One of my hardware customers told me  he lost the lower half of his left leg in the 60s. He also told me he was waiting for one of those new titanium jobbies with the bells and whistles to make his prosthesis perform more life-like.

Today at work, he stopped by and showed us the engineering marvel that is his new leg. He showed us how he has lateral movement in his leg where there was none before. He said the new one weighs 18 pounds less and walking for him is much easier now.

He chose a 60s peace symbol pattern emblazoned on a dark gray calf structure.

I told him he looked ten years younger.

Within my microcosm of America – Downingtown, PA, there are many NFL logos displayed. Sure they are mostly Philadelphia Eagle logos, but there are others.

A lot of people here follow the Steelers because well, they have won a fistful of Super Bowls, and they are a Pennsylvania based team. The Cowboys always have their die-hard fans which for me is annoying. Why? I think many of these errant folks bought into the “America’s Team” PR the ‘Boys do so well. I also think there exist contrarians who root for a team just to annoy people who root for home teams. They are low grade trouble makers who usually surface when their team wins but cloak themselves like a Klingon bird of prey after a loss. They seem to be heavily staffed by Cowboy fans.

There is a pecking order of NFL teams in America. As hard as it is for me to admit, the Dallas Cowboys are the most followed team. Behind them are perennial favorites like the Washington Redskins, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Check the league’s listing each week and you’ll see a profound inbalance. The same teams always play and many others get national play only when they’re on an evening game. There’s a good reason the National Football League doesn’t promote itself as a democracy. “Fair and Balanced” isn’t their motto either.

Seeing a NFL logo for teams not followed outside of their own turfs, e.g., Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders makes me wonder about its owner. Are they transplanted fans or are they truly marching to the beat of the different drummer? Either way; good for them.

Final point: I admire hard core fans of all stripes as long as they hang in there during their team’s waning years too. The less acceptable fan is the famed “front runner” who drifts from team to team depending on who’s winning. 

But in the end, it’s only sports.

My favorite singers list tilts toward women. Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell and Patsy Cline are in and so are Joan Baez, Gracie Slick and Judy Collins. Each has stood the test of time and have fans measured in legions. Joni Mitchell would also be near the top of my favorite song writers, too.

I had one of those calming moments when kicking back is better than keeping on schedule. After I parked the car, I opted not to run inside the state store to buy wine. Instead, I listened to a NPR story about  my Queen of Country Music, Patsy Cline. As a teenager, I’d hid my admiration for her work from my friends to avoid ridicule. Inside my little band of Rock & Rollers, liking Country Music was bad enough but a woman too.

What is it about Patsy Cline that push my buttons? A line from the movie about her life called “Sweet Dreams” says it for me. “When she sings, the hair on the back of my neck stands up”. Her voice was sweet and piercing. The songs her handlers selected for her are timeless. Her vocal stylings didn’t match the then accepted Country type, but she made it work and was better for it. Cline could make the listener feel the pain of the lyrics. Her songs made it clear, even to men, how much pain losing love can cause women.

During Patsy Cline’s brief career she was able to cross over from Country to Pop and back again. She was the pioneer for many future female Country singers. Her Rock counterpart was Janis Joplin because they kicked down doors while the others waited timidly outside.

Patsy Cline’s days of music ended when she became another victim of the “road”. Flying home from a gig, her small plane slammed into a hill killing her and all other passengers. Along with Buddy Holly before her, this was another day the music died.

We are lucky to have a treasury of her work to sustain us especially when our love has done us wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patsy_Cline

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Holly