Troubadour Clown

 
He turned 30 on a bar stool in northern Arizona,
stared down his own reflection in a bottle of Corona
The lines upon his face matched the fracture in the glass
He just took a long drag, and let it all pass,
threw the barmaid down a dollar, she put it in her jar
picked up his old jacket, walked out through the door
saw a poor man on the corner, tossed him out a dime.. said ....

.. {I hope ya ain't livin' a life like mine
they're working so hard just to bring us all down
I'm just living this life, ... like a troubadour clown}

always loved the highway always loved the road
but, the miles are growing longer, & i feel i'm get'n old
 travel'n cross this country, wander'n through my mind
my feet are moving forward still i'm falling way behind
i miss the wind out on the freeway as it's blowing through your hair
 with every passing exit toss out another care...
I've  been working my fingers down raw to the bone
and it's hard to keep fighting this travel'n jones,...
with a bed roll and his guitar he heads off down the road
to see some friends in Austin,... maybe lightin' up his load
success don't come from money brother, and it sure don't come from wine

... {I hope ya ain't livin' a life like mine
They're working so hard just to bring us all down
I'm just livin' this life,... like a troubadour clown}

take what you've been given?... i'm only taking what I need
gonna stash it my pocket and try to fight the greed,
been sit'n on the roadside i just need some time to breath,
so let me rest my aching bones before you make me leave
There are trials and tribulations 'round every single bend
just hope you're breaking even when your journey meets it's end
As the smoke pours from the chimney of my "cabin on the hill"
I know "the road goes on forever" and I hope it always will
I've got people on the east coast & people in the south
I see how hard they're workin' but it's always hand to mouth
That old dog's in the hen house,and ya know he's doing fine...
           
                 {still i hope ya ain't livin' a life like mine
                    they're working so hard just to bring us all down
                    I'm just livin' this life like a troubadour clown}

I always race the future through memories of the past
but once you're rolling forward there ain't no turning back
with the winds of time upon us, best not to watch the clock
hang on to that lone nickel maybe stash it your sock
we have cities full of darkness killing forests full of trees
then you tie me down with debt while telling me I'm free.
.... but its springtime on the river, time to cast a fly
 and strum a couple sad songs as the water rolls on by...

{They're working so hard just to bring us all down
But life ain't  bad,... for this troubadour clown} .......

Only Taking What i Need.

I've always loved the highway, always loved the road
but these miles are getting longer and i feel i'm growing old
I've traveled cross this country,I've wandered through my mind
my feet are moving forward but I'm falling way behind
just sitting on this parkbench i need some time to breathe
so let me rest my aching bones before you make me leave
it all unfolds before me, the horizon dim with haze
still trying to pay it forward, in hope of better days
take what you've been given ? i'm only taking what i need
gonna stash it in my pocket and try to fight the greed
sip that glass of whiskey, smoke from your old pipe,
but open up your window, bask in the morning light
that man down on the corner, he hustled my last dime
then he gave me back a nickel and things are feeling fine
i always race the future, through memories from the past
but once you're rolling forward there ain't no goin' back
with the winds of time upon us, best not watch the clock
hang onto that last nickel maybe put it beneath a rock
we have cities full of darkness killing forest full of trees
then ya bring me down with money, while telling me I'm free
but its springtime on the river,... time to cast a fly
to winters cold and darkness i bid it all goodbye...

Someone Fine (in the beginning)

she found me in a barroom stumblin' round the floor
dancin' to the grateful dead and lookin' for the door
she had just come from the nut house after dropping off her friend
and i'd just left the nut house,....and they hadn't found me yet...
I walked up to her table and tried to bum a smoke
they all looked, & laughed at me, like i'd told some kind of joke
we started making small talk just to pass the time away
...not so sure what happened next, but we're still livin' it today
she let me hang with her friends and her, though i was living in a fog
i'm not so sure she cared for me but she really liked my dog
she said she was a Boston girl and I felt a little sick
then I saw the gorgeous smile,and man, that did the trick
her family fist saw a picture of me and it kinda freaked 'em out
i looked like a homeless dude and her like a girl scout
now many years have come & gone, i've even given up the beer
now we've got all together and we're living in the last frontier... (to be continued)

Stream of Consciousness (Green Mountains) ...

I've been selling my blue collar just trying to earn a dollar, ya know brother it makes me holler how quickly it all spends.
just trying to do it my way flying through the skyways I've been driving down these highways and still I can't find the end
Ya know I live out of motel rooms, spend long evenings at the saloons just listening to the same tunes, and still I can't find my friends
guess I left them all behind me when my path turned north & west I miss that desert sunshine, but my Green Mountains are the best
I could be sittin' on a hillside as the leaves of Autumn change, staring down a whitetail but he's just out of range.
                 Green Mountains in the Summertime,Green Mountains in the Fall, could be
                 Green Mountains in the Wintertime,... but I just can't recall
 I poured out my last bottle and put my foot down on the throttle, it was tiiiime to remodel that crazy side of my brain
I have a wife & kids that love me and they're always by my side,even out here on this crazy road when there's no place left to hide
I miss them in the evening and I miss them in the morn. but it's this fight for love or money that really gets ya torn
So I'll just keep on moving with my feet firm on the floor and in those final hours,... we'll all know what it's for
Just love the one around you, try to make them smile, ya might change the course they're travelin' if only for awhile....
                  Green Mountains in the Summertime, Green Mountains in the Fall, could be
                  Green Mountains in the Wintertime,.... but I just can't recall

...that was weird ???

             ... so I was just standing out on my front porch taking in the Alaska night sky, in my rural Big Lake neighborhood .Now on an average day the traffic on my road consists of maybe 3 cars and a school bus. So you can understand my surprise when an unfamiliar truck pulled into my drive ? The occupant sits in his truck for uncomfortable amount of time,and I kind of try to look a little tough as I slowly start to approach him. As I get closer he gets out of his car and hands a menu .I am thinking what the hell,and he asks me. Do you eat pork ? I'm like "what?"and he's like how about steak, do like steak ?So I'm standing there speechless in my t-shirt,its about 0 degrees out. This guy bulls out a box and proceeds to give me a 30 minute demonstration on beef & pork variety packs for my family freezer....... "That was just Weird"...

Answers in the Night Sky

                      As winter takes a stronghold on the Alaskan landscape I find myself questioning our decision of 5 yrs ago to move the family to the last frontier, especially this year with an early extended deep freeze a lack of snow & a week with strong winds out of the north. Don't get me wrong I love AK and it would be hard to ever leave.
                       The summers are unbelievable the mountains turn emerald green,the rivers are full with the returning salmon the hundreds of valley lakes are flush with trout and pike,the moose frolic in the marshes belly's full from the new growth of spring. We breath in the fresh air, spending all day outside in the never setting sun rarely getting to bed on time ,you can easily loose track of a day when the sun is always high in the sky. Wow that paragraph warmed my bones just a little,....but now back to reality.
                        Alaska always seems to answer my questions just in the nick of time.Yesterday after spending most of the day inside refusing to venture any further than my front porch, in silent protest to the wind of the prior day's,(which had since subsided) but I was still feeling a little grumpy about it.Wind has that affect on me. Later in the afternoon we had some friends arrive for dinner,we chatted,  watched an odd version of Alice in Wonderland and listened to a little Bob Marley. I guess it was around 11 PM when they left for home. Aspen & I headed downstairs for our family room camp out. As soon as we settled in my phone rang,it was a text from our guests who had just left it read "Lights are On". I quickly grabbed Aspen from her sleeping bag and headed for the front door with her and Laura. As we hit the bitter cold of a December night I looked to the northern sky and there they were in all there magical swirling color the Northern Lights,brighter than I had ever seen them this far south. Normally we get the greens with a little yellow around the edges but last night the reds and oranges were unbelievable stretching from the Western horizon of the Talkeetna Range all the way to the Chugach in the east. As I stood there with my family,a large moose not 30 feet behind us munching on the low limbs of the poplar and birch I thought this is why we're here.......this is why we are here.....

...Ya Gotta Start Somewhere...

      As I have wandered through this life (most of the time with no map or compass) I occasionally come across a situation,story, thought, poem or joke that I think folks may enjoy,(although I could be wrong). I have decided to start this blog, on the suggestions of a couple of friends, so I can share this stuff with people who may have an interest in such things.
    I will be sharing tales of my Work Travels around Alaska, Family Happenings & Past Stories of Adventures with Friends in VT & AZ (I may change names to protect the guilty.......but you'll know who you are). More often than not I will share stream of consciousness thoughts, rhymes, and humorous philosophies that I come up with on this journey. So do me a favor follow the blog, tell some friends,comment,and make suggestions on ways to make it better. I am not promising to change anyone's life, I am just trying to keep my head from getting to full of thoughts and this seems like a good format to recycle these things.



              P.S. If you are looking for great writing skills (spelling & punctuation)
                      you are on the wrong blog..... Lol   

                               Thanx for your Interest,
                                                        E.C. Kelly