What has happened....?

My wife and I went on a date on Saturday.  We got some dinner and then went to walk around the bookstore and do some window shopping.  The time has arrived when we are basically disgusted by the movies being vomited by Hollywood, so the movies are out; too much money, too much gore, too little class, and no plot creativity or character development.

So we went to the bookstore (a popular national chain that also serves coffee from another popular national chain).  This store has a music section, so I did some browsing.  It was depressing to see what a 'music section' is and what the music scene has become.

Remember when all we did was go to the music store and hang out?  I remember this place called Hastings Music in Amarillo.  It was in this little converted building on the corner.  All the windows were blocked up with the posters and the back of the cassette racks.  When you went in you had to slip between all the aisles of records and cassette racks.  The lighting was low and the music was always different and loud.  You could find all kinds of music in all kinds of forms and when you bought an album you were buying it for the one, maybe two, songs that you had heard on the radio.  There wasn't a preview  headphone area; you couldn't listen to a little piece of each song before your purchase.  That was the fun.  You didn't know what you would get.  I remember buying the Def Leppard album 'Hysteria' for one song...you know which one...and I was blown away by the remainder of the album.

Not anymore.  Now, the music section SUCKS!  Everything is available to 'sample' before buying.  It is bright and open and airy...BLAHGHGH!  The guys behind the counter didn't choose the music being played, that was done by some jackass at corporate.  In fact, this kid didn't look like he knew Jazz from Country from Acid Rock.  He had never heard of the Talking Heads.  I miss the music store.  I miss the loud music chosen by the guy behind the counter who knew all the local bands and the upcoming scene.  I miss the excitement and the mystery.

Maybe I should just open a real music store...I wonder if anyone would come.  I wonder if I could find somebody that knew the scene and would be able to tap in to the energy that use to exist in the music store.  I wonder.

Stepping over the napkin

So, I went on vacation.  Turned off my phone for several days and enjoyed the majesty that is the Mammoth Lakes region of California.  I caught some fish, shot some guns, taught my boys how to fish and shoot, and generally had a fantastic time.  Before I left, I set up my projects so that very tangible things could occur while I was gone.

None of that happened.

It appears that each of the projects went into a magical vacation time warp and they look no different than the day I left.  How and Why does that happen?  I always tell my staff and coworkers to plan for the worst and hope for the best.  I remind them that none of us is irreplaceable or an island.  If one of us is killed by a bus tomorrow, we had all better be able to pick up the pieces and keep moving forward.  And yet, I dropped off the face of the earth for a few days and nothing happened.  No decisions were made, no conflicts resolved...for that matter, no conflicts developed.

It seems to me this has become a common problem of our society.  We don't take initiative.  We don't step out of our box to move the machine forward or to help another member.  While at McDonald's the other day, I noticed a napkin on the floor adjacent to the soda machine.  I decided I would wait and see what happened.  To my chagrin, nothing happened.  Not one person bent over to pick it up or kicked it out of the way.  In fact, several people stepped right over it in a very conscious way.

We must change this current.  We must teach our children to take the initiative, to pick up the napkin,  to stir things up.  If we don't, the latest debacle of debt negotiation and market collapse will only deepen and become persistent.

GOD gave us this world to glorify him...are you going to do that?  Or, are you going to step over the napkin.