"i wanna go back to the island
where the shrimp boats tie to the pilin's.
gimme oysters and beer for dinner every day of the year
and i'll feel fine,
i'll feel fine."

i have asked only one thing of my sons for my memorial service: play "Tin Cup Chalice" by Jimmy Buffett. it's not my favorite Buffett song, but one of the most meaningful. "going back to the island" is not about actually going to Key West, although my one trip there was wonderful (once hurricane Mitch had passed). it's about living right, not just materially but psychologically, emotionally. it's about keeping priorities clear.

"yea the sun goes sliding 'cross the water
sailboats they go searchin' for the breeze.
salt air, it ain't thin; it can stick right to your skin
and make you feel fine,
make you feel fine."

writing about politics can be so serious, so self-important, so cripplingly depressing. while the subject matter, and the ends, are terribly important and serious, that kind of writing rarely is of interest. to write effectively about things that matter, a writer still must captivate and entertain. there's never any excuse not to write well, to write with a creative spirit.

"cause i want to be there,
i want to go back down and lie beside the sea there.
with a tin cup for a chalice
fill it up with good red wine,
and i'll be chewin' on a honeysuckle vine."

so it's the right attitude, whatever my latitude. as Thich Naht Tran says, "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way." and as Jimmy Buffett says, "If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane."