Soccer Mom Me

I both hate and love buying a car. I hate the games you have to play bargaining for a deal. But I love the thrill of the process and where the deal will end up. Negotiations. Love them. OK, I am the most uncool car person ever. I have driven minivans for 19 years. I have driven a low end beat up minivan for 7 years. I wrecked the front end...kicked the hood back down at the scene, and spray painted the hood myself with a Walmart spray paint can. I just don't have the time to deal with it. But last week I broke down and left the minivan world for something that actually makes sense for me....a small SUV..a Ford Escape with bells and whistles. My kids can't believe I am a real person. All weekend McKenna was dissing my minivan (she was so happy I bought a real car). Then unfortunately she was in a fender bender this morning. She is OK, but her car is not. Guess what? She just came over to borrow my old minivan. She better be careful....there are bad genes in there. She might be continuing the tradition she hates. Maybe she can repaint the hood a classier color!

I Feel Good

If live music is happening, I'm listening. It's just the way it is. Growing up, my parents drug me around to a lot of live concerts....which means old crooners like Johnny Mathis. The truth is I loved it. Because of my parents, I developed a deep love for live music and a pretty decent ear. So now I am a gray headed sound guy without a ponytail (real sound guys always have a ponytail). So anyway, it was with great pleasure that I watched the grammies. Politics aside, I was amazed by the diversity and quality of talent. And, yes, it was all live...real music. The highlight for me was the tribute to James Brown. Especially when they brought out his cape and draped it on the microphone to a standing ovation. Say what you will regarding James, but for sure he was one of the greatest live entertainers of all time. Michael Jackson, Usher, Chris Brown, Justin malfunction, and all the hip-hop world can give thanks to The Godfather of Soul. Without him their genre would not exist. We will miss JB, but I think we can all look back on his contribution and say "I feel good". Just make sure you let out a loud grunt after you say it.