JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum New perspective.

Hey Mac,

Sorry to hear of your present health issues. No one can say or do anything about those and it sounds like you are drawing some really good conclusions about dealing with it. Your takeaways are right on target. And are very personal to me.

I have asked myself that question, "What's the point of even doing this?" for decades now. Every few days, I ask the same thing. Why spend time, money, effort on things that will probably never be heard or really matter in the oveall scheme of things. I'm a bit ahead of you, having turned 65 last year, and going through the "Throw it all away" stuff in 2009. Although, mine were more like 2800 fully recorded songs, and probably another 1500 ideas, work tapes, notebooks, and "can't miss ideas" that were probably more "good ideas at the time" than anything else.
But I keep doing it, have no idea why, until something happens to me like happened two nights ago.

I seem to be performing, writing and recording more than ever and everything I write comes out of real life. A friend of mine, found a news article that made a lot of rounds on television and the Internet recently. The story is of a woman, whose father died when she was 19. SHe was devistated, and a few weeks after he passed, she texted a message to her father's number. It was somewhat comforting, so over the next four years, she did it several times. Posting pictures of friends. graduation, getting married, and other things, sort of like a diary, and kept that going.

One night, her phone, with her Dad's name lit up and really gave her a start. With it came a message that said (paraphrasing) "I'n not your father, but I've had this number for several years. And I've been reading along and keeping up with your messages over the years. I never wanted to answer or alarm you, but have kept touch with you through that. In addition, my daughter was about your same age, and was killed in a car accident about the time your Father died. So getting your messages somehow kept me closer to her."

My friend found that, told me about it and we wrote a song called "I KNOW THAT YOU'RE STILL HERE" which I have begun to perform regularly and just did the final vocal in the studio on it this week. On Wed. I performed it here in town and a woman came up after my performance, telling me how much she appreciated the song and that her daughter had just died, so she was touched by it all. Was a very moving experience.

TOUCHING LIVES. That's why we write songs. Because we have the abilities (and responsiblities) to make things a little better than they were before and we might help someone laugh, love, or get through hard times. It's something I take very seriously, though I'm not always serious in my music. I never know who is out there, never know where these things go or what they do. But if I can help someone in someway but whatever I do, I've done what I'm supposed to.

That's why I write songs. I hope you get through your tough times and carry with the class you always seem to. You do the same things. Touch lives.

That's why we do it. That's the point.
MAB