Like the song says, “Well my mind is going through them changes.” And yeah we all change as we get older. But I never thought I’d see some of the changes I’ve experienced. I’m not talking about wrinkles and poor eyesight. I find myself looking at the world and the people in it a lot differently.

Part of that, I know, is due to the world changing around me. But another part of it is changes in my own attitudes toward certain things. I guess one of the biggest personal changes I’ve noticed is my taste in music. There was a time when I wouldn’t spend even a second listening to anything outside of Classic Rock or Delta Blues. And I still maintain they’re the two greatest genres of music ever conceived by the human mind.

But nowadays I’ve taken more to folk music and sea shanties (like “Drunken Sailor”). And time was that only a few female artists (mainly Joan Jett and Pat Benatar) got my attention. I was all about Steven Tyler’s screech or John Kay’s thunderous roar, or the distinct rumble of Billy Gibbons. But nowadays I also love to listen to the angelic voices of Joss Stone, Malinda Reese, Rachael Hardy and others. I find them soothing to listen to. And on occasion I enjoy a rowdy tune or two from Beth Hart, whom I believe is criminally underrated.

And maybe “soothing” is what the changes are about. There’s a lot on my tired mind. I’m well-aware that I have more years behind me than ahead. Given my health issues, I’ll consider myself lucky to see another 10 or 12 years in this world. The idea of being dead doesn’t really bother me except that I can’t help but wonder what I’ll miss. Someday space tourism will be just a normal thing, like visiting Niagara Falls or Carlsbad Caverns. I wanted to rent a dune buggy and ride it across a Martian desert. But that seems doubtful at this point. Being dead isn’t a problem. But I can see where getting dead may be problematic. What the hell, it’s coming right? It ain’t like any of us has a choice.

I also find myself lacking patience with stupid people, and boy oh boy do we ever have a shit-ton of those nowadays. No facet of humanity has been spared. The stupid virus is a pandemic. Conservatives and liberals, atheists and theists, young and old, both sexes and every nationality has its share of infected people.

There was a time when I’d dive into a debate with these people. But anymore it just makes me tired. Once they’re infected with Stupid-19 or whatever it is, they are immune to reason. The really scary part is that a lot of these diseased brains are winning elections and passing laws. They’re easy to spot – just look for anyone with extreme views on any issue. They’re either left of Bernie Sanders or right of Newt Gingrich. Moderates are a dying breed.

And for the love of Petes (and KWs and Western Stars), will you sniveling jackasses in your cars PLEASE watch where you’re going?! Before I retired it was a daily event to have to dodge some asshole in a car or RV that wasn’t watching where they were going. Yes there are bad truck drivers, too. But you people in your cars have given me far more nervous breakdowns than truckers ever did. Stop playing with your phone or reading the newspaper or having sex (this happens) and Watch. Your. Driving. Driving while stupid can get you (or someone else) killed.

I wish I could just wash my hands of it all and walk away. But no, I can’t do that. I feel like if I don’t occasionally trim back the bullshit bush it’ll overrun my yard. But I am however scaling back my efforts. If you wanna be stupid, then be stupid. Go ahead and rail against capitalism or women’s rights or free thought or democracy or whatever it is that gets your juices flowing. If I see you I’ll probably just block you. Then again I might get so far up your ass you won’t sit down for a week. I’m mostly tired of fighting, but every now and again I still see something or someone that jerks my chain. You’ve been warned.

See y’all next time.