Western Takes

They say with age comes wisdom. Okay, I don't know who "they" are or if they even say it, I just know that I say it. Of course, my children might say that with age comes senility. They could be right. I honestly couldn't tell you if my decision to do a weekly blog on the "meaning of life and other stuff" in 2014 was the result of wisdom or senility. Once I was into it hot and heavy, trying to meet my self-imposed deadline each week, I began to think that I'd lost my mind to attempt such a thing. This suggests that senility was the most important factor in my decision. Once I was committed though, I was determined to see it through. The title of this book begins with the words "Western Takes." Let me clarify that this does not mean I'm a cowboy. I'm not. I do know some mighty good cowboys and I've learned a lot from them, much of which I've included in these essays. In my job as an itinerant musician, I travel all over the Western United States. I visit with people and try to listen very carefully to what they have to say on a range of topics, including but not limited to, politics, religion, family values, rainfall patterns, music, horses and cattle. In these essays, I attempted to strike a balance in tone and topic between humor and sentimentality. Here and there, I included some discussion on the state of politics in our country today as I see it (that would be an angry tone on my part). If there are any pearls of wisdom in this collection, you're welcome to keep them. If there are "pearls of senility," feel free to drop them like a hot rock. I hope you enjoy what I've written. I hope some of it makes you laugh; I hope some of it brings a tear to your eye; I hope some of it makes you feel righteously indignant; and I hope all of it makes you think just a bit.