I'm listening to Greetings From Asbury Park right now. Anyone out there get into Springsteen? His old stuff has the most amazing stream of conciousness flow going on through it. I started thinking about it becuase of a book on the American Character that just came out recently. What writers (music, lit, screen, graphic,) can you think of that portray the American Character. Are there particular American Characteristics? I read a patriotic jingoistic column from a neo-con trying to define the American Character according to his values but I saw so much that he was missing. Belief in the Possiblities, A driving urge to explore and push the boundaries. These are traits that seem to be missing from the current crop of Alex P Keatons.

Walt Whitman (who I still have problems with), Thomas Wolfe, John Dos Passos, Jack Kerouac, Lenny Bruce, Bob Dylan, Sprinsteen, Rickie Lee Jones, Tom Waits. These are some of the people who have explained it to me. Often in tumble over out of control lyrics that take on a life of their own and drag you along with the characters through the Main Streets and downtown alleys, smalltown diners and bigtown dives, Driving through the country, down the highway and just around town. Observing what people do every day and wondering why they did it this way instead of that.

Anyone got any other suggestions or favorites?

Open your minds
Open you hearts
Open your eyes
Life moves pretty fast
You don't want to miss anything so sit down wherever you are and watch the show for a while

Later

Andy

We're all in the gutter but
some of us are looking at the stars.
- Oscar Wilde
Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.
-Mark Twain