Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

  I was visiting my friend Matt in a recovery facility the other day. I don't really know what to call it, or actually what all they do there. It's kind of like a holding facility for people who have had operations and need a place to recover for a few weeks or months. They provide a private room and meals and have a nursing assistant come and give you meds if you need them. They also have a van to escort people to various places like the doctors or for dialysis. Matt just recently had his left leg amputated. He'd already had the right one taken off some years ago. I won't go in to all of his physical issues. Suffice it to say he's suffered lots in this world, but nonetheless, has one of the best attitudes of anyone I have ever met. In any event, we were visiting. He was wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and sitting in a wheel chair. He started rubbing his recent wound and making moaning sounds. "Hey Tom, hand me that blue tube over there on the counter wo...

Once in awhile I hear a country song that touches my heart. Of course there is no shortage of songs about  drinking or cheating but some of the songs are pretty funny. One song talks about the wife hiring a wino to decorate their home so her husband will feel comfortable and not have to go to the bar. Another one by a popular country star is about a fellow who is given an ultimatum. He can either spend the day on the lake fishing or he can be with his wife. He's singing about how he's going to miss her. I more or less understand. Fishing can be as exciting as sex sometimes, and it lasts longer too. When I moved north to Wasilla, I discovered that there was a classic country radio station right here in town, KAYO. Somehow when I was skipping through the various stations on the car radio, we invariably would run across this station, and I discovered that I actually was enjoying what I heard. Unlike the music that the younger generation is listening to, I've never seen a count...