Odds, Ends, and Good People

This past weekend Celeste had a jewelry booth at the George West Storyfest. (http://www.georgeweststoryfest.org/) I headed over with Mom and we decided to check it out. It was a nice day outside and it was pretty cool to sit around and do some people watching, which is one of my favorite things. I even considered getting up and telling a story or two myself, since I enjoy telling a good story and I just happen to have a few. The open mic part of the day was later in the evening and by the time it rolled around, all we wanted to do was eat and go home, so alas I did not get to regale the audience with a semi-true story from my memory bank. Maybe next year.



As I was sitting behind the booth watching people I looked down the sidewalk behind me and noticed a man coming my way. He was carrying a guitar and wearing a cowboy hat. These two things alone let me know that when he made it to where I was sitting, we would visit for a while...and we did. He was a Brick Mason by trade, but a songwriter and musician at heart. He just hadn't found a way to make the songwriting pay. We laughed about that. He told me that last year he had written over 200 songs and sent them to Nashville. "No one likes my songs though." He liked to write mostly cowboy type songs and throw some gospel in there as well. We both agreed that was not "Mainstream Country". No one nowadays wants to go to Wal-Mart and buy that. He played a few for us and they were pretty darn good. The last one he played was a song he wrote about a train on the tracks, and how he thought it would be cool if a train was going down the tracks with Jesus as the conductor. Then when the train whistle blew every time, it wouldn't whistle, but spread God's glory. Sounds like a train we could all ride on. He told me that he enjoyed writing songs so much because in a song you could be anything or anyone you wanted to be. After a few songs, he went on his way and I hope he had a good day. He was a pretty cool fellow.



I got to thinking about him though. Can you imagine doing something for fun, but doing it over 200 times and not being successful? I know lots of people who are "good" at something, but have not had "success" as most people would define it. That leads me to my point.



We all have our own definition of what being "successful" is. People measure it in different ways. Money, clothes, cars, having the latest coolest thing, a fancy title or job, etc....we all have seen it. But does that make us a good man or woman? At the end of the day, when we take all those things away, have we been a "good" person that day? Did we act like we should, or treat people like we should? That's what matters. Although we might try to be a good person and fail 200 times, do we keep trying? We should. These things we should all do....



I hope that little fella with the bad hips, guitar, and cowboy hat writes the best song anyone's ever heard. I hope he writes it on his next try, George Strait records it and it goes all the way to #1! He made me keep things in perspective by visiting for a while....I'd call him a "good" man.





Walker