Liberty and justice for all. Remember those words? Yeah, they seem vaguely familiar. Oh yeah, I remember now. Aren’t they the last words in the American Pledge of Allegiance. But who is this “ALL” they’re talking about?   Liberty and justice for all means everybody. Not just the people who can speak the pledge. But even people who can’t speak. Or hear. Or see. … Read the rest...

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They might not be household names you’ve ever heard. But if you’ve lived more than a couple of decades, you’ve probably heard them. And is it just me, or do those old Motown songs still make you wanna dance, too? Yeah, just play the first few bars of “I’ll Be There” and watch out. Feet don’t fail me now. And that’s just one of … Read the rest...

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Just because it’s already been done doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t do it. And maybe you could even do it better. “It” isn’t the same thing for everybody. But “it”, for me, is music. So, I love to hear stories about people who took a song and made it their own.   This hit song, from 1956, had already been done. And imagine … Read the rest...

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Georgia seems to be on a lot of people’s minds right now. And by coincidence and chance, the song “Georgia On My Mind” (sung by the incomparable Ray Charles) went to number 1 on the charts on this day (November 14) back in 1960. Life is full of little twists and turns and coincidences like that. And it’s cool when they pop up. At … Read the rest...

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I just read a funny and coincidental story about a band named Johnny and the Moondogs. And I know you’ll get a kick out of this when I share the whole thing. Because it’ll give you some ammo for making fun of me. But I’m totally confident in my own skin. So, get ready to load up because here’s the rest of the story… … Read the rest...

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Happy Friday the 13th. And it’s another lucky day (in a long line of lucky days) for me. Because I get to just sit back, watch all the amazing sporting events on TV, drink lots of beer, and toast the power grid. Yeah! Ask anybody. And they’ll tell you. Oh yeah, that Tony’s a beer guzzling, sports watching couch potato.   Friday the 13th … Read the rest...

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Way, way back in the twentieth century, I attended college in the rural countryside of Kansas. And have you ever watched the episode of The Waltons where John boy finally got to go to college? Well, watching him is practically like watching me show up for my first day. Because the halls of higher learning held that same mystique of hopeful anticipation for me, … Read the rest...

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As I started typing, at 3:30 this morning, I wasn’t sure what I would say. It was another physically challenging night. But I know how writing almost always revives my brain and keeps me going. So, I opened the computer, logged into my WordPress admin area, opened a “new post” and started writing. And just like it almost always goes, rhymes began to float … Read the rest...

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Only twenty seven days left And for those of you not keeping track, I’m talking about twenty seven days of summer. After that comes my favorite season of the year. Autumn.   “Gee, Tony. What’s so special about twenty seven days?” Not a thing. It just happened to be the amount that comes up today as I think and write about it. But it … Read the rest...

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By the light blue sky In the wee hours, those hours when most people are still asleep, sometimes my thoughts toss me phrases. And I think it’s my subconscious watching to see what I’ll do with them. If I’m awake enough, I take on the challenge. And it used to be with my physical sword. Well, my trusty Bic pen. But nowadays I rely … Read the rest...

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