Hey everybody!
      Hope everyone is doing okay this week.  For us Gamecock fans, today starts the kickoff of college football.  This year ought to be interesting.
      I’ve got a question for you.  Do you ever open your mouth and say the opposite of what you’re actually thinking?  I sure do.  Yeah, that’s not exactly a good thing.  But, so far it’s kept me employed, out of prison and avoided a few fist fights…probably saved my life on more than one occasion.  
     Why do we not say what we mean?  There’s a lot of reasons I can come up with for that one.  First off, sarcasm.  Now, this decision has probably caused me more arguments and heartache, than preventive maintenance.   Sometimes it’s worth it.  But, I’ve found the best use of sarcasm is for making people laugh.  Otherwise, it works better as fat lighter to ignite an argument…turning a match flame into a bonfire. 
Maybe we say the opposite of our thoughts, because revealing the truth would hurt someone else.  It’s difficult to admit hard truths.  Some do it to keep secrets and hide the truth, out of guilt.  Others assume no one cares at all.  Some of us do it in defense.  “I’ve been hurt before and I won’t let you close enough to hurt me too”.  Some folks are obsessed with the opinion of others, and will say or do anything to give the impression of perfection.  Heck, I’ve done it, cause I knew what kind of answer they wanted, so I gave it to them.  I am long over the days of trying to prove I’m right in an argument.  The absolute hardest thing in the world, is fighting the urge to lash out.  We think we’ll feel better if we knock ’em out with our clever hurtful words.  We think making them hurt too, eill make us feel better. And even when I’ve proven my point,  most times it still didn’t add any real value to my life or theirs.  Just adding more quicksand to shaky ground.  It really is true that most folks won’t remember what you said.  What they absolutely WILL remember is how you made them feel.
My friend Lori told me a long time ago, “Think about whether it’ll matter 100 years from now.  If it won’t,  then don’t worry about it.”  She also mentioned how very short that list must be.  I do believe she’s right.

     John Mayer is a great musician.  Watching him sing is a little painful for me, but if I’m not looking at his face antics, I can listen to him all day!  He has this one song called, “Perfectly Lonely”.  First time I head it, he was singing a duet with Keith Urban on a CMT Crossroads tv episode.  The storyline is about a guy who is trying to convince everyone that he’s very content being single.  The tempo and melody of the tune are very upbeat, which makes it feel like a get happy kinda song.  Music is always open to the interpretation of each individual listener.  So for me, even though I’m bee bopping to this cheery sounding song,  there is still an element of an opposite truth at work.  The more he sings, “That’s the way,  that’s the way, that’s the way that I want it”…the more convinced I am that’s he’s putting on a good front, to cover his true feelings.  Obviously,  a very clever concept and play on words for the storyline of this song.  I’m still surprised everytime I listen to it, how it just makes me wanna drive down the road, with my hair blowing in the wind and wanna be alone and cry all at the same time.  Now I’m confused, LOL!!!!  Just kidding.   It truly does conjure up several conflicting emotions.  It was also one of the first songs I ever played decent half bar chords on the guitar, and I was proud that I was playing in a key that had several flats too.  Using flats while playing piano or French horn is normal.  But, on guitar, I find more sharps in the key signature, typically.  Now, if I completely lost you at half bar chords and key signatures,  it’s ok.  That’s a musician’s way of saying I played something on guitar I couldn’t do before, without cramping my left hand and my brain!  All of this juxtaposition and hand/brain cramps from one song.  Go figure.
What kinda plans y’all got for Labor Day weekend?  Our band, Sanctuary Blues Band, is performing in a Battle of the Bands show/contest at The Frayed Knot in Chapin, SC in Dreher Island Rd.  We’ll be jamming out on a huge rig and stage, that’s actually out on the water at Lake Murray.

We play Saturday night at 6:30pm & go til 9pm.  But there will be great bands starting around noon on all 3 days.  So, come check ’em out.  And come say hey!!!  It’s gonna be a par-tay!!
Well, whatever you do, please be safe. Have a great weekend, my friends!!!!  We’ll talk again soon.  Love to all.