“Just a few words in defense of our country
Whose time at the top
Could be coming to an end
Now we don’t want their love
And respect at this point is pretty much out of the question
But in times like these
We sure could use a friend”
I’ve had an interesting week facing the legal system that has become representative of what our nation has turned into. When I was a much younger man our principles included the basic understanding that in a land of freedom we are innocent until proven guilty. This is no longer the truth, as I found out personally this week. Our profession had to be fingerprinted – all of us, this year. I was for it – weed out any potential bad people. Until it turned out a crime I was falsely accused of many years ago popped up on my fingerprint chart. Even though the entire case was thrown out of court because they had the wrong guy - the fact that I was arrested showed up on my record. Wow!!! We finally worked it out, but I had to pay a lawyer to find the paperwork that proved I was found innocent. In other words, even if you are innocent in the eyes of the court, just because you are charged with a crime, you will pay for that charge over and over for the rest of your life. Did you know that? I certainly didn’t. This is not the country I grew up believing in.
So, what better way to release the stress but to visit with Randy Newman? His intense tongue-in-cheek truth telling comes off as humor, and I needed this to laugh at what we have become.
“The end of an empire is messy at best
And this empire is ending
Like all the rest
Like the Spanish Armada adrift on the sea
We’re adrift in the land of the brave
And the home of the free”
Randy Newman does not reserve all his humor for politics. He also doesn’t mind picking on girls. Only A Girl brings us lots of fun. “She's a hundred and ten, maybe five foot five. She won't eat meat, but she'll eat you alive.” And in Pothole we meet religion – “God bless the potholes on memory lane.” His memories are about this here life we all have to live. Love it! “I love my wife - God bless her. I even love my teenage daughter. There's no accounting for it. Apparently I don't care how I'm treated. My love is unconditional or something. I've been hurt a time or two, I ain't gonna lie. I have my doubts sometimes about the ethics of the so-called fairer sex. Fair about what?” A relaxed, laughter-filled party tonight. Thanks! Randy Newman
