rock and roll musings by Tim Byrnes

A Death in the Family

     There's a special day every summer in the little Colorado town I call home. A founder's Day celebration called, oddly enough Missouri Days. Apparently my adopted hometown was settled by folks from that state and the name stuck for the celebration. So every year my sleepy little village in inundated w/returning high school reunion classes and families, friends and basically everybody and his/her dog.

     There's a parade in the morning followed by a day in the park w/picnics, cute baby contests, talent shows, horseshoes and various Norman Rockwellabilia in the park. The day ends w/a dance in the park, carousing in the Beer Garden and basically a good time is had by all. I worked the night shift (2-11pm) the entire weekend so I can attest to the revelry. It's usually a great day for the town all around.

     I say 'usually' because this year was different and I daresay, will be different from now on for some of us in Fowler. On Sunday morning, the day following the parade/dance etc., my boss' husband was driving their 2 sons to a baseball game. He's a coach on their team as well as the local H.S wrestling team.  Turning onto one country road from another his car was hit and their oldest son didn't make it.

     I've only known the family for the 6 months our store's been open, but it's been long enough to get to like these people. My boss's husband (I'm not using names out of respect for the family) would come into the store on a daily basis w/the kids, helping out his wife at the store, taking the kids to work construction w/him. I'd never seen a tighter family unit. I'd never met more decent people.

   So, I like the town, am walking around a little dazed, a little lost and, although I can't speak for anyone else, I'm pretty angry about the whole thing. This was a good kid. With good, caring, involved parents. Getting stuck in trying to 'make sense' of a sensless tragedy, an accident where there is no sense tends to do that to a person, make them angry that is.

   Which of course serves nothing and solves nothing. So we press on. The only thing positive I can do is work the store; that's where I'm needed. But you feel helpless in the face of such random cruelty. Right now I'm angry at the unfairness of it all and all I can do is work. It seems so insufficient, but it's what I can do so I do it.

     So, tomorow I'm going to the funeral w/basically the entire town. I will cry for my boss's family, I will cry again for the mindlessness of such a death. I will cry again for the loss of a vibrant, innocent child. And I will probably punch out the 1st idiot who claims it was 'god's will'. Anyone who would begin to call this 'god's will' or any such crap in the face of a family's devastation is as thoughtless, if not as evil, as any god who could do such a thing. Maybe that's why I refuse to believe in god: I can neither fathom nor abide the use for any so called god that would allow this type of thing to happen.

    Better to be adrift in a random universe than at the hands of such a hateful imagination.

(ps Jim, if you have any decency, leave this one alone, ok?)

Posted by: timbyrnes at 19:19 | link | comments (2)

If There Is a God, She's An Idiot

     Greetings, poetry lovers. Those by this point I think that means Simmons, the mad propheteer Jim and my lovely cousin Cathy w/a C from the mother country. Anyway, there has been precious little time lately for me to come to this page and now when I do I find Muglia spewing his crap in the name of Christian love. I've also come tothe conclusion that I like Fergie's music way too much to consider myself even a wannabe rock critic anymore. I mean do we really need another adjective filled lionization of Iggy and the Sttoges? Not that I'd give 'em one anyway, I mean have you heard the new record? Sorry Neblung, it's all crap.

     Now usually I welcome the chance to abuse Jim but the conversations getting old and truly folks, how does one reason w/someone who comes to yr own blog, calls you a sissy for not believing in his god and then talks about 'rules of engagement'? How does someone reason w/someone - anyone - who believes they have access to all true knowledge? Pathetic.

     Work's been great. I'm busy and productive and honestly about as happy as I've ever been so why ruin it w/these worthless typefests that repeat ad nauseum the only fact herein: Spiritually speaking Jim and I cancel each other out. End of story. So, I'm gonna lay low for a while, maybe work on the novel I've been outlining for the last 3 years (and living for the last 52) and just enjoy the life and meager respectability I've earned at this stage of the journey. But, as a parting gift............)

     This weekend 500 billion people witnessed the Live Earth concerts for global warming awareness. I was not one of them. I had to work and did so gladly. I rushed home from work at 11pm MST and, after walking Buster and feeding the cats, Ii channell surfed my ass off looking for a broadcast of the show.

     Nothing.

     Sunday morning. Meet the Press is on at 6am while I'm still sleeping to accomodate Wimbledon. After walking Buster and feeding the cats I again channel surf, looking for coverage of this huge event. Again, nothing. I get to work at 2 pm and read the Denver Post and Pueblo Chieftain. The Chieftain had nothing while the Denver Post had a half page article on page 19. OK, I think. Late press run. Sure.

     I just checked the papers at my store an hour ago (11 am MST) and agin, no coverage. So my question is: What exactly did Al Gore do to warrant such a wave of ignorance from the American press? Besides actually being elected President, I mean.

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     Pope Benedict has decreed that the Mass can be said in Latin again if that's what the parishoners want. Far be it from me to deny those who want their fables read to them in a foreign language but it does point to this particular Pontiff's perdiliction for dragging his people kicking and screaming into the 17th century. I reiterate: when someone claims to have powers given from 'above' and purports to enact those powers as a guide to living in a modern world by eating cookines and making signs in the air w/their hands that's freakin' voodoo!!!!!

     Believe what you want, it's a free country (HAH!) but don't ask me to believe it more than once, OK? Missionaries who can't/won't take NO for an answer are no better than a pushy vacuum cleaner salesman. And nature abhors a vacuum cleaner salesman.

  Oh, and Jim, by way of goodbye. If yr the best god could come up with to save me then she's an idiot.

See y'all in a while.

Or not.

tim

Posted by: timbyrnes at 20:22 | link | comments (24)