And the Beat Goes On

What a relief. I have been able to replace my old car. Took some time but the right deal came along. Not new by any stretch. A 2004 SUV. A gas guzzler. I would prefer a car. My wife and I spent time discussing what would be most practical. A car or a truck. I wanted a car. She thought it would be handy to have a truck. We compromised. An SUV with a hitch. What I like about the SUV is how easy it is to get in and out. I know. This ages me. Just wait till I tell you about my music preferences. And it has all-wheel drive, so hopefully won’t get stuck this winter. Not that that was a problem. Probably take more chances knowing that I have the all-wheel drive.

I have put on a lot of miles over the last two weeks. During the vehicle buying experience I was told that I was in the top 1 – 2% of drivers based on miles I drive in a year. I found that just a little interesting and a little disturbing. Whether that in fact is factual or not is beside the point. I spend a lot of my life on the road. What I have known for a while is that when I drive I spend a lot of time thinking. Most often, far too much time thinking. I get tired of thinking about my thinking. I stew. I get angry. I feel resentful. I wallow in self-pity. Why is that? Had a chuckle this week when I read the following quote. “it's very strange when the life you never had flashes before your eyes”. That sounds so much like some of my thinking. Always wishing something could have been different. Always thinking, “what if”.

I know from past experience that listening to music helps me be in a better frame of mind. So why don’t I listen to more music? Not sure. I do occasionally listen to news. Generally that will be on CJOB. They have some good sports reporting as well. Particularly during football season. Invariably what happens is I end up listening to some right wing talk show that just adds to my frustration and anger. So I need to get back to listening to music.

And I am. When I first drove my “new to me” vehicle the radio was set to an FM station that plays hits of the 70 and 80’s. Awesome music. I can sing along with many of the songs. Spooks my passengers. On occasion it spooks me as well. I had forgotten about the awesome tunes we had back in the 80’s. Weird how I can sing along with the song but have no clue who the band is. Unfortunately I lose reception about half way home from Winnipeg so then have to find something else to listen to.

And so it goes. I keep traveling the highways and byways. Meet a lot of interesting people. Have lots of food for thought. But spend too much time lost in a world of negativity. So I will change that. Listen to more music. Get carried away in the rhythm and lyrics. It’s neat. It cheers me up. And the beat goes on. Make it a good one.