Every Day's a Holiday
What does getting laid off mean to you? Is it a
horrible problem, or a wonderful opportunity?
The last time it happened to me, I chose to see
it as the latter. Rather than sit at home and
feel miserable and rejected and worry about
where my next meal was coming from, I chose to
see it as an "extended vacation," during which I
didn't have to define who I was by my job title,
and during which I could do pretty much anything
I wanted to. I was much happier that way. I
wasn't "unemployed;" I had just found the place
in my heart and mind in which every day
is a holiday. |
Going Coastal
Have you noticed how much higher people's
average stress level seems to have gotten in
recent years? Folks often don't give one another
the benefit of the doubt anymore. People turn
arguments into gunfights, cut each other off in
traffic, and "go postal" at the slightest
provocation. I'd much rather "go coastal,"
especially if by doing so, I can unwind another
human being even a little bit. For me, it's part
of making the world a nicer place to hang out
in. |
Clueless in Key Largo
Sometimes relationships end suddenly, and you've
got no idea why. So you get behind the wheel and
drive aimlessly, trying to get away from the
pain, trying to make sense of it all. Next thing
you know, you're waking up in a strange hotel
with a hangover. But maybe that's not such a bad
thing after all. Yes, the boat used in the movie African
Queen is
docked in Key Largo harbor. |
Mental Health Day
Who hasn't had days when the sun was shining and
the beach beckoned, but you had to go to work?
Who hasn't felt the temptation to just "call in
healthy" instead? I think we need to do it more
often. "Mental health days" are my favorite kind
of workday, and when you call in, tell your boss
I said it'll make you a more valuable and
productive employee in the long run. |
Rainy Day in Paradise
What happens when you get to your long-awaited
vacation place...alone? After planning it to be
a wonderful time with someone special? And to
make matters worse, it's *raining*! At a moment
like this, do you stay miserable because someone
has left and the sun has gone away...or do you
notice the beauty around you, find the bits that
are still wonderful, and make the best of it? |
Cabana Boy
Sunny Jim White is
one of my favorite Trop Rock artists, and this
is one of my favorite Sunny Jim songs. I like it
because it appeals to the "hopeful romantic" in
me - I really do want to treat someone this way,
at some point in my life. It's a fan favorite in
concert, particularly among my female fans. I
wish I'd heard it about a year before I first
did. Ah well; we move forward. |
Sunshine in the Rain
Sometimes, being around the person who is
*always* cheerful can be a royal pain. Other
times, when things look dark and it's almost
impossible to believe in yourself, having
someone around who will believe in you no matter
what can change your life. |
I Need a Weekend (to Recover From My Weekend)
Monday morning, after a long, festive weekend.
You don't know where the time went, but you
*sure* don't want to go to work. You want
another weekend, right then, so you can recover
from that first weekend. Brother or sister, I
feel your pain. |
Raspberry Rum
Who doesn't like
a mellow, happy day off playing hooky somewhere
with a special someone? I fell madly in like
with Cruzan Raspberry Rum one October afternoon
while partying with a bunch of Las Vegas
Parrotheads, and decided to memorialize it as
part of a love song. |
I Don't Care (if the Plane Don't Come)
Once in a while, you get to go on a vacation
that's so good that you don't want it to end. I
mean, what do you have to go back to? Work?
Traffic? The plane can wait - I'm staying right
here, where it's warm and beautiful, thank you
very much. |
What It Is
I've obviously needed to do some healing in
recent years, because this theme of finding a
good place on the Earth - in this case,
someplace tropical - and letting it heal you is
one of the themes that runs through several
songs on this album, and again here in a more
wistful, stripped down way. The title came from
something I read once, that has been a comfort
to me more than once: "What is, is." |
Southern Cross
In some ways, this song has been intimately tied
to my life for about half a dozen years. I like
it and feel it for more reasons than I can fit
into a small description. It lets me express
some thoughts and emotions that have resonated
fairly strongly for me, here and there in recent
years. |