(Originally posted on the website Continuum…)

INTERESTING day today. I went down to Flemington in the afternoon. I heard that the band Cairo was playing at a wine tasting event that was being held by Unionville Vineyards, Amwell Valley Vineyards and Poor Richard’s Winery. It was a beautiful afternoon. I found myself alone on a Saturday without any solid plans. So I thought I’d take a drive down to see the band.

JF has to work this weekend. It was a rather sudden change in her schedule. I don’t like change! They say that the only thing that does not change in life is the fact that things change. Well, I’d like to change that! They say that change is good. But I’m not so sure that all change is good. Some change is just rather necessary or compulsory or mandatory, forced upon you by the will of another. But I digress here. It is not the end of the world that JF and I are not together this weekend. Schedules change. Remember? Change is good. But since we had been seeing each other nearly every Saturday and Sunday for quite a while, I’m at a little bit of a loss to know exactly what to do with myself right now.

So rather than sit in my stuffy little apartment and drive myself crazy by knowing that I should clean the place but lack the ambition to do so, I decided to get out of here. I came very close to giving into the temptation to go back to bed around 10 am. I could have rationalized that it’s been a while since I got to sleep late. I could have said, “Gee, Sam, you work so hard, you drive so much, you only sleep about five hours each night. Take it easy on yourself, buddy!” I could have given in to the increased gravitational pull from the mattress, the luring pulsation of the pillow, the death wrap of the blankets. If so, I would have wasted such a great day! I ran out of here with the mattress snarling and nipping at my heels. Whew! Saved the day!

CAIRO is just great! Today was the first that I ever heard them live. Very great sound! They have a funky-bluesy-reggaey kind of sound. It was perfect for such a sunny day. Plus, they are really down to earth people. They are playing again tonight in New Hope, PA. I’m thinking about going down there. I got it in my blood now! I’ll worry about the messy house tomorrow… or maybe not!

There were quite a few people out to see Cairo, taste some wine and just enjoy the gorgeous weather. I felt like a mole that hadn’t broken through the surface of the earth in about fifteen years! It sure is a different vantage point on the world when you are basking in the sun listening to good music compared to when you are in your cell chained to a computer at work! It was good to be around people who were just having some fun and relaxing. It was good to see kids dancing, parents dancing, pretty girls dancing. Yeah! That’s right! I was sitting right there with the two prettiest girls! I even had my picture taken with them! No, I’m not going to show you! You will just get jealous! They’re MY girls! Ha!

YOU KNOW, watching this little boy dance in the grass today made me long to be free again. Why can’t I be so free in heart to get up and dance for the simple reason that I felt happy? Why do I always have to worry about image? Why do I allow myself to be stifled by cares and stresses? Why do I allow myself to remain crippled by past heartaches and failures? Why do I bury my true potential beneath the fear of what others might say? Why do I allow myself to feel mediocre and insignificant when I am the only ME that ever was or will be? Why can’t I shine as bright as the sun today? Man! I do not want to reach the end of my days with a big burden of regret on my back! God help me to dance!

Well, time to put this on the web, take a quick shower and go listen to some good music again!