Volume 9 – #6 – June 2006

Remember when Nat King Cole sang, “Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer; those days of terror and worry and fear.” You know, one of the big problems with politicians these days is that they all, liberals and conservatives, refer way too much to an ideal that our “wise” forefathers gave birth to while being guided by something divine. I know the revolutionaries that extracted the colonies from British rule contained some bigger-than-life-characters, but they were still just people living in an unstable time and environment, determined to make things better for themselves and their children, but I think only a handful of them had me, almost 250 years in the future, in mind. No one can agree on the interpretation of many aspects of the Constitution and the debates rage on. Obviously, if a Republican and a Democrat are at complete odds about what the Constitution means and each has an educated, clever lawyer to back up his viewpoint, some degree of faith in the system may be shaken. It just seems that this “I’m right, you’re wrong” approach to discussion is futile. I wish, just once, a passionate debater would declare to his or her opponent, “You know what, I have to say, you make more sense than I do.” Maybe it’s time to separate the few truly critical issues where absolutes must apply from issues where immediate efforts at compromise are required. I think we need to stop thinking about the grandness of this country’s past and work more from a point of view of what’s fair and just right now. Also, I have no idea what I’m talking about and I’m sure the picture is much murkier than I can ever imagine. I wish our brains would only allow us to have strong opinions about ten things. It would be up to each of us to decide what would go on that list. Beyond that, we would all be pretty easy going. Hmmm. This is beginning to sound like a made for TV sci-fi movie from the 1970s, called OPINION-FREE HUMANOIDS WALK AMONG US, starring Lindsay Wagner, Tom Selleck and Rob Reiner, brought to you by Suave Shampoo. Gosh, there sure have been a lot of movies made (big screen and TV) since the 1970s. I wonder how many? Dustin Hoffman and Steve Martin have been in a lot, not to mention several thousand other actors, like Warren Beatty, Eddie Murphy and Sandra Bullock. Think of all the actors that had high ambitions that never made it past one horrible independent film that disillusioned everyone involved. There are so many tragic tales in the world of entertainment, like the girl in Raleigh, North Carolina, who got a gig as a singer in a hotel restaurant bar and sang her heart out for a week. No one much noticed and then the bar closed and the hotel turned it into a souvenir shop that was not at all interested in having a mediocre singer hanging around, taking up space.

Relevant joke:
Democrat Senator: President Bush can’t do this! It’s wrong, based on the Constitution!
Republican Senator: Yes, he can! We’re at war! So, his actions are justified!
Democrat Senator: No, he can’t!
Republican Senator: Yes, he can!
Democrat Senator: No, he can’t!
Republican Senator: Yes, he can!
Democrat Senator: No, he can’t!
One month and one trillion dollars later:
Republican Senator: Yes, he can, damn it!
Democrat Senator: No, he can’t, damn it!
(You can laugh now)

HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME. In Denton, Texas, the proud hometown of Sly Stone, things are dry and brittle. The ground is cracking more with each passing, rainless day. Yet other parts of the country are suffering from unusual and severe flooding. Why can’t we, as a country, at least get together on this? I, for one, would be happy to share some of our drought with anyone, if they could just shoot a little moisture our way. Does it take a genius to see the ridiculousness of our current system? Think about it. The Southwest is about to blow away or burn up and the Northeast is waterlogged. Why aren’t the scientists and politicians working on changing these simple laws of nature? Okay, now let’s all go to a parking lot and buy a snow cone. Party!

Speaking of Denton, your vacation destination, did you know that Brave Combo has a storefront office right on Locust Street, just a block and a half north of the downtown square? If you’re ever in the area, come by and we’ll take your picture standing by our front door. If we’re not here, someone from the insurance office next door will take it, I’m sure. We recently painted our mailbox. It looks pretty good.

Brave Combo is on the road and probably heading your way. Don’t forget to alert the mayor and roll out the red carpet. We are accepting keys to cities if any of them care to give us one. Please check out our itinerary and make your plans to attend one of our concerts or healing services. We’re a happy, rockin’ bunch of musical misfits, designed to fit in your pocket or purse. You can feed us breadcrumbs with the pigeons or launch us to the moon. It’s all the same to Brave Combo. We’re polka ambassadors, dedicated to playing music for anyone who will listen. Some special events coming up include the Polka Fireworks Festival in Champion, PA, Polish Fest in Cheektowaga, NY, Midsummer Night’s Swing at Lincoln Center in New York City and the J. Paul Getty Summer Music Series in Los Angeles. So, as we zoom along, I hope your days are pleasant, even if the weather sucks. And when you finally rest your head on the pillow, may the most relaxing polka ever-imagined play softly in your ears.