I was the first car behind a guy on the interstate last night who was doing 10-15mph under the posted 55mph speed limit through about 25 miles of construction.  Traffic was one lane and he refused to speed up or take an exit and let the half-mile line of cars behind him go by.  Road rage doesn't even begin to cover the frustration and fury that was coursing through me.  It was bad enough that my only way to deal with it and not lose my sanity completely was to use one of my music geek superpowers to re-write the lyrics to Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called" and sing them while I honked at the guy.  Here's what came out--complete with honking.  (Oh, and as an aside, I always jokingly refer to my awesome Subaru Baja as "my noble steed.")  Maybe it's worth a laugh.  Enjoy(?)! 

I Just Honked

If anyone ever wanted to see how enormous of a geek I am, here's the recording that I made and used for an answering machine message back in 1998.  Made in my dorm room with a tape deck, mic and a MiniDisc recorder.  Found this while clearing out an external hard drive... 

1998 - Answering Machine Message - California Dreamin'

This is a bootleg copy of a song by a pal who rapped for several years under the name Revolutionary Prophet--a very intellectual hip hop artist.  He did this one in early 2010, not long before I met him.  I liked it, and I break it out every June.

Revolutionary Prophet - Equality Now

Not terribly unlike the way that the lines of "Have a Seat" sprang out of me back in July, all of the emotional turmoil of the last few days spun together this afternoon. These lines almost typed themselves out onto my keyboard and demanded to be given voice...

An Ally's Song

You fight the good fight your way,
And I'll fight the good fight mine.
Just don't shoot me in the back, my friend,
And we'll get along just fine.

If my vantage point lets me observe
That some of your shots are going wide,
Don't dismiss me when I tell you what I'm seeing--
I'm on your freaking side!

If your aim comes too close and too fast
Forcing *me* to dive for the ground,
You've made my position useless 
For bringing redeemable folks around.

I'm not here to dissuade or disarm you
Or somehow "put you back into your place."
I'm trying to help us both be more effective
At punching injustice right in the face.

We, at least, can agree on the ends, I think
After hearing us all venting spleens,
But don't pretend that I have nothing to offer
When it comes time to talk about means.

Who's closer to folks who've got power?
Who knows where they're softest and weak?
Who knows what will get them to listen
Or shut their ears when we start to speak?

I'm here to do recon and intel
And advise you on how to proceed
But I know that, for you, I'm just backup--
I'm not here to give orders or lead.

I'm not doing this for praise or attention.
I'm not fighting to make *me* feel good. 
I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do--
I can, so I will and I should.

So let's all sing this song together-- 
A harmonic voice in this war that we fight--
And all remember that every weapon can be a tool
If you're careful and you hold it right.

An Ally's Song

Back in July, after witnessing a series of social media flamewars and a double-fistful of fairly caustic wranglings between leatherfolk, punctuated here and there with mean-girl exclusive shittiness, I spouted off something into my phone one morning on the drive to work.

Have a Seat

Have a seat.
Have a seat and LISTEN to me.
Don't just hear me, heed me...understand me...know me.
Have a seat and I will listen to you, too.
I will listen even if it makes me uncomfortable, even if it upsets me. I will listen with a will to do more than simply wait my turn to speak. I will reach out to you with my listening and be WITH you, not just NEAR you.

In this place, where we champion voices, where we amplify those so seldom heard, so often silenced, 
In this time, where shouting comes from every corner--in anger, in joy, in passion, in ourtrage
In this heart, where there burns a fire and blows a trumpet and there is so much to say,
In this world where we send our words across a globe, across a screen, it is all too easy to be a thousand miles from the person next to you,
And it doesn't matter what you are saying if no one is listening.

We must do more than simply SEE one another, we must LISTEN to each other. LISTEN with open ears and open hearts and open minds. LISTEN without judgment, without defensiveness, without our egos getting in the way. We must LISTEN with respect, with humility, with a desire to know and be known.

So I say to you my brothers and my sisters, to all of you whom I call family, and whom I might call family,
And to you, stranger, and you with whom I disagree, you who are different, and even you who I am afraid may be my enemy
Please...pull up to my table...and have a seat. 
You CAN sit with us.

FoxBear