Augury

I make a point every year of paying close attention to the first song I hear on the radio during my commute on the first day of each school year. While working at Cabela's, I learned that country-western songs tend to be more about values and life lessons than classic rock, so I made sure my radio was tuned to 99.9 (The Wolf) on August 30. Chatter, so I switched to WPOR. More chatter, so I switched to WCLZ. And ad. So with much trepidation, I returned to the station which initially gave me the idea by playing "A Long December" by the Counting Crows: 102.9 WBLM.

"Peace of Mind" by Boston. I didn't actually hear any of the lyrics, but that astral flight of guitar at the end was unmistakable. And what, thirty years later I could still call the lyrics to mind (misspent youth, and not even misspent in the good way). I don't object to pursuing peace of mind, but the lyrics themselves seem to condemn all ambition. I suppose it fits for a band that played enough variations on their one song to fill a few albums and then vanished, leaving their record label with an unfulfilled contract. The song might have been an anthem for the post-Vietnam, stagflationary era when it took too much energy to even be anti-establishment. My favorite exchange (okay, the only one I remember) from Saturday Night Fever comes to mind.

Tony: Fuck the future.
Boss: Hey! You don't fuck the future. The future fucks you!

Let's remember that peace of mind won't really be found by wandering around ponds gnawing bark or coking up and dancing the night away. True peace of mind comes from the knowledge that you have examined your life and lived according to a consistent set of values that encompass a moral system. I'm not recommending a particular code or creed -- I'm talking about finding the values that seek The Good and reject The Bad. Boston didn't offer it, but they did call attention to it and for that, my thanks.