Song: Darlin' please put that cigarette down

I can't believe I wrote a country song yesterday. It's not a personal anecdote per se, but was at least inspired by some people I love who are smokers. Lord knows I don't judge smoking or drinking, but since I love these friends, I can't help but want to spare them the lung cancer, the lymphoma, and I may be idealistic, but do believe there's a quality of life that can be had without them.

The song is about a guy who knows a girl from hanging out at a local bar, and inviting her to join him in setting aside the lifestyle they've both been living, of killing the pain with alcohol, coping with cigarettes, sleeping around, and he finally gets up the courage to ask her to marry him. I might turn it into a short story sometime, and if I do, some of the unwritten lyrics will wind up in it - because the guy is basically saying, let's both put our cigarettes down, I want to grow old with you, I want to have a quality of life with you and it will tear me apart if I'm sitting at your bedside someday and you have lung cancer - it's not just about you darlin, and your coping - it's about me and you. I don't think our life will be ideal, but I love you; let's stop killing ourselves; let's try to make babies, and I do want to sit by that bedside.

--

She sat in her seat at the bar on the corner
I drank up her beauty, which gave me the courage
to walk straight ahead and look deep in her eyes
and say what my heart has made me realize

(chorus)
darlin please put that cigarette down
take my hand and i'll twirl you around
and I'll hold you real tight cause I love you so much
I like how your skin feels so warm to the touch

darlin please put your whiskey away
give me your hand and I'll whisk you away
and We'll make sweet love and raise kids of our own
and we'll reap what we can from the seeds that we've sown

--

She said honey I'm flattered but far from a flower
I'm just off from work and I sure need a shower
But I said you're the rose of the evening to me
now stop all your fussin and listen to me

--

(chorus)
darlin please put that cigarette down
take my hand and i'll twirl you around
and I'll hold you real tight cause I love you so much
I like how your skin feels so warm to the touch

darlin please put your whiskey away
give me your hand and I'll whisk you away
and We'll make sweet love and raise kids of our own
and we'll reap what we can from the seeds that we've sown

--

she started to smile and my heart felt like thunder
she gave me her hand and I felt ten years younger
and now we just dance by the moon and starlight
and grow old together and share every night

--

(chorus)
darlin please put that cigarette down
take my hand and i'll twirl you around
and I'll hold you real tight cause I love you so much
I like how your skin feels so warm to the touch

darlin please put your whiskey away
give me your hand and I'll whisk you away
and We'll make sweet love and raise kids of our own
and we'll reap what we can from the seeds that we've sown

Obama Speech in Cairo

Obama in Cairo, to young people. "You more than anyone, have an ability to re-imagine this world. To re-make, this world."

It seems to personally that he said exactly what needed to be said.

I went to college w/Todd Beamer, who died on 9/11. Since then I've been trying to think in small ways of how I could help make the world better, and one of the areas I've been interested in learning more about is Middle East issues.

I think Obama's hopeful Cairo speech may be one of the most important speeches you may ever have the opportunity of seeing. It's not that the speech can do much in and of itself (although it has had good effect and is an important statement), it's that it represents a sensitivity and historical understanding of issues important to Muslims, and represents an opportunity to work towards making peace.

The entire speech can be watched at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/NewBeginning/

(If the link is no longer available someday, the YouTube video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaxZPiiKyMw)