Led Zeppelin ROCKS!

For anyone who grew up as a teenager in the 60's Rock and Roll is a vital part of that experience and memory. We remember the British invasion of the Beatles, Stones, Turtles - easy listening rock with a catchy melody and cute romantic lyrics, albeit the Stones pushed the envelope of acceptable earthiness of the times. The protest rock; Dylan, Donovan, Baez. Then the evolution of drug- culture rock; Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Grateful Dead. But there is one rock band that really gets me. The one whose music stirs the dark side of my soul like no other; LED ZEPPELIN. I don't know the names of all the Zeppelin songs. I am not a groupie and frankly don't own any of their albums, 8 tracks, cassettes or CD's. I don't have an old Zeppelin poster from the wall of my teenage room rolled up in the trunk in the garage. All I have is the memory of the songs, the places and feelings their music evokes in me. I guess at my age I should be writing about the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the inspiration of the church hymns. Sorry! One of my daughters told me she enjoys reading my blogs simply because it gives her a glimpse of how the real Rick Black thinks and ticks. Not "Dad". Zeppelin makes Rick Black tick. Zeppelin is the music of choice for an adrenaline rush, the war cry to that "get me off my ass and do something" feeling. If you let it, some of Zeppelins music can pull you down to the depths of sadness and depression with it's slow, woeful, bluesy drone. Mostly it makes me want to run and speed and conquer!

I had the opportunity to see Page and Plant in concert a few years ago. I took my 4 oldest children. I don't think my kids appreciated what they were seeing. Page and Plant played a couple of the Zeppelin songs. We were down close to the right side of the stage and could see their faces and expressions. They are old men. They have complexions of rock stars with a lot of hard miles, they are not my hero's. But at one point Jimmy Page looked me right in the eye and smiled. It was so cool! Jimmy Page is is the God of Guitarists. No one can do what Jimmy does.

Last night Zeppelin played a benefit concert in London at the 02 Arena. In reading the commentaries it appears they still have the magic. I am sure the critics will take occasion to rip them for their age and diminishing vocal range and passion of youth. It won't be a critic from my age. A younger critic simply won't get it. What Zeppelin really is to people. It's not whether Plant can wail like he did in his twenties and thirties. It's not whether Page can hit all the notes in his signature riffs. It's not whether Jason Bonham has that unique rhythmic genetic link to his late father John. This is LED ZEPPELIN. One of the greatest rock bands EVER!

You Just Gotta Speak Up!

(Turn on your sound)

The Ten Commandments of Baseball

I am reading a book called Riding With the Blue Moth. It is a true story about a man who rides a bike across the country as a way of dealing with the tragic death of his son. The author is Bill Hancock whose job it is to set up the NCAA basketball tournament every year. He has a lot of sports quotes throughout the book. Last night I was reading and he used a quote from Joe McCarthy’s “Ten Commandments of Baseball”. I played a lot of baseball and never heard of the “Ten Commandments of Baseball”; so I Googled it. I was glad I did. It is pure conventional, homespun wisdom. But if you read between the lines it is about what we should all do in our daily lives. I particularly like commandment #2 and am personally working on that one. If I can make my life as simple as playing baseball I can really improve things. Because I love baseball!

Ten Commandments for Success in Baseball

by Joe McCarthy (1949)

1.Nobody ever became a ballplayer by walking after a ball.

2.You will never become a .300 hitter unless you take the bat off your shoulder.
3.An outfielder who throws in back of a runner is locking the barn after the horse is stolen.
4.Keep your head up and you may not have to keep it down.
5.When you start to slide, slide. He who changes his mind may have to change a good leg for a bad one.
6.Do not alibi on bad hops. Anybody can field the good ones.
7.Always run them out. You never can tell.
8.Do not quit.
9.Do not fight too much with the umpires. You cannot expect them to be as perfect as you are.
10.A pitcher who hasn't control hasn't anything.

I figure there should be an Eleventh one, so I will add it:

11. Always wear a cup!

Have a good day. Adjust your cup. Pull on the bill of your hat. Spit in your glove, smack it few times with your fist and PLAY BALL!