These are the Good Old Days!

SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 2010


These are the Good Old Days!

I was online early this morning. It was 6:06 when WinDoze at long last ran through enough gyrations for me to see the digital display on my taskbar.

An imaginary friend was on last nite. He has some pretty good things going on in his life right now. I am really happy for him. Sometimes it is the right time for someone to catch a break especially if they had been down for a while.

This did not come upon him all on its own. It took a lot of work and a conscious decision to stop doing what he had been doing. To stand up and make deliberate changes that didn’t make things easier until patience and persistence had a chance to work their magic.

The groove he had fallen into was not comfortable because of many things. Thankfully, I do not know all of them. What I did know or find out began to sound like a needle stuck on the record and hitting the same scratch. Repeating and repeating and repeating. I did offer advice even when it might not have been wanted. Friends do that.

Now, it is almost as if a gawky kid or young woman grew into themselves… the swan analogy deal. Unlike the swan and Carly Simon this was not inevitable. He had to slam on the brakes, make a hard left and drive up into the mountains for a while before he could immerse himself in the beauty and recognize it… before he could start to make a descent. A descent instead of a crash and burn.

Carly was one of those kinds of women just as this young man is exactly that kind of man. He is a poet. It took a while for him to recognize it but it finally hit him between the eyes like a ball peen hammer.

It is fun to be around him. In a lot of ways he is a strong adult. At the same time he is still an adolescent. And, he has a great sense of humor if not always timing. I have seen many like him flower and flourish. It is one of the privileges of being older.

It is difficult to remember that these are the Good Old Days. The ones we are living. Breathing through daily. They come creeping up on us but fly right by. You got something there Trace.

Often it is easier to try to make the ones long gone by the best of our lives. Or, the ones yet to come that we scheme and plan for as we zoom through what we are experiencing right now. No, the good old days are the drama of our daily lives that we are living through here and now. These are the Good Old Days. These are the ones we need to long for and cherish. To nourish with all of our will.


Another friend online last nite said something that really lit me up. It was the singular thing that got me started down this road. He made a comment on something that really sticks with me: “Those mountains catch the clouds and don't like to let them go.” I don’t know if he heard this somewhere. I think he might be the first that said it exactly that way. I think he is about the same age as the other poet. His poetry is different though. His verse is how hard he works for his family and making things the best he can for them. I never thought of him as perfect, just close.

If you can get through the Barbara Streisand you might want to check out the YouTube “Carly Simon Mix”. Google will bring it to the top of the list with the right cut and paste. There were a lot of poets back in those Good Old Days. It wasn’t all about war and protest back then.


It isn’t all about war and exploitation of our resources now. There are a lot of Good Old Days we are living and breathing through right here. Right now!

Inhale and let it wash over you. Share it with others. Hope there are enough plants left to convert your waste back into something we know, love and need. Enough honey bees to pollinate those plants and the flowers.

You're so vain. You probably think this song is about you. You're so vain.
I'll bet you think this song is about you. Don’t you? Don’t you? Don’t you?

Life Is Eternal as long as you are living it. You’re gonna miss this. These are all songs about me and who I am. It’s all about me and who I am.


I almost can’t believe I am sitting here typing and listening to a Trace Adkins mix. Life Is Eternal.

DakotaDawg, grab your plastic bag. Wollen Sie einen Spaziergang machen?

Well, that’s what Google told me to say.

DakotaDawg go sit on your rug. Isn’t that a fledged winged cardinal sitting on the feeder? He is going to grow up just like Jason. Go in the back and let me brush you. Are you still shedding?

These are the Good Old Days. You’re gonna miss this. Run with it, regardless of the distance. These are the Good Old Days. Some of this is plagiarized.
© 06.26.2010 steven d philbrick SR+ DakotaDawg


POSTED BY SRPLUS AT 7:15 AM