Yep, I did it. This had been on my to do list for some time.

And lest you misunderstand, my motivation is not to enlighten the world with my musings, but to self medicate. That's right, this is pure therapy. The dosage will be intermittent, the topics random, and the content ... unpredictable.

So, why now? What led me to finally start this thing? Blame it on Jackson Browne. Someone had posted a video of a live performance of Browne singing Running on Empty. As I sang along with Jackson's familiar lyrics,  it hit me that was exactly how I was feeling. Key words "Running" and "Empty." Living life too hard and too fast.  I can remember when the boys were young, playing ball and such, and we were always chasing down the road for another event, and mom would always lament, "you kids need to slow down a little." She was right, as always. Her generation fought and survived some of the worst that the world had to offer.  It seems to me that our burden is the pace that life seems to demand of us. The world travels fast these days, and we are along for the ride. But we do have some control of the damned merry go round, and I am going to make a concerted effort to drag my foot off the side and slow it down just like we use to do at Willard elementary.

As for the title of the blog Tryin' to Loosen My Load, after listening to Running on Empty, I found one of my favorite Browne tunes that he co-wrote with Glenn Frey, Take it Easy. You know it of course, and it made Winslow, Arizona famous. Not to mention flat bed fords. The first two lines:

Well, I'm running down the road
tryin' to loosen my load 

And that's what my intent is ... loosening the load. A couple of lines later...

Lighten up while you still can
don't even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand
and take it easy...

And if you haven't figured it out ... music is a big part of my life. And reading. I'm old school - I love the "ARTS", not a very popular notion in the education world today. Liberal arts appreciation has given way to high stakes testing and degrees intended for employment without consideration for a real education. In fact, I'm pretty sure I am a frustrated artist. Frustrated because I would love to write a song, or the next great novel, play an instrument or paint,  but I seem to have no talent to go with my desires. But that has never kept me from singing loudly. In the shower.