Play it Again Dan!

Conducting a survey of dealer sentiment and creating a document summarizing my findings were the final outputs before summer months planned to test my taste for retirement.

A test I intend to pass. 

High on the list of things to do this summer is regaining physical activity, and losing the 40 pounds gained while watching my parents die. So when a local resident opened a yoga studio just a short walk from my house it struck me as bashert and I took the unlimited package. At that same time I committed to a diet filled healthy foods of known origins, unprocessed and devoid of industrialized.      

Which is not always so easy to do in this country.        

But the effort has paid dividends with my girth reduced by 15 pounds since June, though that is not the only evidence of my progress.

Years since the last time I walked into a gym, even the entry-level yoga classes have been challenging to complete and after six weeks I’m still working harder to accomplish less than others in the classes. 

An ineptitude I’m forced to confront in the studio’s wall of mirrors; penance for my lethargy.

Eyewitness to my humiliation is the class instructors who after demonstrating each position wonder the studio giving students individualized direction which is broadcast through the sound system for the benefit of us all.  Reminders to fold and stretch are common among that trope, though the advice I get sounds more like a health and safety briefing than an attempt to perfect my asana.  

Last week during a slow flow class which could not flow slowly enough for me to keep up the instructor approached my mat, likely with caution so I don’t hurt us both. Covering the microphone she leaned in and spoke.  

“Are you ok?”   

Glancing in the mirror I knew it was the right question.

Despite her concerns I still see progress in my performance, which has compelled other instructors to ask similar questions.  Though not in several weeks which I see as evidence of that progression!

As was the fact that she walked over to my mat before asking, because the last time I heard that question it was yoga shouted across the room!

THE Top Ten!

Apple Music created my summer’s soundtrack last week when it created a playlist of my top 100 songs since they began keeping track.  Considering my life’s journey over that span it was no surprise to see that the number one spot is occupied by a song Dan Calkins put there. 

THE top eleven on the list are some of rock’s best, plus an Ed Sheeran tune well named when an iPhone glitch forced the music to be played alphabetically.  The other ten created a libretto of messages paired with outstanding musical performances, hits common among rock and roll fans.

But Calkins was THE hitmaker.    

Despite the magnitude of the opportunity I was unsure about working for Benjamin Moore, more than 30-years as a dealer had me rooting for the dealer side. Was there happiness for a Yankee fan working for the Red Sox?

I used the 45-minute drives between Stamford and Montvale to prepare for my tête-à-têtes with Dan, and for life on the other side of the counter.  Debriefing as I returned but both ways always to that same song, Dan’s greatest hit played on repeat.  A mantra played at low volume as I contemplated my affairs, and a high volume sing-along in my effort to control the emotions.

THE song contains outstanding musical performances from one of Rock’s most talented bands. One with four top ten hits in their repertoire, though this song never charted higher than number 58.

With an organ and two guitar solos it’s an anthem worthy of each its five minutes and thirty-five seconds, and of being a bigger hit.  Laid over a vigorous piano score and athletic drumming and it drives from start to finish, the tune acting as pedestal and spotlight for the song’s enduring message. 

Send me your top ten list here. 

Links to Songs:

Roll with the Changes   On My Own   One Headlight  Skateaway   Viva la Vida   Move Along Get Out of My Way   A Dustland Fairytale   Wish I Knew You   Get off This