Brand New Morning

There may be no better rock 'n' roll album than Bob Seger's seminal classic "Live" Bullet, released in 1976. To fully appreciate the "greatness" of this classic vinyl, one has to travel back to '76 and realize who Bob Seger was at the time. (Warning, this post will not focus on Bob Seger for very long. Or music. It will focus on life.)



Seger was an unknown, everywhere except Detroit and Traverse City. Seger was huge in Detroit. It's said that he could pack the Silverdome (i.e. Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium) but draw 700 people in Chicago. "Live" Bullet contained 16 songs, all rocking jams. It also contained the single greatest line in live album history.

I have always gone through "periods" of music. At times, it's been John Cougar, Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, Bob Seger, Kix, KISS, etc. For the past several years, it's been Kid Rock. I've been to many concerts. But, Bob Seger is a musical theme I seem to come back to now and then. I've never heard his album Brand New Morning, from 1971. I've never even seen a copy.

I've read about it, mostly in the new book about Seger's early years. (Travelin' Man: On the Road and Behind the Scenes with Bob Seger by Weschler and Graff was published on October 1, 2009, by Wayne State Press. According to Weschler, the book features "lots of photographs nobody has seen before and plenty of stories from the studios and the gigs on the road." It's an incredible book!) With the release of the book, and my new interest in Detroit, I'm in classic Seger mode.

I like the title. Brand New Morning. It's refreshing. Lately, I've been taking pictures of our brand new mornings. We're getting toward the time of year when the sun doesn't necessarily come up and it doesn't get much more than dawn or dusk in Michigan. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but still ...

Life in Michigan is rough right now. Families are moving out. They're likely not coming back. School districts, ones that were doing well only a couple of years ago, are looking at laying off 50 people ... in the middle of the school year. Some days it's hard to face the new day for many people.

Right now, many people are disgruntled, concerned, frustrated. I face it every day. Some days, I think I'm becoming disgruntled, concerned, frustrated. I try to keep in mind that, with vision and planning, you can get where you need to go. But, when the world that surrounds you is in survival mode, is vision even an option?



I'm not a fan of slogans, e.g. "Yes we can." I think slogans are empty. I'm a substance person. I'm not the kind of person who jumps on a bandwagon. In fact, I like to see the bandwagon emptying before I close enough to join the ride. I am a believer in positive thought, though. If you believe something or believe in yourself (or others), that makes a huge impact.

We found out yesterday, that our daughter has to have major surgery next week to remove a nearly five inch dermoid cyst from her ovary. We don't know where it came from, but it's grown quickly in the last couple of months. We've had her to the doctor about it only a couple months ago, and the physicians' assistant blew it off, saying it was mostly likely a temporary bowel obstruction. That's frustrating. Her stomach started hurting in May, by August she had been to the doctor. Now, it's going to be major surgery on a large cyst.

Our other daughter is having blood work done because of enlarged lymph nodes and a sudden loss of weight. We had the blood work done at the same doctor's office as the August visit. Again, they're doubtful it's anything major, "but we'll do the blood work." Symptoms. I'm concerned. Lori and I are both concerned.

We try hard to not become disgruntled. It's a tough place to be right now, Michigan. Middle of Michigan. Wherever, Michigan. Where is Michigan going? Where are any of us going? It's hard to retain perspective right now.

All I know is that I greet every day and hope for the best. I maintain a positive outlook. Lori, she maintains the negative outlook. We balance each other that way. My blog is not about me usually. It's about the world that surrounds us. Think positive thoughts. It will be all right.

Now, go greet the day. The sun will shine. On all of us.