I’ve been a musician all my life and someone who puts words of my choosing into familiar melodies, mostly for comedy (don’t look at me like that; advertisers have done it for years.) I’ve always thought it was a funny thing to do, and sometimes it’s hilarious (don’t ask my Mrs., she hates when I do it, but my kids, of course, laugh endlessly at the right combinations). It can, and in this case it does, for me at least, have a sobering effect (between the giggles) I’m reminded of one of the early songs by the Beatles called “Till there was you,”, but with a twist (Paul McCartney, forgive me). I started thinking about the words to the song, both because I’ve always loved it, but also because it’s so short, like the story I’ve plugged into the lines. Substituting “till, or ’cause, it was me,” and plugging in a story of economic trial and a more personalized perspective, you get something like this (sing it to the original melody; the words fit):

VERSE: There was danger, round the bend, but I never saw it coming, no I never saw it at all, till it was me

I thought every-thing was fine, that the work would be a plenty, yes I thought it would be all fine, till it was me

BRIDGE: First it was work load, and then it was cash flow, but I thought, it can’t be bad long term for me, you see?

With my friends, saying “hey, all the work will keep on coming,” I refused to believe it at all, cause it was me

GUITAR SOLO: (This is the time that George Harrison played an abbreviated and maybe not-so-memorable break, and where I pause for reflection on where this is headed …)

BRIDGE: But now I sit, at 2 in the morning, I can’t sleep, cause of what I did not do, or see, now it’s me

CLOSE: In a crowd, but apart, I thought I could hear a bell toll, but refused to hear it at all, cause it was me. Till, it was me … cha cha cha

As a blogger, I feel responsible for passing along a constructive message along with what might be construed occasionally as just a “rant,” wishing always, of course, that I could do the job as well as comedian Dennis Miller did for eight years on HBO. This time it has personal implications because I find myself in a “less than stellar” situation at the old glass factory and in the midst of working my way back to “the comfort zone” it occurred to me that I should recognize the fact that nobody has escaped what’s been happening in our economy, even I, who felt somewhat insulated as a “specialty” provider. I once wrote that “some corners don’t typically get cut” and at the time, thought that would be the case and the demand for our particular specialty would be constant. In fact we’ve seen cutbacks and variances that have affected our business at just about every turn. Lots of conversation with my peers reveals similar circumstance.

Humor me, and re-read my last line of plugged in lyrics, and try to remember the original quotation by John Donne from way, way back in the 17th century (OK, I’m not a literary scholar, but this is pertinent, and I Googled it for accuracy) and everyone should find some part of this familiar: “No man is an island, entire of itself….any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee……”

Here’s the Stew interpretation of that prose (Stew’s View): We are, and have been, all in this together. People don’t thrive when isolated from each other, so interact with your peers and get a handle on what might be adversely affecting them, help if you can, learn from their circumstances (but examine, and re-examine your own, and do it often). Keep looking to make sure that what is going around doesn’t necessarily come around. Oh yeah, and don’t stand in the tracks watching a train coming until it’s too late to get out of the way, or as Emeril would say: BAM!!