Dont stop. don't ever stop

When we're young we can be whatever we want. "Daddy, I want to be a fireman, like fireman Sam" " Mummy I want to be an astronaut and go and have a picnic on the moon", "granny I want to be a footballer" We look, we smile, we say " that's great". As we get older things change and we start being more realistic. You want to be an astronaut? then you better study hard at school. You didn't get the qualifications for that? Well, here's an application for something else. Why not work in a call centre or have you considered office work? And as we get older we accept that. We accept that whatever we wanted, whatever we dreamed about doing is just that, a dream and nothing more. Yeah, it would be nice to follow that dream but lets face it, not everyone gets to live their dream and have the life they wanted. So we accept what we have and with a deep sigh of regret move on with our lives and fill in the application for the mundane job we never wanted. We get bored, we settle into it and maybe even start believing this is what we were always meant to do. We  couldn't do anything else. We 're lucky to have this job. Apply for something else? No chance! They'll just say no anyway so why bother.
But it doesn't have to be like that. The only person stopping you from doing what you want to do is you. Sure others will scoff and may think your being daft even trying to change but don't let them tell you what you cant do. You may never be an astronaut,or a fireman, or whatever your dream job is but if you don't at least try to get there then you'll never know if you could have been. It's true, you might not complete the journey and end up where you wanted to be, but you might end up finding something else something different along the way that suits you better. You might never be a footballer but maybe you could be a sports journalist and write about it. The important thing is to start the journey and never give up. It sounds corny as hell but the journey IS just as important as the destination, maybe even more so. Never give up on your dream, never stop believing in yourself and then, eventually, others will believe in you too. Then you can talk about it over a cheese sandwich on the lunar surface.

Prince

Prince passed away today. I don't know why but for some reason it's hit me pretty hard. I can't say I have many Prince albums in my collection and I never saw him live but I loved his music. He seemed to me to be a true artist. someone who wasn't in it for the fame and riches but just loved making music. I get the feeling even if he had ended up working in a dead end job music would still have been a big part of his life. We were lucky he got to share it with us. A singer, song writer, dancer, and musician he truly was an artist. I'm not  going to say he'll be missed because his music is still here. As long as we still have that then he will still be with us.
Music truly is power. It has the power to bring joy and sorrow, to unite people and also, at times, to divide. But those who are able to make music, they truly have the power of Gods. A song can transport you in time, back to your younger days when things were simpler. I remember when I was around 18 or 19 going on a camping trip with some close friends. In fact, I'm still in touch with most of them today. It was at the time when Prince released "Sexy Mother Fucker" Of course when it was played on the radio it was censored. That weekend, in a tiny tent on a camp site in Balloch it became known to us as "Sexy Mother *sniff*" Course it developed from there. telling each other to "*sniff*" off, or "get to *sniff*"  Now its not one of his big hits, and most folk probably wont remember it but when I hear it it always makes me laugh remembering that weekend over 20 years ago.
I love a lot of his songs. When Doves Cry, Kiss, Peach, and or course my favourite one, Purple Rain. That song has a different memory for me. It takes me back to an empty hall in Riddrie in 1989.  I used to do a mobile disco there every Friday for my uncle William. He'd got a hold of this set of turntables and he know I was a big music fan so had asked me to come and run the disco. I couldn't have been very good because no one ever turned up and most weeks I ended up playing to an empty hall, so I'd take a friend with me. Most of the time it was Sandra. I loved those nights, just playing music and having fun. One night though, and i don't remember the reason why, I just wasn't my usual self. I was feeling down. Still, I had a commitment to be there so I called Sandra and off we went. The hall was empty as usual so I turned off the lights, turned on the mirror ball and stuck on Prince and Purple Rain. We both sat there just listening to the music. It was cool, almost magical just watching the lights and listening to Prince making that guitar weep. When it was done Sandra, who obviously could tell I wasn't feeling great, turned and said "Right you, cheer up. I want to dance. Stick on Jive Bunny"
I think its because of memories like these that Prince's death hit me so hard. I'm sad he's gone, and I'll continue playing his music, Jive bunny...not so much!