No way to breathe easy, no time to be young

Actually, there is a WAY, but we can agree that these are trying times.



I had a Maxell UDXL-II tape of Dreamboat Annie that, according to some who were there, played almost endlessly in my first car.

Doubt is normal

It's OK. While there is Truth, there are many uncertainties in this life. Many believers become uncomfortable when events in life are not aligned as they believe they should be, and may even become discouraged in their faith as a result.

1 The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

2 How long, Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.

The Lord’s Answer

5 “Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,[a]
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
to seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9 they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes[b] advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners like sand.
10 They mock kings
and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by building earthen ramps they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—
guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”

 

Pastor Brandon this morning - illustrated from the book of Habakkuk - had a great alliterative message for such times: Don't duck or dodge it when you're dogged with doubt!

Oh, Diane!

This is a bit thematically linked to yesterday's post, inasmuch as Lindsey Buckingham reportedly learned - at least in part - his fingerpicking style from listening to Kingston Trio/John Stewart records.

Here, from Mirage, is a LB song with Fleetwood Mac, that seems to evoke, possibly, some of the influence from touring with the Everly Brothers in the early '70s.  This was one of my favorite songs on my college commute to Denton.

I won't promise not to try

I know where there's a small lake ringed with cottages. As a little kid I was enchanted by the place - at the far end of the lake, I can recall sitting in a cold duck blind with my Grandfather, Dad and Uncle, and a thermos of hot coffee, watching over a spread of decoys. Great memories.

Everybody wants it

This is a pretty strong lineup for the performance of this song. Maybe it's because of the orchestral accompaniment, but I can almost hear some Ritchie Blackmore in MK's guitar riffs:

No more cloudy days

In about two weeks, it will be three years since the passing of Glenn Lewis Frey. I ran across this tribute, very nicely done, the other day:



Not entirely related, but I also happened upon a post-firing interview with Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, in which he discussed that he and the band have come to a financial settlement in the wake of his dismissal from the group. Given the band's tumultuous roster history, it's not inconceivable (if that word means what I think it means, and I believe it does) that the Mac may - at some future date - once again feature the fingerpicking guitarist.

On this site, and possibly in commentary elsewhere, I have opined about the selected replacement(s) for Mr. Buckingham. Viewing the above performance, I had an epiphany regarding whom I would have chosen had Miss Nicks departed instead. Ms. Crow is certainly familiar with some of the material (Landslide in particular), and has a solid body of her own work. She had allegedly been considered in the past as a replacement for Christine McVie, during the latter's hiatus from the band. Still, the group's creative apogee is represented in 'the five'.

Back to Mr. Frey - here's hoping for clearer skies in 2019: