“Living on the road my friend, is gonna keep you free and clean.”
- Willie Nelson (and many other artists), “Pancho and Lefty”
I’ve been out of work for almost three weeks now and on the road for two.
So far, my route has taken me through Chicago, Illinois, for a week with my Aunt Michelle, my Uncle Bill, and their two beautiful girls Nikki and Leah, then on to Madison, Wisconsin, where I got to spend the first real one-on-one time with my Aunt Denise, my Uncle Barry, and my cousin Eric. The time with family has been wonderful … I think it’s tough to really get a firm hold on the structure and feel of the lives of your loved ones unless you manage to break off a chunk of time to really expose yourself to it. That gets even tougher, however, when those loved ones are spread out across the country and even the world.
To get almost a week in both of those places right off the bat was pretty wonderful. I had felt so incontrovertibly stuck in my lifestyle in Virginia that the time just seemed to role by without any substantive thoughts of my future or my dreams beyond the world of bills and the rent payment, my work schedule and the glimmer of the approaching weekend and the promise of time with friends.
Now I’m cooling my heels in Murdo, South Dakota (I’d never heard of it before either), with all the roads blocked due to a massive blizzard that hit the western portion of the state yesterday. When I left Madison on Wednesday, I had the sun roof open under a clear blue sky with the windows open to a beautiful, 70-degree fall day. But as I crossed the Mississippi into Minnesota and on across South Dakota, the temperature began to plummet steadily, until I finally had to pull off the road, 650 miles later, due to a steadily worsening mix of sleet and snow.
So that brings me back to the “time” thing. I’ve had a brimming supply of it over the past several days in this hotel room. And I think sitting here on my ass has helped me crystallize the idea that all I really want from this trip is time to think about what I want to do next with my life. Time to be with people. Time to write or to create something, or even just to breathe and enjoy the simple stuff that seems to glide by unnoticed each day.
There’s a song I’ve been listening to a lot lately by this guy named Ryan Montbleau that seems to be hitting exactly the right note. It’s called “Stretch.” I take it as a song about learning to more fully appreciate the simple goodness around us … about becoming the full and inspired people we all have down inside … about opening up to others and hoping they’re receptive to whatever creative products each of us might manage to spill from our hearts.
Here’s a link to his website. A lot of his other stuff is fantastic as well … so have a look:
http://www.ryanmontbleauband.com/
"Take me under and make me understand.
Block my lungs off and make me appreciate the air.
Show me the way to touch my toes.
Make it a little bit easier, now, this pain it ever grows.
Show me the way to do the things I’ve always wanted to do,
To do.
Open up my eyes, tell me all about these lies that i’ve been telling.
Buying into fantasies and dreams my own demons were selling.
Show me the way to spread my wings.
Make me wonder how i never trusted those things.
I know that I could fly the highest if I’m only given the time,
The time.
And it’s going to take microphones and stages,
Many people rearranging what their plans are for the night time
Hope they show up at the right time
And I’ll sing them my song
And I hope they sing along
I know they always sing along in my imagination.
Take me under and make me understand.
Block my lungs off and make me appreciate the air.
Show me the way to touch my toes.
Make it a little bit easier, now, this pain it ever grows.
Show me the way to do the things i’ve always thought that i could do,
Could do.
And it’s going to take microphones and stages,
Many people rearranging what their plans are for the night time
Hope you show up at the right time
And I’ll sing you my song
And I hope you sing along
I know you always sing along in my imagination.”
