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Stoneman
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8/9/2018 2:23:23 AM
I Remember.........
I remember a time when integrity was an important factor for people. People were expected to do the things they claimed they were going to do.
I remember a time when honesty was considered to be the best policy in business, politics and personal pursuits.
I remember a time when music was considered to be a valuable thing and people flocked to places called record stores just to hear and purchase the latest hits.
I remember a time when people were proud to be who they are and did not hide behind some weird anonymous character.
I remember a time when kindness was the norm and ugliness was frowned on by the general populace.
I remember a time when the old folks were complaining about the Beatles and their loud screaming fans. They said that their music was nothing but noise.
I remember a time when Elvis was criticized for playing what they considered to be race music.
I remember a time when Mohamed Ali was the most hated man in America because he refused to go to Vietnam, converted to Islam and got rid of his slavery name (Cassius Clay). Now those same people that hated him consider him to have been the greatest boxer that ever lived. Go figure?
I remember a time when $5.00 bought a whole bunch of groceries and gas was only 15 cents a gallon.
I remember when there were only 5 channels on the TV and most of them were hazy from antenna inferiority.
I remember that good old Mexican weed and you got 4 fingers worth in a bag for $5.00. I also remember Columbo, Elephant, Tai Stick and Acapulco Gold!
I remember waking up every morning with a hard on and didn't even know why. I remember so much shit these days and it is such a cool thing. To remember, that is.
You see, I lost so many memories in a fall a couple of years ago because I had to have brain surgery. Even though they said it was a success, I came away missing so much shit. But I have been working hard everyday to regain my memories through meditation, martial arts, word games and all kinds of brain exorcises. The result has been slow but steady. I know how to use most of my recording gear again and I can play most of my instruments again. But the biggest hurdle has just been passed. I am now able to perform live again because I am ale to retain lyrics again. That has been my biggest nightmare. That I would get up to play or sing and can't remember the song. The more I push myself, the more I remember. I may even be ready to tour again someday soon. Isn't that cool? I am excited about all these memories that keep coming back. I remember when I had the bible memorized from beginning to end. I could quote scripture with the best of them. Well, those days may be over but at least I am able to relearn the stuff I lost. Everyday is an adventure for me. I can't wait to see what I remember next. What songs that I wrote 40 years ago am I going to regain? I don't know. But I remember when struggle was not such a hard thing for me. But then I grew up, gained a little bit of wealth, some property and but lost my street savvy. I got soft from the lack of challenge. I got caught up in suburbia and easy living. Recently I realized that I am now a mark. You know? One of those guys that criminals see and decide they can rob them. I know this because I now remember when I was a stick up kid. I use to be able to identify a good mark when I saw one. Now I look in the mirror and recognize that I am a mark. But I remember when...........Cherish your memories. There is no guarantee that you will always have them. Respect, Stoneman
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Psyche's Muse
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8/9/2018 3:34:44 AM
Wow, Stoneman... YOU are truly a very "COOL" Dude! You've got great insight and tell some really GREAT "stories"(meaning stories WITHOUT any bad/"false" connotations) I pray that your "recovery" goes well into your future and that your future holds even Greater Things than you have ever yet experienced. Amen! =M=
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Stoneman
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8/9/2018 6:32:09 AM
Amen Brother Amen!
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8/9/2018 8:30:20 AM
Great post, Stoneman! yeah i oon't know what happened to that integrity thing.
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Candy Cottontail
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8/9/2018 8:47:50 AM
As eloquent and honest as you always seem to be
There's too much information for a simple gal like me
The price of weed, the morning hard, the criminality
I wish I could erase some of it from my memory
CC (a nice anon)
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Hop On Pop
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8/9/2018 10:50:52 AM
Great post, Stoneman.
And I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that but am glad that you are back on the horse.
It's a rough road, I know.
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Stoneman
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8/11/2018 6:32:09 PM
Sorry CC. Sometimes I can be a bit too revealing. But that is what a lot of folks like about me. Strange Things Happen when you get old and nobody seems to want to talk about them. So, I go there. To a place that others find awkward. Because I am awkward. I am everything that I talk about and I know it is not necessarilly a good thing to some people. But my past is as much a part of me as my redemption. From street thug to war hero to street minister to prison minister to musician, songwriter and humanitarian. It is all a part of me and I am not ashamed of it because I overcame it all and became something different. I was an orphan and I did a lot of things to survive that I would never do again. From the age of 4 on up violence was a major part of my life. I took a lot of beatings until I learned how to fight back. I stole a lot of stuff until I learned the difference in right and wrong. The first instrument I learned how to play was stolen. It was a Saxophone that I took from another kid. I taught myself how to play it and joined a marching band. To this day I wish I knew where that kid is so I could give him his Sax back. We had a piano in the foster home but only the real children were allowed to play it. They even got lessons and stuff. But mine is not a sad story because I could go out and buy a piano if I wanted one now. The bad part about regaining my memory is that a lot of it is not pleasant. I have no lived a pleasant life. So, you won't get a lot of pleasant shit from me. But, I do apologize if my crassness offends anyone. It has always n\been my own way of being honest. Even when I was a prison chaplain I quite often would offend visiting ministers because of the crass way in which I ministered. They could not comprehend the nuances involved with ministering to inmates. It is probably the one reason i have never even entertained the idea of pastoring a church. Not my expertise at all. I was the street gang intervention specialist and it was my job to go in and deescalate volatile situations. That meant I had to be strong and maintain a decorum of respect among Nazi's, Crips, Bloods and all the other elements of prison.
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Shoe City Sound
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8/13/2018 9:51:06 AM
I appreciate all the posts you have shared about your life so much, Stoneman. And the most valuable thing I get from reading them is the realization that the one constant thing about life on Planet Earth is that nothing stands still. You have experienced extremes that start with abysmal abuse as a small child and most recently resulted in recognition on National TV with the hosts and audience chanting your name! It gives me reassurance that no matter how discouraging things may seem sometimes, even if you just stay still for a moment and gather strength the Earth rotates and circumstances change - all the damn time.
As you say.....
Much Respect
D
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SILVERWOODSTUDIO
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8/13/2018 9:27:42 PM
Well I can't read this without some emotion----and I got to say I am most happy about the playing live again part-----I have kinda stopped much of what I was enjoying online---recording my kids and friends and the rest of the crew as I got cancer and believed my life was closing in, and the finish line was coming up!
3 years of that shit and I was at someone elses funeral and this lady got up to sing----she was from the USA South Carolina---and sang with a free voice and just an accoustic guitar (I was supposed to provide a PA but the service was on a beach at dawn and it was raining and I reneged (didn't want my gear to get wet)
Anyway---we were introduced and she was a bit pissed at me, but we talked music, and so on-------------
Two years have passed and the 4 piece band we formed is getting pretty tight, we have played festivals, cultural events, wineries and private gigs and my health is 100%. We are adding new tunes and have a future.
Stoneman----you have always been some kind of mentor to me with all the words of wisdom and amazing stories -----I hope you get back to LIVE playing !!
There are ups and downs still, choice of material, personalities, politics, arrangements etc ----but it is the good shit, that we never quite get online.
and we have our stands with the words there just in case we forget----all the best!!
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8/13/2018 11:42:11 PM
I can empathize Mr. Stoneman. When I was in the 4th grade I read on a 12th grade level, IQ was supposedly 132 though I don't put much stock in that test itself. Everything was pretty easy back in those days but that all changed at age 14 when I had a serious open head injury, life has never been the same since, that's for sure. It's kind if sucks when people from the past tell me about all the good times we had and I don't have the slightest clue who they are. It's a cross to bear but then I look at what a younger sister has gone through the last 35 years and I don't feel so bad, things could have turned out much worse. Still you wonder what could have been at times but we all have to do the best with the cards we've been dealt.
And as far as being a mark these days.., let them always think you're packin. I've been targeted also but the right smile and a slow reach inside my coat once got me out of a few dicey situations in the past, now I do my best to avoid them.
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