This blog was going to be on a different topic.  But as the title might suggest, the original idea is no longer around. Let me explain…

Last night before I fell asleep, I thought of blending two creative ideas that wouldn’t normally go together.  I knew it would be a great subject to write about for the blog that I was planning to work on first thing in the morning.  You’ll have to take my word on this.  I know that a good idea can vanish within thirty seconds, so I grabbed my iPhone to make a note.  Alas…

Queen Elizabeth, as played by Judi Dench in the movie “Shakespeare in Love,” must walk across a muddy road.  The courtiers wait for her to begin crossing, then realize they are supposed to cover the mud with their coats.  But the Queen has already stepped into the mud.

“Too late, too late,” she says as they scramble around her.

Her words echoed in my mind (she won the Academy Award for her performance) as I wrote “BLOG IDEA,” on my iPhone. Because that was as far as I got.  The idea had already vanished.  It must have been a really good idea, because the better they are the more quickly they seem to disappear.

So here I am, attempting to salvage what would have been an amazing blog by sharing with you the short, sad story of its loss.

I have always needed to write down ideas immediately.  Before my iPhone was a constant companion, I carried a small pad of paper and a pen in my shirt pocket so that I could immediately jot down any idea or poem that came to mind.

Perhaps I should have called this blog “Into the Mist,” or something more literary.  But I’m still pissed at myself, so I’ll go with my first thought.  The poet Allen Ginsberg coined the phrase, “First thought, best thought,” to describe a way of writing that allows one to be spontaneous and unfiltered.  I don’t know if I agree with that, but I do know it doesn’t always apply.  I’ve had a lot of thoughts which are, well, better off filtered.

So, I’m here to lick my literary wound, and distract you with the story of what might have been.

Maybe you’ve heard of others doing something like this.  Perhaps you’ve even done it yourself.  I’m sure there are many great but lost ideas wandering around out there.

Alan

I recently listened to a conversation with Billy Joel, aka “The Piano Man.”  Years ago, he was my son Craig’s favorite singer.  Among other comments, Billy Joel said that he will never forgive himself for not being as good a musician as Beethoven. Talk about ambition!  Early in life I learned that Brahms was good.  Bach was great.  But Beethoven alone stood at the pinnacle of classical music composers.

I grew up in a musical household.  My parents met while playing in an orchestra.  In the 1930’s Mom played the trumpet in an all-girl’s band, and my dad was a professional French horn player.  If I wasn’t practicing piano, then I was listening in on Dad’s teaching.  While Mom loved listening to opera on weekend afternoons, for some reason, Dad seldom listened to classical music just for fun. Maybe he just wanted to relax, and it reminded him too much of work.

My parents urged me to become a doctor.  But that was not to be. I nearly fainted at the sight of blood, and besides, I had no desire to memorize everything a doctor needed to know. I told my parents they would have to be satisfied with accounting and law (I liked studying accounting).

Few of us know the answer to the question, “What will I be when I grow up.”  We find out by doing, and what we do often depends on the opportunities and the people we meet along the way. As to how far any of us get towards achieving our highest ambitions – that is in the laps of the Gods.

Recently a good friend asked me what I wanted to be remembered for.  Without a pause I answered, “I don’t need to be remembered for anything.  It won’t do me any good after I’m gone.”

As one of my own favorite singers Phil Oaks wrote, “I won’t be singing on this song when I’m gone, so I guess I better do it while I’m here.”

I understand Billy Joel’s ambition.  When I was young, I wanted to write better plays than Shakespeare.  That hasn’t happened (yet), so I guess, like Billy Joel, I have yet to realize my highest ambition.

But here I am, writing my blog.  As they say, life is what happens while you’re making plans.

Alan

President Harry S. Truman famously displayed a sign on his desk in the oval office that read, “The Buck Stops Here.”  He wasn’t referring to a dollar bill, but to his ultimate responsibility for solving problems. That seems entirely appropriate for the president of the United States.

Where does the buck stop in your life?  Are your parents responsible for what happens to you?  Your friends?  Your spouse?

Does it really make any difference who is responsible? If a problem is affecting your life – than isn’t it up to you to fix it?

A few months ago, I called my dentist’s office to make an emergency appointment.  I had a serious problem – a cracked tooth.  My dentist didn’t care what or who had caused the tooth to crack. I already knew that it had been a bad idea for me to bite down on a hard piece of candy.  Silly me! But if I didn’t see my dentist so he could repair the damage, I would be the one to live with the consequences – the ongoing discomfort of having a cracked tooth.

Any of us, at any given time, will have a problem, whether a broken tooth or paying the balance due on a credit card.  If it’s my broken tooth or my Visa card the problem is ultimately mine to solve.  I’m the one who will have difficulty eating or be unable to continue using the credit card.

Simply put – if a situation affects me adversely, then it’s on me to solve it. If I merely point my finger at someone else, my problem might become worse while they do nothing.  Also, by refusing to take responsibility I become a powerless victim.

As a practicing pragmatist, I believe that the best person to solve my problems is me.  I can delegate but, again, that is up to me. If my dentist can’t see me, I need to find another dentist.

So let’s all get better at taking responsibility and actually solving our own problems, rather than getting better at making excuses, especially to ourselves, and expecting someone else to do it for us.

All together now.  Where does the buck stop?

That’s right.  On the desk of the President.

Alan