No One Sings Like You Anymore*

On this date in 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. It was a clash of ideologies, both of which were (and remain) inherently evil. Two nations filled with ordinary people held in thrall to two of the most murderous dictators of all time. Millions perished, it was a titanic struggle. In the end the Nazis lost, they overestimated their abilities and they underestimated the will of the Russian people.

Enough said of that, I mark the event in history as it's important. It is wise to remember to be wary of politicians of any stripe. While they are not all evil, they seldom have the good of humankind as their number one priority. They think they know better, they seldom do.

Took some time on Friday to ponder the book I intend to write. I have a cast of characters and I have a stage for them to say their lines. I have a rough beginning, an old man remembering the days of his youth when the world was at war. I have an ending which will go from the ruins of Berlin back full circle to that same old man. Who did the old man fight for, who's uniform did he wear?

I haven't decided yet.

All I have to do now is fill in all the bits between those two points in time.

When I came of age some fifty-plus years ago, I had no idea of what I wanted to do in life. I felt that some day I'd go into the service, I bounced back and forth between considering the Army (tanks dontcha know) and the Air Force (it's always been about things that fly). Why just those two services? Family tradition.

Up until my generation, the men in my family were soldiers (not all of 'em, but quite a few), we weren't a seafaring folk to my knowledge. My older cousins served in the Air Force, one in Vietnam. So when I made my decision, it was the Air Force. One of the key factors in that decision was that the Air Force recruiter pulled no punches, told me what was what and made no promises. The Army guys were, to my mind, less than honest with me.

I guess now that with three kids (and two sons-in-law, one current, one to come - in October) who served in the Navy, we are a seafaring people after all.

Anyhoo, in 1975 I began a journey which lasted twenty-four years. I stepped off that "train" twenty years ago last month. Twenty years. Hard to imagine, but time seems to accelerate once you get to a certain age.

Air Force career over, I embarked on a second career, which is coming to a close within the next 18 to 24 months, I haven't really decided yet. When I step off this train, there will be no more trains to catch, no more ambitions to pursue to pay the bills and make ends meet. We won't be fantastically wealthy but we'll be comfortable.

Provided the world doesn't go to Hell in a handbasket before then.

There's times that I feel a certain sadness about all this. Where did all the time go?

Ah well, such is the fate of all living things, time doesn't end, merely our participation in it.

I'm thinking of actually paying for drum lessons, there is only so far one can go on one's own. Yes, The Missus Herself thinks I'm nuts and am having yet another "mid-life crisis." What some see as a mid-life crisis is me wanting to try something new. What the heck, why not? Once I leave the work force I'll need something to get me out of the house from time to time. We shall see...

Swapped a couple of emails with Harvey from IMAO, he asked how I got into blogging. I related the story of Lex's passing and my picking up the torch, so to speak, to continue on. I still wander through the archives from those times. Heck, I still visit Buck's place as well for the inspiration what's in it.

No one sings like them anymore.

More's the pity.





* With apologies to the late Chris Cornell...