Counterpoint

I'm sacrificing myself on the altar of my blog, telling y'all something incredibly embarrassing for no reason other than because it's good for the story. Does anyone know who Tom T. Hall is? If you don't, he's a Country-Western singer, popular (if that's the right word) in the 70s. He had a song called "I Like Beer" that's beside the point except that Lori and I have sung it together to odd effect. And he had this song, which holds a place within me. I'll share the lyrics, and then I'll explain.

Tom T. Hall - "I Love"
I love little baby ducks,
old pick-up trucks,
slow movin trains, and rain.

I love little country streams,
sleep without dreams,
Sunday school in May, and hay.

And I love you too.

I love leaves in the wind,
pictures of my friends,
birds of the world, and squirrels.

I love coffee in a cup,
little fuzzy pups,
bourbon in a glass, and grass.

And I love you too.

I love honest open smiles,
kisses from a child,
tomatoes on a vine, and onions.

I love winners when they cry,
losers when they try,
music when its good, and life.

And I love you too.

My parents used to play albums (yeah, albums, the old wax 33 1/3 things that one put on a turntable and to which one applied a needle, that were scratchy and had character - those things) all the time. Lots of country, but also old rock-n-roll and some folk and blues and a little jazz and classical. Every now and then they'd edge toward the truly modern, but they'd usually take a detour and it'd be scary, turning out to be something like Rod Stewart (who wants to listen to that with their parents when they're 13?!) So I grew up listening to Buddy Holly, Patsy Cline, the Everly Brothers, Charley Pride, Charlie Rich, Tom T. Hall, George Jones (w/ and w/o Tammy W.), Dolly, et al. And even though I sing worse than I dance, I sang along with everything, and I have an encyclopedic memory of song lyrics. And Tom T. was one of our favorites. We'd listen to "Faster Horses (Younger Women, Older Whiskey, and More Money...)", "I Like Beer", "Old Dogs, Children & Watermelon Wine", and "I Love," and sing along - often while driving to relatives' houses. I think we probably played through the tape that we made off the album. (Yeah, J-P-R, it's a long-standing tradition.)

So I've had this song running through my head for a while. Ever since someone donated a Charley Pride CD to S*PL, as a matter of fact, on March 1. That made me think of the old songs, including "I Love." For a while I thought I'd try to rewrite it with stuff that I love, but it would be way too hard. I'm no songwriter. Instead, I'll just make another list, a counterpoint to yesterday's rant, to state emphatically what I love.

1. Garlicky dill pickles, not too sour, preferably Gedney's (it's the Minnesota pickle)

2. Playing music really, really loud on the way home after a long day at work. Currently alternating between "Send Me on My Way" by Rusted Root (I bought When I Woke specifically for that song - how high school! - but I love the whole thing) and "When I Come Around" by Green Day.

3. Baseball. Cubs win! Cubs win! Greg Maddux is so amazing. But I'd be uniformly happy if Eric Karros was still in blue. Good for the field, and invaluable for the clubhouse.

4. Not being quite as poor as usual. Don't get me wrong - working full-time is for the birds (don't take offense, Robert - I mean no harm to the winged creatures), but the increased salary is compensation for my pain.

5. Sleeping late.

6. Staying up late.

7. The extra-soft fur on my cat H0bbes' cheeks and neck. And the extra-sleek fur behind my cat P00ke's ears.

8. My parents. Beyond being great parents, they're good friends, wonderful support, fabulous cheerleaders, excellent company, interesting correspondents, and worthy role-models. Were I to end up in their shoes as a full-fledged adult, I'd be a success on all counts. (And no, they're not reading this - they know nothing about it.)

9. Coca-Cola. Nectar of the Gods. Juice of heaven. I don't drink nearly as much of it as I used to, so I enjoy every drop a hundred times more. Joy in a can or bottle. (Or from a fountain, but only if unavailable from a can, first, or bottle.)

10. Nail polish. I have scrubby, weak nails from processing and the skin on my hands is dry from winter, but I still love nail polish. I'd buy bottles of it every time I got a haircut if Lori would let me. Which she won't. I did get a bottle today, though - OPI "Chapel of Love". Very pink.

11. Buttered toast.

12. My friends. The ones I spend lots of time with in person, the ones I see once in a while (or will see this summer for the first time in too long), the ones I haven't seen in too long but keep in touch with through email, and the ones I've made through blogworld. Empowering and humbling at once. And I'm grateful.

13. And I love beer, too. Tee hee.