That Vibe - 01/11/20
First of all, some setup:
A very dear friend of mine is passing. Ralph's got a malignant tumor, he's 85. He'll probably be gone by spring. He's not at all unhappy about it. He's led as great a life as anyone he's ever known. He's been in the highest realms of American politcal society and consulted to princes and world leader for over 30 years. One of his neatest feats was teaching a course in Supply Side Econ at Moscow University every year for decades. When the Soviet Union fell, it was his students who helped to bring Russia out of the ashes.
I went to his last lecture today. He's failing. His hair is falling out. He's starting to have trouble breathing, but he says he's the happiest man alive. His lecture was great and uplifting. He's very optimistic about what is coming for the U.S. and our allies. More on that later in this thread. It was recorded. I may be able to get y'all a link to it.
What I want to talk to y'all about was a vibe I felt after this lecture. I've been partying with this guy since 1982. We've shared girlfriends. I have to say that I was well past maudlin when I got in the truck to drive up to the lecture, and my random playlist on Pandora reflected it. Every song was something about loss, dying, etc. I even got a cover of "The Parting Glass" . When you're a shaman you find things like Pandora tend to bend to your mood. Today, it could not have been more evident.
Coming out of the lecture, I saw my friends with whom I've been drinking with Ralph. Ralph got carted home. I invited the other two to come out with me to the watering hole. I'd buy the first round. I got in the truck and immediately got hit with "Big Chief" by Professor Longhair. If you don't know it, look it up. It's the kind of thing the band in New Orleans plays on the way back from the funeral. It was one upbeat tune after another all the way to the bar. It got me to thinking about this vibe I was having. The problem is it doesn't have a name. I'm trying to put my finger on it, and I just can't. It's a vibe that has dominated my life--at least the best parts.
Jackie Gleason had that vibe. When you used to see him on his variety show. The girl would come out and bring him his scotch and he'd smoke a cigarette and do his monologue-- yeah, that vibe.
My dad used to have that vibe. He knew Gleason. He knew him in Miami Beach-- used to drink with him. A lot of my Dad's friends had that vibe. It was a cool vibe to have around you, but until now I never really thought about.
Rodney Dangerfield had that vibe, at least when he wasn't talking about getting no respect. He had that vibe in a big way.
Dean Martin had that vibe when he wasn't playing at being a drunk.
This isn't "Cool." Cool is something else. It's got a bit of finality to it, but it isn't fatalistic. It's pragmatic about life and death without being morbid. It's happy about Life, because it beats the alternatives.
But I can't put my finger on what it is. Maybe you know it. Maybe you don't. After a couple of drinks with my buddies and a fun conversation with the waitress, I headed home, and started this thread. I'm probably going to post a few more times as things come to me, but as Jackson Browne said, "It's a song I hear playing right in my ear, but I can't play it-- can't help listening anyway." All of a sudden, after 60-some years, trying to put my finger on this vibe and give it a name is important.
I'll leave you with one thing that might get you on the path to this vibe. It's been doing it to me for close to 40 years.
A very dear friend of mine is passing. Ralph's got a malignant tumor, he's 85. He'll probably be gone by spring. He's not at all unhappy about it. He's led as great a life as anyone he's ever known. He's been in the highest realms of American politcal society and consulted to princes and world leader for over 30 years. One of his neatest feats was teaching a course in Supply Side Econ at Moscow University every year for decades. When the Soviet Union fell, it was his students who helped to bring Russia out of the ashes.
I went to his last lecture today. He's failing. His hair is falling out. He's starting to have trouble breathing, but he says he's the happiest man alive. His lecture was great and uplifting. He's very optimistic about what is coming for the U.S. and our allies. More on that later in this thread. It was recorded. I may be able to get y'all a link to it.
What I want to talk to y'all about was a vibe I felt after this lecture. I've been partying with this guy since 1982. We've shared girlfriends. I have to say that I was well past maudlin when I got in the truck to drive up to the lecture, and my random playlist on Pandora reflected it. Every song was something about loss, dying, etc. I even got a cover of "The Parting Glass" . When you're a shaman you find things like Pandora tend to bend to your mood. Today, it could not have been more evident.
Coming out of the lecture, I saw my friends with whom I've been drinking with Ralph. Ralph got carted home. I invited the other two to come out with me to the watering hole. I'd buy the first round. I got in the truck and immediately got hit with "Big Chief" by Professor Longhair. If you don't know it, look it up. It's the kind of thing the band in New Orleans plays on the way back from the funeral. It was one upbeat tune after another all the way to the bar. It got me to thinking about this vibe I was having. The problem is it doesn't have a name. I'm trying to put my finger on it, and I just can't. It's a vibe that has dominated my life--at least the best parts.
Jackie Gleason had that vibe. When you used to see him on his variety show. The girl would come out and bring him his scotch and he'd smoke a cigarette and do his monologue-- yeah, that vibe.
My dad used to have that vibe. He knew Gleason. He knew him in Miami Beach-- used to drink with him. A lot of my Dad's friends had that vibe. It was a cool vibe to have around you, but until now I never really thought about.
Rodney Dangerfield had that vibe, at least when he wasn't talking about getting no respect. He had that vibe in a big way.
Dean Martin had that vibe when he wasn't playing at being a drunk.
This isn't "Cool." Cool is something else. It's got a bit of finality to it, but it isn't fatalistic. It's pragmatic about life and death without being morbid. It's happy about Life, because it beats the alternatives.
But I can't put my finger on what it is. Maybe you know it. Maybe you don't. After a couple of drinks with my buddies and a fun conversation with the waitress, I headed home, and started this thread. I'm probably going to post a few more times as things come to me, but as Jackson Browne said, "It's a song I hear playing right in my ear, but I can't play it-- can't help listening anyway." All of a sudden, after 60-some years, trying to put my finger on this vibe and give it a name is important.
I'll leave you with one thing that might get you on the path to this vibe. It's been doing it to me for close to 40 years.