My Momma always says, "Everything happens for a reason." Does this mean she believes in fate? In philosophical terms is she a determinist? Are we determined or are we free? I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but every now and then an odd series of coincidences gets me thinking. A few weeks ago at a Mizzou tailgate party, my friend John Briscoe played a Robert Earl Keen CD while we were hanging out waiting for kickoff. It was a great CD of good ol', southern-fried, beer and blues country. The next week another good friend Doug Hurt invited me to my first Wilco concert in downtown Columbia. It was sort of southern fried rock-a-billy with a good dose of rock and blues. It was great. These two friends are old buddies from growing up in Hannibal. It is cool the way distance and time have not been able to stop us from getting together to listen to a good band or drink a few beers. Of course I have made new friends since moving to Columbia including a fun group of guys I lose money to while playing poker. Thanks to my friend Jerry Putting, I met Paul Shields and Roger Phillips. In the world of strange coincidences, fate, or just sheer accidents, Paul just saw Wilco in concert in Texas at the Austin City Limits Festival within a week of me seeing them and wrote about the experience on his blog (Click "Paul's Blog" link). Roger commented that he hoped Paul had been able to catch the Robert Earl Keen concert as well. Weird, huh? It gets weirder.
Paul and Rog have been friends for years, as have John and Doug. Although the two pairs of friends have never met, they have more in common than they could imagine. They all enjoy good music. All but John are accomplished guitar players. They all enjoy drinking a few beers with their buddies. They all lived in Warrensburg in the 1990's. And of course, they all are friends with me. (Lucky them.) Is it coincidence that in three weeks time, all four of these guys mentioned their affection for these two bands? Is it dumb luck that all four have similar political views as well as taste in music? Is it just plain freaky that they all went to CMSU? Is it fate that they have become my friends? It may be. Could it be true that you really can't pick your friends? It seems that fate may have done the picking in this case. If Mom is right that everything happens for a reason, then what reason could there be for us to be brought together and unleashed upon the world? What more does fate have in store? As Briscoe likes to say, "Wait'll they get a load of us... Wait'll."
8 comments:
Very wierd Travis i must admit...But did you know that I was also at the Wilco concert, they're one of my favorite bands in the world! I was an awesome concert and perfect beautiful night outside! I'm so happy you got to experience it as well. Talk to you soon:)
An anonymous philosopher once said: You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose.
Travis, you also to listen to some Steve Earle, some Todd Snider, Lucinda Williams, and Lyle Lovett.
Another good thing is to listen to the old Uncle Tupelo albums. Uncle Tupelo spawned Wilco and Son Volt.
There is tons of great music out there. Most of it never gets played on the radio though. I 'm sure your buddies have more picks for you.
There's also a band from Warrensburg that plays in Columbia every now and again called the 'The Nace Brothers." Go see them and have some beers. You'll have a helluva time.
oh yeah, the remark about Keen was snide because Paulie had to choose between seeing him and seeing Lucinda Williams. It sucks to have to make that choice.
Also, Travis, my good buddy Jeff Arrigo (who comments on this blog and is a contributor to mine) plays shows in the Columbia area that you would enjoy. I will email his schedule.
I also forget to mention two of my favorites: John Prine and John Hiatt. Paulie called me from Austin when John Prine was playing.
I am impressed with the audience participation portion of this blog. Keep those comments coming people.
I chose to see Lucinda Williams instead of Mr. Keen at the festival, and was pretty bumed out that they were playing at the same time. I did get a little bit of a reprieve when he came out and played with Lyle Lovett at the end of the night.
As for your other friends, is one of them an asshole while the other is extreamly good looking and asian? That realy would be a weird coincidence.
Have any of your other friends ever been paid to kill an Asian? Do they know anyone who would do it?
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