Life's Been Good (so far)

Life's Been Good
Lyrics by Joe Walsh
Borrowed by Larry Reid

I have a mansion, forget the price
Ain't never been there, they tell me it's nice
Actually, I don't own a mansion. I have a log home. A home built by my own 40 hands. Okay, so it's not actually my 40 hands, but the hard working, sweaty, bloody hands of family and friends. It took all of us 18 months to complete , but it was a blast building it. Laura and I, along with my brother Gary and wife Susan, Jim (Buster) and Mom, brother Bob and wife Barbara, sister Linda and her friends Alan and Larry B., great friends David D'Amelio and Larry D., my son Mike, nephews Pete, Derick, Brandon, Shannon, and a host of others dropped what they were doing and threw their weight behind the project lovingly known as “Fort Reid”. We now live in this house and absolutely love it and are indebted to those who lent their time and talents to build this place. We will always love you guys and never forget you! “Nuestra fortaleza es tu fortaleza”

I live in hotels, tear out the walls
I have accountants pay for it all
No hotels (see above), although I have stayed in a few recently. No accountants either. Oh, wait! I have people! H&R Block. But I pay them. Does this count?

They say I'm crazy but I have a good time
I'm just looking for clues at the scene of the crime
Life's been good to me so far
Crazy? Sure. A good time? Definitely! My job consists of putting people on television – some who really don't need to be seen there. I also shoot models and beauty queens. I audition new talent and decide whose face will represent our company. I try and build business profits with 30 second messages, sometimes achieving this, sometimes not. I work with car dealers, hardware store owners, universities, professional sports teams, dance companies, city governments and talented yet whiny producers. I work with scum-of-the-earth ad agency guys, voice personalities, politicians and preachers. I have shot press conferences, had my box of cookies stolen by the likes of Troy Aikmen while shooting Emmit Smith for an NFL post-game interview, met my childhood hero Joe Namath, and shared a hot tub with Miss America, Miss North Carolina, Miss Kentucky and Miss South Carolina...all together! I recently went to London and Paris and am looking forward to a trip to Italy next year.
Life has indeed been good!

My Maserati does one-eighty-five
I lost my license, now I don't drive
I have a limo, ride in the back
I lock the doors in case I'm attacked
For me, this line should actually mention my 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier. I bought it used in 2001 from a shifty auto dealer, sight unseen. I still have my license, which is how I've managed to put almost 300,000 miles on this little gem in seven short years. I've always spoken of the no-frills nature of this car by reminding naysayers of it's 'stealth' capabilities (knock wood, but I've never gotten a ticket in it).
It's good on gas mileage, pretty low maintenance and gets me where I need to go. I only have to lock the doors when I'm in Columbia working, and only then when I have camera gear inside.

I make hit records, my fans they can't wait
They write me letters, tell me I'm great
So I got me an office, gold records on the wall
Just leave a message, maybe I'll call
No hit records, although a few years ago Larry D and I set upon the task of writing and recording a few songs for our own enjoyment. And, if you leave me a message, 9 times out of 10 I will call back.

Lucky I'm sane after all I've been through
(Everybody say “I'm cool”......”He's cool”)
I can't complain but sometimes I still do
Life's been good to me so far
Okay, so maybe I'm not the sanest person on earth. But I did manage to survive my wife's insane circus of a family for nigh on 17 years and come out the other end a bit scathed but relatively sane. My secret?
Always look at insane situations from a third-party perspective. This allows you to see the humor in the most insane of situations.

I go to parties, sometimes until four
It's hard to leave when you can't find the door
It's tough to handle this fortune and fame
Everybody's so different, I haven't changed
My partying days are over. You know, the kind of parties where you drink and dance and howl at the moon. I remember one particular incident where I thought I was howling at the moon only to realize I was howling at a street lamp. The neighbors aren't quick to forget the night you're on all fours in the backyard, naked and howling like the dickens at a street lamp. They tend to look at you differently after an episode such as this. Hmmm...maybe this is why the local baptist church members started dropping by the house weekly to try and recruit us to their church. Just a thought.
It's been awhile since I couldn't find the door. The door is the first thing that I recognize and find these days...especially when the hour approaches 9pm and my bedtime is drawing nigh. No fortune or fame here either. Never wanted or needed either of these since I wouldn't know what to do with them. Regarding change. I have changed quite a bit. Being in the 'image capturing' business, I have seen far too many back shots of myself and wondered “who's the bald guy?”, realized it was me and accepted the fate of my father's genes. My ass has gotten wider, my wallet is thinner and I don't move quite as fast as I once did. Still, I have survived three heart attacks, stent placement, bypass surgery, tragic losses of family and friends, marital woes and job insecurities. While the losses are still hard to bear, I have realized that for awhile, for a brief period of time, I was priviledged to know those who have since passed. Lucky? I think so. Main word here is 'survived'.
I joined the 'Classmates' website last night. Clicking through old memories, places and times took me to a few photos of old girlfriends and how they appear now. Wow, everybody is different.

They say I'm lazy but it takes all my time
(Everybody say “Oh, yeah”..... “Oh, yeah”)
I keep on goin’ guess I'll never know why
Life's been good to me so far
I like to think that I'm not lazy, just reserving energy for my later years. And the answer to why I keep going? There is so much left to do, to see, to experience. And since my son is soon to wed, I want to be around when my new grandchild makes his or her appearance to the world. It may be a few years before this event takes place, but I need to be around to tell him or her the same thing that my father told my son when he was a boy - “give him as much shit as he gave me”.

Yeah, yeah, yeah