I've lived in Austin since 2006, and honestly loved every minute of it!! When I sing, "We've got a long way to go...and Mama I ain't coming home...." I mean it...every time. WV will always be my home, but ATX will be my Wheelhouse.
On one trip back to the mountains, during a 4th of July cookout/booze-a-thon, I was talking to an "elder" booze hound...and as I was talking to him, my phone buzzed, I was checking it (for I'm sure it was Oh So Important!), while he was trying to tell me something he noticed I wasn't paying attention (I was multi-tasking) and stopped talking...I eventually realized he had quit talking and I looked up and he said in the midst of all the Winston cigarette smoke swirling around his head...
"That's the problem right there Matthew. That'll be the death of your generation..." I said, "What's that??" ... he replied, "Too much communication..." referring to the Blackberry attached to my hip, the Facebooks, the Myspaces, the Twitters, Emails, and RSS Feeds.
Fast Forward to Today...
The past few weeks have really stood out to me, I don't know why but all the...
"Zimmerman deserves to rot in jail!!" .... "Trayvon was the victim of..." ... "Paula Dean for President!!..."... "Rolling Stone will burn in hell!!" .... blah blah blah blah blah blah blah...
Now before we go any further, trust me, I know I exploit the social media for Snake Skin Prison, I mean, let's face it folks, it's not going away...and will only continue to grow. Facebook will become obsolete and another Social Media Juggernaut will be born...and another...and another...so on and so forth.
However, through the whirlwind that is our everyday life, I can't help but think...could this be the death of us...too much communication?? Keep in mind, this is coming from a guy that loves to talk and can't shut up!!
I'm starting to think that Social Media should be treated as the Virtual Dinner Table. There's certain things you don't discuss at the dinner table...Business, Religion, Politics, Favorite Sexual Positions...etc. There's a time and place for those discussions...possibly?...and when entering that place with an open mind and an open heart...maybe something would get done...maybe there would be a resolution...maybe we would benefit from all this "communication" and not allow it to be the death of us.
Again, I don't know, I'm just talking, and in my experience, the best I can say is to lead by example. Every time I look into Samantha's big blue eyes, every time I see that toothless grin, every time those little chubby arms reach up and grab my beard...I'm reminded:
It's not about me anymore, I'm responsible for all my actions, and one day I might have to answer to her, "Daddy, why did you do that?" ... something tells me the response, "hell I don't know I was drunk!" wouldn't be best :) LOL. I think the best answer would be to "Lead by Example"...it reminds me of that statement, "If every man would sweep his own door step...the whole city would be clean." Maybe if we...myself included...spent half as much time looking inward then we did posting our opinions on Twitter...maybe...just maybe...we might pull the nose of this airplane called life up just in time to make it...maybe...maybe not...maybe we aren't supposed to make it.
Remember, I'm just an old guitar picker from a small town in Southern West Virginia, 2 rock throws from Virginia...where we don't have a liquor store...gas station...or a Wal-Mart...but by-golly we had a Beyond Video and that was the best damn video store in America (love and miss ya Paul Ball)...
I dunno...I think...I think...sometimes I think I think too much!!! Either way...come see the most Socially Communicable Band from Austin Texas this Friday Night in San Angelo TX!!! :) :) :) We aim to please, I promise you that much.
Adios!!
dMb
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