| Heartsfield Howdy 7/24/07 |
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And now, Part 2 of the Howdy harangue started last week... That (dog incident on my block) got me thinkin’ though, how much things have changed. I look around our neighborhoods and there are more fences and barriers to keep folks & critters out than you can shake a stick at. Worse than that, there's lots of bitchin’ about any transgression of the staked-out borders they hold so dear. Bitchin’ about kids, noise, cats, dogs, campfires, kids' scooters, being 10 frickin’ minutes late bringin’ in the garbage cans, not perfectly ball-shaped bushes, wrong colored paint on the house, etc. etc. etc. When I was younger, every mom knew every kid, dog and cat within 3 miles. We walked through each other’s yards--hell, putting up a fence to keep ya out was downright un-neighborly, maybe even cause for suspicion. The dads would drag our asses back to each and every one of our homes (by the ear) when they found us up to some mischief. We hung around the corner street light kickin’ gravel and yackin’ til 10 or so, then like a huge siren, you’d hear 10 moms yellin’ out at the same time the names of all the usual suspects to get their butts home. I often wondered how they synchronized so well on the HOLLER!! We made hockey rinks, basketball courts, baseball & football fields, tree forts, clubhouses etc. all in each other’s yards. With the blessing of all the parents. Dogs and cats were welcome to drop by and visit, even get fed some scraps. just like the kids. At my house now, when a neighbors dog drops by he gets invited to play with my dogs, gets some treats, and if I ain’t recording, some love pets. I look at it as something nice. Then I take ‘em on home cause I know where he lives! When the kids are being kids, I look at it as being enriching (not any of that vicious bullshit) but hanging out in their goofy ways. Funny how the folks that do the most bitching at them get bad things happening to ‘em later on. Well this is just a dream of things past, but it seems to me that we better stop the pendulum from swinging too far before all our fences and barriers become our self-made prisons that are holding us hostage to an empty frickin’ feeling of isolation. I know the world “has changed” but there are many simple things we can do to hold onto some of those better parts of our lives we used to have! The next time a kid or doggie wanders into your yard or a kid blazes down the street on a noisy mini-bike, hair blowing and shoutin’ with joy, maybe we should enjoy it! All right enough belly achin’--have to go chase those darn dogs and kids out of the yard, dammit! I have a little surprise for them varmints... MY... trusty X26! The most effective TASER device ever made. Integrated laser sight, LED light, digital power magazine (DPM), and dataport download capability. The X26 is TASER CAM ready! HA HA HA!  Screw the fence, here’s an idea!  And oh yeah, here's where we're playing this weekend: Acoustic Trio, Friday, July 27th, 8:00pm Sounds of Summer, Fred P. Hall Amphitheater 262 E. Palatine Road Palatine, IL 60067 Web Link Click here for map and directions. Heartsfield Band, Saturday, July 28th, 7:00pm Mokena Downtown Merchants Association Concert Metra station lot, Front St. east of Wolf Rd. Mokena, IL 60448 Web Link Click here for map and directions. © Heartsfield 2007. |
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