This is another one on the them of the working class man or blue collar man, work ethic. Or put another way, it could be a reflection on the scourge of mass unemployment, mainly from the traditional industries of the western world.
We all want to feel secure, and not be mocked for a perceived lack of self esteem. For most people, one way of having self esteem is to have a job. In this day and age, I believe that this does not necessarily have to be paid for the esteem to be valid. I for one work in both a voluntary capacity, and as the primary carer for our two boys, both of which give me fulfillment. I can see however, that for some the lack of a paid job can cause major dissatisfaction. Being prepared to work long hours for little pay is frowned upon today, but in the past it was generally accepted, as the alternative was no job. As I've said before the sense of community that this generated in say a mining village, is something that I think is missing today.
Trying to keep my mind on a better place is one of the things that motivates me. Paradise can be all that you have heard it to be, and if you close your eyes may be you are already there. As a Christian I believe that we are living in the age between Jesus' first coming, and his return in glory. I believe that we do see glimpses of heaven now, and that we should all play our part to make the here and now a better place.
Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
Give me a job, give me security
Give me a chance to survive
I'm just a poor soul in the unemployment line
My God, I'm hardly alive
My mother and father, my wife and my friends
I see them laugh in my face
But I've got the power, and I've got the will
I'm not a charity case
I'll take those long nights, impossible odds
Keeping my eye to the keyhole
If it takes all that to be just what I am
I'm gonna be a blue collar man
Make me an offer that I can't refuse
Make me respectable, man
This is my last time in the unemployment line
So like it or not I'll take those
Long nights, impossible odds
Keeping my back to the wall
If it takes all that to be just what I am
I'm gonna be a blue collar man
Keeping my mind on a better life
When happiness is only a heartbeat away
Paradise, can it be all I heard it was
I close my eyes and maybe I'm already there
This clip is another taken from the Return to Paradise tour:
Wednesday 18 February 2009
Monday 16 February 2009
Friendship Quotations
I will admit at the outset, that this is neither my idea, or my listing. This list was provided by a friend of mine, WMS, on a forum we both use, in response to a thread with this title. I thought that it was so good, that I would incorporate it on here.
A good friend will tell you what you want to hear.
A true friend will always tell the truth.
A good friend seeks to talk with you about your problems.
A true friend seeks to help you with your problems.
A good friend will be there for you all through school.
A true friend will be there till the day you die.
A good friend will bail you out of prison.
A true friend will be sitting next to you saying
"damn that was fun, but we f**ked up somewhere along the line!".
A good friend brings a bottle of wine to your party.
A true friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.
A good friend hates it when you call after they've gone to bed.
A true friend asks you why you took so long to call.
A good friend wonders about your romantic history.
A true friend could blackmail you with it.
A good friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument.
A true friend calls you after you had a fight.
A good friend, when visiting, acts like a guest.
A true friend opens your refrigerator and helps himself.
A good friend has never seen you cry.
A true friend has shoulders soggy from your tears.
A good friend doesn't know your parents' first names.
A true friend has their phone numbers in his address book.
A good friend expects you to always be there for them.
A true friend expects to always be there for you.
A good friend is someone you enjoy hanging out with.
A [true] friend is someone you need. (Neil Diamond, Heartlight)
BUT!!
A good friend will help you move.
A true friend will help you move a body.
A friend will take your alcohol away when you are drunk
A real friend will say "finish that you know we don't waste"
FAKE FRIENDS: Never ask for food
REAL FRIENDS: are the reason you have no food.
FAKE FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr/Mrs
REAL FRIENDS: Call your parents Dad/Mom
FAKE FRIENDS: bail you out of jail and tell you what you did was wrong.
REAL FRIENDS: Would sit next to you saying "Damn ... we messed up ... but that was fun!"
FAKE FRIENDS: never seen you cry.
REAL FRIENDS: cry with you
FAKE FRIENDS: Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back.
REAL FRIENDS: keep your stuff so long they forget its yours.
FAKE FRIENDS: know a few things about you.
REAL FRIENDS: Could write a book about you with direct quotes from you.
FAKE FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that is what the crowd is doing.
REAL FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowds butt that left you.
A good friend will pack you an overnight bag when you're taken to the hospital.
A true friend will clean out your porn collection before your parents arrive to pack your overnight bag.
a friend would lend you their umbrella when its raining
a TRUE friend would take your umbrella and run off shouting "RUN LOSER RUN!"
a good friend will tell you to get off the ground
a best friend will sit with you and say "how much money you recon we could get begging like this?"
A good friend helps you up if you trip
A best friend just stands there laughing because they tripped you
A good friend will lie for you in court if you committed murder.
A true friend will help you bury the body.
A good friend will tell you what you want to hear.
A true friend will always tell the truth.
A good friend seeks to talk with you about your problems.
A true friend seeks to help you with your problems.
A good friend will be there for you all through school.
A true friend will be there till the day you die.
A good friend will bail you out of prison.
A true friend will be sitting next to you saying
"damn that was fun, but we f**ked up somewhere along the line!".
A good friend brings a bottle of wine to your party.
A true friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.
A good friend hates it when you call after they've gone to bed.
A true friend asks you why you took so long to call.
A good friend wonders about your romantic history.
A true friend could blackmail you with it.
A good friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument.
A true friend calls you after you had a fight.
A good friend, when visiting, acts like a guest.
A true friend opens your refrigerator and helps himself.
A good friend has never seen you cry.
A true friend has shoulders soggy from your tears.
A good friend doesn't know your parents' first names.
A true friend has their phone numbers in his address book.
A good friend expects you to always be there for them.
A true friend expects to always be there for you.
A good friend is someone you enjoy hanging out with.
A [true] friend is someone you need. (Neil Diamond, Heartlight)
BUT!!
A good friend will help you move.
A true friend will help you move a body.
A friend will take your alcohol away when you are drunk
A real friend will say "finish that you know we don't waste"
FAKE FRIENDS: Never ask for food
REAL FRIENDS: are the reason you have no food.
FAKE FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr/Mrs
REAL FRIENDS: Call your parents Dad/Mom
FAKE FRIENDS: bail you out of jail and tell you what you did was wrong.
REAL FRIENDS: Would sit next to you saying "Damn ... we messed up ... but that was fun!"
FAKE FRIENDS: never seen you cry.
REAL FRIENDS: cry with you
FAKE FRIENDS: Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back.
REAL FRIENDS: keep your stuff so long they forget its yours.
FAKE FRIENDS: know a few things about you.
REAL FRIENDS: Could write a book about you with direct quotes from you.
FAKE FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that is what the crowd is doing.
REAL FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowds butt that left you.
A good friend will pack you an overnight bag when you're taken to the hospital.
A true friend will clean out your porn collection before your parents arrive to pack your overnight bag.
a friend would lend you their umbrella when its raining
a TRUE friend would take your umbrella and run off shouting "RUN LOSER RUN!"
a good friend will tell you to get off the ground
a best friend will sit with you and say "how much money you recon we could get begging like this?"
A good friend helps you up if you trip
A best friend just stands there laughing because they tripped you
A good friend will lie for you in court if you committed murder.
A true friend will help you bury the body.
Thursday 12 February 2009
Working Class Man
This song as performed by Jimmy Barnes has had a lot of airplay on Planet Rock recently. I must admit that when I first heard it, I assumed it was a Bruce Springsteen track, as it has all his clever blue collar America hallmarks to it.
Is this a way of life that is disappearing from the western world rapidly? Certainly jobs in the pits, docks, steel mills, and car plants have all but vanished both in the U.S. and here. Are the work ethics of the true working class disappearing, I hope not. Ok there are some generalisations here, as hard drinking and smoking do not have a place in my world, but the desire to provide for your family, the forming of close friendships, and a sense of pride in your country, are all worthy ambitions to have. In a time of world economic downturn, it is easy to forget the blue collar man who provided so much for the rest of us.
As Christians we should be aware of any need around us. I appreciate that there is not much on the face of it that as individuals we can do, but the power of prayer is not to be under estimated. Prayer is sometimes looked upon scornfully as meaningless by the world at large, but I believe that God will listen to our cries, and comfort those in need.
Working hard to make a living
Bringing shelter from the rain
A father's son left to carry on
Blue denim in his vein
Oh he's a working class man
Well he's a steel town disciple
He's a legend of his kind
He's running like a cyclone
Across the wild mid western sky
Oh he's a working class man
He believes in God and Elvis
He gets out when he can
He did his time in Vietnam
Still mad at Uncle Sam
he's a simple man
With a heart of gold
In a complicated land
Oh he's a working class man
Well he loves a little woman
Someday he'll make his wife
Saving all the overtime
For the one love of his life
He ain't worried about tomorrow
Cos he just made up his mind
Life's too short for burning bridges
Take it one day at a time
Oh he's a working class man
The clip below was recorded in 1988. I know he's a Scot by birth and an Aussie by nationality, but links in with all blue collar sentiments.
Is this a way of life that is disappearing from the western world rapidly? Certainly jobs in the pits, docks, steel mills, and car plants have all but vanished both in the U.S. and here. Are the work ethics of the true working class disappearing, I hope not. Ok there are some generalisations here, as hard drinking and smoking do not have a place in my world, but the desire to provide for your family, the forming of close friendships, and a sense of pride in your country, are all worthy ambitions to have. In a time of world economic downturn, it is easy to forget the blue collar man who provided so much for the rest of us.
As Christians we should be aware of any need around us. I appreciate that there is not much on the face of it that as individuals we can do, but the power of prayer is not to be under estimated. Prayer is sometimes looked upon scornfully as meaningless by the world at large, but I believe that God will listen to our cries, and comfort those in need.
Working hard to make a living
Bringing shelter from the rain
A father's son left to carry on
Blue denim in his vein
Oh he's a working class man
Well he's a steel town disciple
He's a legend of his kind
He's running like a cyclone
Across the wild mid western sky
Oh he's a working class man
He believes in God and Elvis
He gets out when he can
He did his time in Vietnam
Still mad at Uncle Sam
he's a simple man
With a heart of gold
In a complicated land
Oh he's a working class man
Well he loves a little woman
Someday he'll make his wife
Saving all the overtime
For the one love of his life
He ain't worried about tomorrow
Cos he just made up his mind
Life's too short for burning bridges
Take it one day at a time
Oh he's a working class man
The clip below was recorded in 1988. I know he's a Scot by birth and an Aussie by nationality, but links in with all blue collar sentiments.
Wednesday 4 February 2009
Twenty Years Ago Today
It was twenty years ago today, that I got married. For some reason best known to herself, she says it's called love, she has stuck by me all this time. I know that I could not have got through some of the stuff life has thrown at me over the years without her support. Thanks for everything.
It's amazing to think that we both have friends that have been married, separated, re-married, separated, in that time. I am so lucky to have found the one whom God had intended for me. She says she knew that I was going to ask her to marry me, and that she would say yes, sometime before I actually did. Wish God had told me earlier, would have solved some of the hassle at the time!
Here's to the next twenty years, and more.
It's amazing to think that we both have friends that have been married, separated, re-married, separated, in that time. I am so lucky to have found the one whom God had intended for me. She says she knew that I was going to ask her to marry me, and that she would say yes, sometime before I actually did. Wish God had told me earlier, would have solved some of the hassle at the time!
Here's to the next twenty years, and more.
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