John Denver et al

I was talking to someone today, a good friend actually, and they made the following remark. “ No one ever really liked John Denver or Neil Diamond or Barry Manilow, so you (meaning me) must be slightly off kilter or weird.” Now I admit that Barry Manilow isn’t someone I listen to very much although he did do a couple of things that I liked. And I also admit that none of the three are well thought of musically now-a-days by those who profess knowledge in these things. You know … these guys are not cool / hip / bad / or whatever word of jargon is extant.

But, …. listen up here. These guys each sold millions of records and played to sellout houses nationwide and world wide. Someone must have liked them … me for one … and been willing to fork over hard earned bread to hear them.

Neil Diamond wrote and sang some of the best songs ever. I mean … ‘Solitary Man, Forever in Bluejeans, Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show, Cherry Cherry, He Ain’t Heavy (he’s my brother)’, et al ad infinitum.

John Denver, whom I still listen to regularly, pleases me as few others do. Just listening to ‘Back Home Again, Annie’s Song, Starwood in Aspen, I’m Sorry, Sweet Surrender’, and many others puts me in a better frame of mind and mellows me out. A bottle of German white wine, some good cheese and John on the stereo really washes the cares of the world off my back and right down the drain. Now, I’ll admit I dislike Thank God I’m a Country Boy immensely and have heard Take Me Home Country Roads 3000 times too many, although I liked it initially. He had 14 gold albums and 8 platinum albums in the U.S as well as numerous gold and platinum sales overseas, and was elected to the Songwriter's Hall Of Fame.

Now for my point .. bet you didn’t think that I had one, huh? ….. we live in a ME / NOW/ THROW AWAY society. We do not respect anything that is not CURRENTLY in vogue. Passe’ comes quickly and when something is passe’… we heap dirt upon it. Ray Charles once said .. “there’s only two kinds of music, good and bad.” Right on Ray !

So now I sit and listen to some John Denver… his real name was Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. and his father was a General in the Air Force. He lived in Tucson for a few years in his early teens … 11 through 14 I believe … and was a member of the world famous Tucson Boy’s Chorus. I do not have any wine, times are hard, but I already feel better. I did not and do not endorse his political beliefs and all of his causes, but damn … he could write and sing.

Love from the desert.

The day with no mojados (wetbacks)

O.K., they marched and complained and .... played the race card big time. Here in Tucson, there were Mexican-American and Latin-American anti demonstrators also. They believed that since they came here the hard way, learned our history, learned English, pay taxes and pay attention to our laws and are proud to be American ..... these illegals should DO THE SAME.

Hooray for our side.

These illegals BROKE THE LAW ... are BREAKING THE LAW and yet DEMAND THEIR RIGHTS. Illegals HAVE NO RIGHTS. Why is that difficult to understand? To many people in America, these sentences that I wrote and the thoughts that I have are felt to be racist. NO ONE who knows me even a little, believes that I am predjudiced.

An Opinion

I did not write this, but I agree with it 100%.

IMMIGRANTS, NOT AMERICANS, MUST ADAPT.
I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Americans. However...... the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the "politically correct! " crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.

I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of America being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans ...... we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.

We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language!

"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan.. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women ....... on Christian principles ....... founded this nation ..... and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home.........because God is part of our culture.

If Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don't like Uncle Sam, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, our land, and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every citizen the right to express his opinion and we will allow you every opportunity to do so! But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag / our pledge / our national motto / or our way of life .... I highly encourage you to take advantage of one other Great American Freedom ... THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

Random thoughts, .. do I ever have other kinds?

Here in the desert southwest, we are in full late-spring swing. Temperatures in the 90's for at least the next seven days. It is 65 here now (0500 hrs ..... 5 AM) It is supposed to be over 100 in the western part of the state today, around Gila Bend or Yuma I think. At least we don't get those violent storms like the ones in Texas last week.

Today is .. "The Day Without Immigrants". Excuse me, but immigrants are people who legally immigrate to the U.S. Illegal aliens are not immigrants, they are criminals. And don't give me that stuff about them taking jobs that no one else wants at minimum wage. In Tucson, there are MANY of them in the $10-$18 per hour range. That is more than I make. A company that I used to work for, Patio Pools of Arizona, had to hold seperate safety meetings each month for half the employees because they could not/ would not understand English. At Escalante Concrete, they had 7-8 people working on the same driver's license / social security card. Those were just the ones I knew about. Where I work now, there is a guy named Leo, real name Raul, who makes the same per hour that I make but he doesn't pay taxes. He is paid in cash, as are all the cleaning people. He speaks no English, although I know that he understands it. I've caught him several times in situations that he had to clearly understand what we were saying in order to do what he did. I have nothing against Mexican-Americans, but I am steadfastly against illegal aliens.