The Machine’s Pump Volume 24 – #3– March 2021

There is a universe, which contains everything. There are galaxies within the universe. There are solar systems within the galaxies. Stars, planets, asteroids, and comets make up solar systems, although comets may travel outside of its solar system. Earth is a planet within a solar system. On Earth we find land masses and water masses. People have gathered on different clumps of land masses around planet Earth and have formed countries, which contain states and territories and cities and communities. I live in one city with my family. We are one family in one house in a city full of houses, but at my house we had to decide to put our 15-year-old boy dog to sleep a couple of days ago. His name was Bobby. We rescued him and his sister, Foxey, and their mother, shortly after he and Foxey were born. So, for right here, right now, nothing has mattered but Bobby and his needs. He suddenly stopped eating about a month ago. We’ve been through this many times with other pets over the years and started bracing for the reason. Our fears were confirmed via ultrasound. Wide-spread cancer, of course. He was fine one minute, on the road to the death, the next. It’s been a bad month and, in fact, culminated with the worst possible outcome, other than he only suffered for about a month. He left behind a very sad family and a confused and anxious sister. For now, Foxey is getting more attention and treats than ever before. I see more walks in her future, too. We have a big backyard, and she looks pretty lonely, standing in the middle of it, by herself. And in the house, she is constantly surrounded by cats, of which she’s always been just a little scared. We’ve rarely had just one dog. The balance is way off. I could tell you what a great dog Bobby was and describe his unique quirks, but you probably already know how great dogs are. The most positive and cliché word I can use to describe our current state is “surreal,” which is better than the word “devastated” from a couple of days ago. But, you know, life goes on, right? It just keeps on keeping on. All of Earth’s beings, no matter what, are just brief blips on the screen. We use our time the way we use it. Then we move on. So what’s the point? We’ll get to that.

New corny autobiographical lyrics to a song which will never go beyond the lyrics stage because, well, see for yourself.
GOT TWO SHOTS OF PFIZER
NOW I’M SAFE AND WISER
BOTH WERE QUICK AND EASY
NEITHER MADE ME QUEASY
(REPEAT)

I never wanted Brave Combo to be viewed as a novelty act, plus I never paid much attention to songs built around funny, clever lyrics a whole lot, like Ray Stevens stuff or something like Steve Martin’s “King Tut.” I know a lot of people love that sort of thing, but usually one listen is more than enough for me. The occasional clever line or funny reference within a thought-provoking verse was fine, but, for my tastes, not a lyric full of one-liners. This isn’t to say I don’t appreciate people who can pull it off. It’s like I can appreciate a person is a great golfer but also have zero interest in it. When I was a kid I water-skied a lot and LOVED it, but when we went on a family vacation to Florida once and saw the super fancy colorful water-skiing exhibition at Cypress Gardens, I thought it was pretty boring. The best part of that whole vacation was collecting all the cool kids’ placemats from the various restaurants where we ate. Anyway, I am ALL VAXXED UP and ready to continue wearing my mask, as if I were not ALL VAXXED UP! Not quite READY TO ROCK!!!!

THE FUTURE. Believe it or not, many gigs appear to be looming ahead. Only a handful will happen between now and the end of summer. But then, if the good Lord’s willin’ and the COVID numbers don’t rise, Brave Combo’s gonna be insanely busy the rest of the year, with the emphasis on insane. I might have to look at this as a fresh beginning; a beautiful butterfly emerging from an 18-month cocoon. Imagine the buzz! “BC’s got a whole new look, everybody! Check out their happening duds!” Everyone will think we’re “Q” and will be screaming, “Mod, Baby, Mod!” I liked the Mod look when I was in junior high. Striped shirts with solid cuffs and collars and designs like paisleys, whatever those were supposed to be. I never looked better. Seriously and sadly.

THE POINT. So, in the previous issue of THE MACHINE’S PUMP I started the process of explaining what’s going on, in the big picture, from my perspective and focused on the Golden Rule, which, basically says don’t judge others and treat them as equals. This is a cornerstone of most religions and I wondered, beyond it being the nice thing to do, why this, as an activity kept coming up. On one hand, something like the Golden Rule, seems pretty simple, like a little kid’s lesson in Sunday School on getting along with each other. But what if it’s actually a key; a means of connecting your current little self with your bigger spiritual self, with the results being that you have proof of the existence of that spiritual self, which transcends your attachment to Earth. Isn’t this the reward most religions offer; to be less attached so the hassles and horrors of Earthly life don’t hurt so much? With that in mind, here’s an exercise, if you care to follow me down this rabbit hole.

EXERCISE #1: Try to become less opinionated; to reduce the actual number of your opinions and/or reduce the intensity of most of your opinions. This doesn’t apply to those issues of which you are understandably passionate, but it might apply to how you feel about those people who have a different opinion from yours. This is mainly an exercise to get you comfortable with the process and to prepare you for what’s to come, by starting to think about opinions as things and to become aware of how many of the little critters are out there.

Please check our itinerary often. I anticipate unanticipated gigs to pop up quickly, like a Spring Texas Thunderstorm and you don’t want to be caught out in the rain with your pants around your knees with egg on your face, do you? Okay then. Chin up! Here’s a cool song. Listen to it and be glad!