Fifty years ago today, a small plane crashed in Iowa killing Buddy Holly.
The death of such a talented figure so prematurely only inspires conjecture. What might rock music be like today had Buddy Holly lived as long as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, or even Elvis or Roy Orbison? I have no doubt that he would have continued to be relevant. If you know even a few Buddy Holly songs you know how versatile he was. “Rave On” and “It’s So Easy” are straight up rockers, but “Everyday” and “True Love Ways” are sensitive love songs. When I was ten years old, I could not think of a better song than “Words of Love”.
Most of the events surrounding the crash are well known, but until a year or so ago I didn’t know that Dion had been offered a seat on the plane. Only his share of the charter price made him take the frozen tour bus instead. His parents’ rent had been $30, and he just couldn’t justify spending so much money for a short plane ride.
I wish Buddy Holly’s parents’ rent had been $30.
Filed under: Musings, Popular Music on February 3rd, 2009 | 1 Comment »
…That Tom Daschle has withdrawn his nomination. Sure, most of his tax problems were ones I could imagine happening to anyone who has multiple sources of income, and spends money in ways that I do not, like receiving rides in limousines and airplanes. And I am still shocked and appalled at the ways in which the rich are not paying their taxes. If I owed the IRS over $100,000 I’d probably be in jail. But all that aside, I think that Tom Daschle, however nice a person he is in his private life, was an exceptionally weak senator who wasn’t strong enough to win reelection for his seat, much less effectively execute a leadership role when he had that opportunity. I feel the same way about Harry Reed today, and Nancy Pelosi in the house. They are lame. The Republicans lost power because their ideas were bad, and their execution of those ideas was even worse. Also, many of them were terrifically corrupt. But Tom Delay was no weakling, and Newt Gingrich had guts. I think they’re both awful people, but they did what their constituents wanted them to do.
I think Barack Obama is a smart, capable man. I want him to be surrounded by other smart, capable people. Tom Daschle doesn’t seem very capable to me.
Filed under: Current Events, Politics on February 3rd, 2009 | No Comments »
I have long been grateful for the good health I enjoy. Those who know me well know how seldom I am sick. Other than my omnipresent nasal congestion–which I attribute to an allergy to dust and cat hair–I almost always feel 100% fine. I did, that is, until I started school last year. I used to credit my good health to a naturally strong immune system and good habits like frequent hand-washing. But my defenses are no match for an enclosed, windowless classroom of sneezing, coughing, wheezing, disease-stricken students. (Not that having windows makes much difference these days, since in most modern buildings, what windows there are are designed not to be opened, but the four different rooms in which I take classes this semester have no windows whatever. One apparently did a long time ago, but they are closed up, and on the other side is a hallway and an elevator.) Germs are all around me all day, and it was inevitable that I’d catch a bad cold sooner or later.
By Saturday evening I was feeling uncomfortable, and Sunday I couldn’t breath through my nose at all. I took a “decongestant” last night. I didn’t read the warning label, but it must read, “side-effects include nasal faucet”. I’d rather be congested. Last night I didn’t sleep at all well, and when I awoke this morning I knew work was a bad idea. It isn’t that I couldn’t have performed my job. It’s not demanding phsically. I remain seated most of the time, and I don’t have much interaction with others. But nobody wants to hear an apparently dying man on the radio, so, I took the extraordinary step of calling in sick. I don’t think I’ve missed a day of work from illness since the 1990s.
So, I am at home today. And even if I were physically able to go out and put the finishing touches on my motorized bicycle, I cannot: it’s been raining all day. This happens every week. Next it’ll turn freezing cold.
School tomorrow will be torture.
Filed under: Health, School on February 2nd, 2009 | No Comments »