Finding Happiness During the Fall of Western Civilization

Seems Vladmir Putin, that old KGB retread from the dark days of the Cold War has assassinated another political enemy, this time with radioactive poisoning. Putin is still KGB and about as committed to democracy as Karl Marx. What's more, the old Commie is providing an air missle defense system to Iran in case either Israel or the US decides to bomb Iran's nuclear plants. Putin is an old despot who is just plain bad news, as if we needed any more right now. Putin should be an acknowledged enemy of the West and Russia should be added to the states that support worldwide terrorism.

In January we have a new pacifist Congress taking power as they are cheered on by their terrorist and communist supporters and fans, just at a time when Syria and Iran feel increasingly confident about destroying Israel and furthering the worldwide jihad against Infidels. I do not feel at all optimistic about reversing the continuing and accelerating decline of Western Civilization. I am thinking of buying a good rifle like an M-16, though I really don't know what I would do with it. I just like the idea of having one in case of some nightmare scenario where it might be needed.

I have a feeling that I won't be happy with the political situation for a while, so I am looking for other things to make me happy in the interim. I have two things right now, a warm puppy and music. Let me explain.

My son and I went to see a rancher in Half Moon Bay a couple of days ago to buy one of his Bullmastiff pups. My son owned a Bullmastiff who contracted cancer and died back in July and he has been wanted another one to help plug the crack in his heart. The rancher we bought it from was a gun-toting survivalist type who drove a big Ford pickup truck, Harley-Davidson edition. He had long hair and a goatee and wore a white baseball cap. He told us there are 4,000 mosques in American and "there should be zero." He also mentioned he smokes fine cigars and believes every American citizen should own a gun. Obviously, the man was a right wing redneck gun nut who is completely out of touch with sensitivity and multiculturalism. In other words, my kind of guy.

We picked out a female red fawn pup with a black mask and brought her home. In two days she has charmed everyone in the house, including my pet-hating wife, and we all just love her. Happiness is a warm puppy indeed. Her name is Prudence. She is eight weeks old and will be around 120 pounds when full grown.

During the Fall of Western Civilization I want to imitate Nero who played the violin while Rome burned. Only I will be playing my string bass. When dirty bombs are ravaging Cleveland and anthrax is wiping out Chatanooga and Jihadis are beheading our citizens in the streets, I will be on my balcony overlooking the burning scene as I lay down some funky bass lines. I'm exaggerating - I don't even have a balcony.

But I really am working on those bass lines. I just bought a whole handfull of Vince Guaraldi Trio CD's (smooth jazz) and one by the Stanley Clarke Trio and another by the David Benoit quartet. For those who would play cool jazz, you have to listen to a lot of it first.

Vince Guaraldi was a piano player from San Francisco whose jazz trio provided much of the theme music for Charles Schultz's "Peanuts" cartoon. Two CD's I recommend are "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "A Boy Named Charlie Brown," both with original music by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. There is nothing lovelier than Christmas music played as smooth jazz (also called mellow jazz).

Vince Guaraldi died suddenly in early 1976 of a heart attack, while playing at a club in Menlo Park, California. He was on break between sets and went into a private room, sat down and just died. He was 46 years old and had just that morning completed recording the theme music to "It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown." David Benoit, another fine jazz musician, took over the Peanuts theme music after Guaraldi's death.

I love to practice string bass to Guaraldi's music, but it is also a potent antitode for the blues. I recommend it.