I’m a day late and a dollar short.
Yesterday, as I stepped into the shower, I said “Alexa, play Mark Selby.” As I went about my business I was thinking about how I can find positive in this difficult time. It’s easy for me to get down in the dumps in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
I realized that I am really missing music. I blast music in my classroom in the early morning as I prep for the day. For me, hearing music helps me cope with the stress of having way too much to do with way too little time and hard deadlines looming. I mean at 7:35am you kids are showing up at my door whether I’m ready or not.
One of the artists who’s a regular in my playlists is Mark Selby. I love his strong, blues-based songs, his growling voice and catchy hooks. As always, I love me some screaming guitar.
My relationship with Mark started with a bin of discarded CD’s in the break room at one of
the radio stations I worked at years ago. Radio stations have a constant stream of CD’s rolling in and, at my station, the discards were left in the break room free for the taking.
That’s where I found More Storms Comin’ Mark’s 2000 release. I popped it into the CD player in the car and was transfixed. “Who is this guy?” I wondered as I rocked out on my 75-minute ride home.
I started checking in on his website a couple of times a year to see if he would ever tour in this area, but he was Nashville-based and stayed close to home, except for Germany. (Yes, he has always been more popular in Germany than in the US.)
In 2017, I went to Nashville for the total eclipse so I hopefully checked his website again, and he wasn’t performing at all. What a missed opportunity <sigh>.
What I didn’t know in August 2017, and what I learned yesterday, was that Mark Selby was near the end of a battle with cancer. He passed away in September, 2017.
My epiphany in the shower was that I should reach out to people who have had a positive impact on me and thank them. And, since Mark Selby was playing at the time, he was the first on that list.
So, I’m for sure, a day late and a dollar short but, thank you Mark for all the fantastic music you made. You may have left us, but your music remains.
The second person on my list of people to reach out too was Richard Dreyfuss - an oscar-winning actor who starred in Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, W, The Goodbye Girl and dozens of other movies. I tweeted at him, but have not heard back - I probably never will.
But, it can happen. Several years ago I tweeted at actress and mathematician Danica McKellar (No relation) and she tweeted back at me.
And many years ago, I wrote a letter to science-fact and science-fiction writer Issac Asimov and he sent back a nice, hand-written note to me.
So, I’m spending some time thinking about and reaching out to people who have made positive contributions to my life. If they answer, that’s great, If they don’t, that’s fine too. For me, the best part is focusing on the positive influences in my life. That keeps me from getting down in the dumps during the coronavirus lock-down.
You might want to try the same thing.
Reach out to people who have made a positive mark on your life - remember, they’re in lock-down as well. You might even hear back.
