Two Worlds and a side of trepidation

I moved to San Diego just prior to entering the new millennium. San Diego was a very different place from what I was accustomed. I had left behind a slower pace of life and the community which I had come to know as ‘home’, for a city that moved at a much faster pace and a lot more expensive to live.

I had considered moving to Montana instead of San Diego, but in San Diego, I had at least the support of my brother and sister. Montana offered what I craved at the time… peace and solitude. San Diego offered opportunities. The pragmatic side of me won out, so San Diego became ‘home’ for the next twenty-plus years.

Recently, I’ve the feeling of being torn between two worlds. San Diego is a great place to live. It has pretty much anything and everything a person could want. But I’m tired. Increasingly of late, I’ve found myself longing for solitude once again. And I long for peace.

Peace… an interesting concept. I don’t rightly know what it is, and I doubt if I will ever find it. But I think, peace is no longer feeling alienated… no longer trying to ‘fit in’… returning to the area of my youth and attempting to reclaim a part of myself, I somehow lost long ago… an attempt to return to simpler times.

The nerd in me is reminded of Frodo leaving Middle Earth in LoTR. He left because his past injuries were too much to bear, and he sought relief from his wounds in the Undying Lands. But even in the Undying Lands, he still bore the Gift of Man. I think this may be what I’m seeking… relief in my version of the Undying Lands and ultimately embracing the Gift of Men.

 

 

 

Meat Loaf on my birthday

 

 

I grew up during the late 70’s to late 80’s. Music during that period was in constant change. One of the first songs that made an impression upon me was a ballad by Meat Loaf, ‘Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad’. The song was about a young man who loved a girl very deeply but she ended up leaving him. Some time later she comes back to him, but his badly wounded heart had moved on, and so he rejects her.

Meat Loaf’s musical style can be best described as Rock Opera. His long-time friend and songwriter was Jim Steinman, who passed away in April of 2021. Steinman wrote many songs for many performers. A few of those other performers were  Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, and Taylor Dayne. But, Meat Loaf was Steinman’s greatest collaborator. Meat Loaf brought Steinman’s songs to life. He gave the songs the theatrical performance they deserved. Bat Out of Hell was both Steinman’s and Meat Loaf’s greatest masterpiece.

Sadly, Meat Loaf passed away on January 20, 2022… my birthday.

 

 

 

 

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