dodgeball mania comes to the 'View tonight and we have turned the calendar from the 00's decade to the '10's decade. Ain't it funny how time slips away, I think Al Green had a song by that name.

We recently celebrated Martin Luther King's birthday, and the kids and others have this coming Monday off for the national holiday. There are not many public figures that are bigger in my book than King. If I show my hand, my heart, I'm a big non-violence guy, I'm a big anti-war guy, I'm a big peace and love guy. You would think most people would be about non-violence, peace and love, wouldn't you? Essentially, all of these ways and methods are the teachings and the ways of Christ. Ghandi used them, King used them, St Paul and the other key writers in the bible preached them. I guess it essentially starts with your philosophy as to what life is all about - what is important, what is the deeper meaning of life, and your basic outlook on people and how to treat people and how to effect change and improvement in people and in societies.

King knew how to build coalitions, how to mobilize people for a cause, he knew how to inspire people to work for the cause and to commit for the long haul. To not let set-back's and hardships crush the spirit and the will to march on and always work for a better day. You hear people talk about whether we as a nation have realized King's dream or not, some will lament that we should be much farther along the road of social justice and how we treat people both within America and without. That there's still too much hatred, racism, exclusionary thinking. I think the answer is in many ways we are at a better place because of the amazing leadership and commitment and tireless efforts King and the thousands of freedom fighters that stood shoulder to shoulder with him in the streets. Absolutely. We also have miles to go before we sleep, as Robert Frost reminded us. The fight is never over, the work of justice and freedom is never over. Don't despair if we are not as far along as we should be, just work harder to improve things going forward.