I marvel at the definition too many people have of hard work. They look at the construction worker, the roofer, the plumber, mostly blue collar trades. And to so many others, they turn their nose up at what they're doing. Doctors, lawyers, and white collar workers are often loathed because people see the fine trappings (the nice clothes, houses, cars) as evidence of a life of leisure, a life they somehow didn't earn. And don't get me started on the attitude towards our athletes.

Yet, who works hard. I look back at my life and the fact that I've never NOT worked hard...yet if you'd take a survey of people around our community, half of them would conclude I'm a bum. Why is this. Well, because they don't look at the big picture. For two years, when I threw newspapers and worked part time at a fast food chain to pay the bills, they clucked and shook their heads because I couldn't POSSIBLY be supporting a family on that salary (you'd be surprised how much a paper b--err, media distribution specialist--makes). Yet, when I wasn't working (about 20-25 hours per week), I was updating my routes....eliminating old customers, adding new ones, chasing down deadbeats (of which there were, fortunately, few), and looking for ways to shorten the drive and use a little less gas on the trip, because gas was a cost that affected my profitability. It was no cakewalk, which is why it has such a high turnover rate.

Now I man a desk. And I work PT at the college in IT. But IT isn't considered "serious" work, nor is songwriting. They're all looked down upon by the roughnecks and the factory workers. But as any IT professional will tell you, IT is a field where you will ALWAYS be learning...or you will find yourself without work within a few short years. There are always new certifications, new technologies to master, and if you're smart, you'll be looking at FUTURE technology, not at current technology, as you need to learn AHEAD of the curve. Take Windows Vista for instance (insert obligatory vaudeville joke here). The smart IT pros were beta testing it long before it hit the shelf and knew what was coming out.

Now, as to songwriting, that is taken even less seriously. I recently had a creative spurt during which I produced 3 songs with melodies within 24 hours. Four songs within 48. At the end of that stretch I was exhausted. And I am finding that the work is only beginning. We're going to record my stuff in October, and for me that means two months of endless guitar practice, performing the same songs over and over while still hoping to keep them "fresh" for the album, arranging for musicians to join me in the studio, and mapping out the songs I want for the CD. I still need to write several more songs before it is complete (I am considering using a few public domain folk songs as "fill", but I want to be as original as it can be). All with the likelihood of no particular reward, except to my own creativity.

But I'm very excited about this album. Basically, I'm putting together lyrically a concept I have long had for a novel. These are stories of people I've met over the years, as well as my own story interweaving. Stories that need to be told, songs that need to be sung. But translating them from the muddled thoughts in my mind to an aesthetically pleasing musical arrangement is no mean feat, as I am fast discovering.

What HAS surprised me, very pleasantly, is the eagerness that other musicians have had to jump in on this project. Finding musicians has actually been the easy part...who knows...before this all is through, we may have a group out of this!

But, back to topic. This task, like any other, has been far from easy. Sure it's easy to come up with nonsense rhymes off the top of your head. But forming those nonsense rhymes into an intelligible SONG, now that's another story!