Three Rights Make a Left

Yesterday was election day and today, I'm immensely depressed. Songwriter that I am, I often find inspiration in loss -- and today, I'm inspired, therefore, I write. The results of the "election" verify what we've suspected -- our country is deeply polarized. It's hard to imagine a more clear cut choice that Trump vs. Clinton. The results clearly delineate the two sides and it's very evenly divided -- the popular vote was roughly 50%-50% with Clinton slightly ahead. By examining the exit polls: If you are a white woman with a college degree, you voted for Clinton, 51% to 43%. If you are a white woman with no college degree, you voted for Trump, 62% to 34%. If you are a white male with a college degree, you voted for Trump, 54% to 39%. If you are a white man with no college degree, you voted for Trump 72% to 23%. ALL other groups sampled, women and men, college or no college, voted overwhelmingly for Ms. Clinton. For the record, I voted for Bern...

OK... I'm not Bob Wills, Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, or Johann Strauss the Elder, nor even the Younger. I'm just a seat of the pants geetar picker who started his first band at age 12, and has been at it now for 64 years. If you're reading this after 2024, then add an appropriate number of years on to that figure... I assume that if you can read, you can probably add. I've played probably close to 10,000 gigs plus or minus, both as leader and sideman, so this blog comes from the perspective of both. I've played for as many as 25,000 people, and as few as zero... that's right -- ZERO. (I'm not sure I like ZERO, but I'd far preferred the ONE GOOD LISTENER to 25,000 inebriated idiots, just for the record.) First, here's a few things that leaders should be aware of, followed by some things that sidemen should be aware of. If you're in a "band" and it's very democratic and no one is really the leader... enjoy your childhood. This is...

Some Life Lessons Action vs. Consequences It's alarming that an innocuous action such as putting your foot down on, what turned out to be, a non-existent step, can be one of those before and after points in life. Although I expect to recover as fully as possible, nothing will ever be the same for me again. Not only did I disrupt my own life, but also the life of my wife, my co-workers, and everyone that I am associated with socially and professionally. The ratio of consequence to action is extremely high -- very small action with huge consequences. Life Goes On I'm almost like a ghost, dwelling in the world I previously inhabited.  I found replacements for gigs... and the gigs went on as scheduled. Different, to be sure, but the Earth continued to rotate. My racquetball playing friends are still running and sweating. I'm sure they don't really miss my presence in any material way. Everyone can be replaced -- and this is actually a relief i...

This section will be in "diary" form and I've included this entry largely for my own perspective, though I hope it will be of interest to others who have had quadriceps tendon repair. It's just my own experience -- if there's anything I've learned it's that each individual progresses at his own pace. January 16, 2015 "Operation Day" Early day -- 6:00am at the venue where my surgery would be performed: Texas Orthopedics in northwest Austin. I don't really remember much about this day other than they knocked me out and when I came to, I had a big bandage on my right leg. I had opted for a "nerve block", so I could feel absolutely no pain at the incision. Somehow, Dana managed to get me piled back in the car, and we picked up the prescribed pain meds on the way home -- Hydrocodone  for pain, and Diazepam for potential muscle spasms. I was pretty much out for the day. January 17, 2015 "The Day After" I slept... the ner...

I've written a series of posts related to my recent knee injury. I wrote that for several reasons: 1. They'll explain what happened and why I'm absent from my gigs; 2. They'll be a helpful resource to others with similar injuries; 3. They'll be characteristically witty and entertaining to read, and not become known as "Stringer's Pity Papers"; 4. I don't really have much else to do while I've been lying around waiting for this knee to heal; 5. And last, a chronicle for myself and family... the first three won't change much... the last two, I'll try to keep up to date. PART I - What Happened PART II - What is a Disrupted Quadriceps Tendon PART III - Getting Treatment PART IV - Recovery and Hurdles Along the Way PART V - Some Life Lessons I would appreciate comments and reposts. Thanks --Jim

How I Did It vs. How it Should Be Done I injured my knee on the evening of December 26, 2014. I had surgery to repair the injury on January 16, 2015... exactly 3 weeks. All the authoritative sources say you should 1) be taken to the emergency room; and 2) surgery should be performed as soon as is possible. The tendons and muscles begin atrophy almost immediately and the repair becomes more and more difficult, and less and less effective! So... what happened? First... I'm an idiot musician -- the show must go on. I felt that I need to play the show at Belly Up, regardless of the fact that my role was a bit part. In my nearly 55 years of playing gigs, I can count on one hand that shows that I've cancelled because of health issues. I played my Hall of Fame show in 2007 with a 104 degree fever and walking pneumonia!!! In a snow storm!!! In sub zero weather!!! Geez... you get the picture? Second... as I mentioned, I have a history of pulled muscles. I sort of fig...

Way back in the old days, I was a sprinter, something you certainly would not guess from the present day body that I drag around. I was fast... fastest in the state the year of my graduation. I was offered various full ride track scholarships, but opted to attend the University Of Kansas which had offered me only a small stipend, having spent all the scholarship money on lightning quick, out of state runners. But, it's where my friends were going -- particularly the guys in my high school band. The point of this aside relative to the topic of this blog is that I injured by right quad so many times that I had to drop out of track entirely. I'm no newbie to Quadriceps Injuries in general. However, I entered college in 1966 when we wrote with pens and paper, added and subtracted by "thinking" (or more accurately, by counting on fingers and toes) We avoided long division entirely, when possible. There was NO internet -- all research was done by thumbing through the libr...