Rivenrock Gardens Blog

I'm going to rent myself a house
In the shade of the freeway
I'm going to pack my lunch in the morning
And go to work each day
And when the evening rolls around
I'll go on home and lay my body down
And when the morning light comes streaming in
I'll get up and do it again
Amen
Say it again
Amen

   Traveling along the roadway; one of my favorite musicians blaring from the speakers, Jackson Browne with an old tune, one that resonates in my psyche as I travel along. This tune brought back a rush of memories, hopes and dreams from my miss-spent youth and now from this time in my life.
   It sings to me of my youthful yearning to be rid of earthly desires, of a time when I most wanted nothing more than to wish for nothing from life but fun. Of a time when I saw the 'folly' of the working man, rising early each morning to toil in labor and vexation for his earthly reward of Monday night football and pizza, and a new car every third year; an endless succession of days and nights rolling along through the decades until the man finally gets to retire to his pitiful pension and social security.

I want to know what became of the changes
We waited for love to bring
Were they only the fitful dreams
Of some greater awakening
I've been aware of the time going by
They say in the end it's the wink of an eye
And when the morning light comes streaming in
You'll get up and do it again
Amen

   And then I went into the Army and learned a lot about a lot of things. And came out with a deeper appreciation for life and the things this country can give us, but still I resisted the call to material acquisition. But wanting to live in an apartment and not on the park bench I had to work.

Caught between the longing for love
And the struggle for the legal tender
Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring
And the junk man pounds his fender
Where the veterans dream of the fight
Fast asleep at the traffic light
And the children solemnly wait
For the ice cream vendor
Out into the cool of the evening
Strolls the pretender
He knows that all his hopes and dreams
Begin and end there

   But I had a boss who demanded long hours at times. I was on the treadmill of modern life. I was endlessly putting money into life so I could make it to work. The landlord raised the rent on the apartment in a stunning series of 'bumps' until I decided to bite the bullet and buy a house. Still for years my bookcases were cinder blocks and lumber, and the furniture was made from cable reels and driftwood. The walls were decorated with homemade art and animal hides I tanned myself. My indulgence was my motorcycle.
      Then I met Vickie...

Ah, the laughter of the lovers
As they run through the night
Leaving nothing for the others
But to choose off and fight
And tear at the world with all their might
While the ships bearing their dreams
Sail out of sight

   Yes, we ran through the night with the bliss of new-found love. And it matured and grew stronger through the years. And we did not care about the ships that sailed by in the darkness of our love.

I'm going to find myself a girl
Who can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors
In each other's paint-by-number dreams
And then we'll put our dark glasses on
And we'll make love until our strength is gone
And when the morning light comes streaming in
We'll get up and do it again vGet it up again

   And now twenty years are come and gone, we live alone in the hills, a land teeming with wildlife, alone in our contented life, together with one another and the all-encompassing creation that we have entered into here. Going along in our own little world, just the two of us now that the boy is grown and gone to his own life.

I'm going to be a happy idiot
And struggle for the legal tender
Where the ads take aim and lay their claim
To the heart and the soul of the spender
And believe in whatever may lie
In those things that money can buy
Thought true love could have been a contender
Are you there?
Say a prayer for the pretender
Who started out so young and strong
Only to surrender