The Heat

It seems the fifties are behind us, at least for a couple of days, with the forecasters calling for ninety degrees to begin this week. I’ve been ready for some warm sunshine, so I can’t complain.

I have been keeping my mind occupied, and my ears, with a multitude of hot blues licks to fight off the clouds and chills during this “schwinter” weather for most of May. The long dust collecting components of my stereo system failed to work years ago, back after the move, and I have been forced to peek into the much-changed music world. I have opened the cover of today’s streaming driven arena.

I guess I am a guy who fishes with bamboo fly rods, older English spring and pawl fly reels and dry flies I craft with furs and feathers, and I am used to listen to the music I choose to listen, not what some computer decides to play for me. Just now, the AI must have tapped into my thoughts and started the plaintive introduction to one of my favorite songs, the Stones “Gimme Shelter”. Still, I started listening to Walter Trout. I heard a couple of songs with Walter’s guitar putting out that massive tone and suddenly Stevie Ray Vaughan was playing. Great tunes, but hey, I wanted to listen to Walter Trout!

At least this AI crap hasn’t gotten to the point that something invades my brain and forces me to tie on some synthetic foam mutant bad idea for an Isonychia when I reach into my fly box for a Catskill March Brown. I fear that kind of thing is coming. Every time enjoying an event of some sort, I see a bunch of people staring into their smart phones completely mesmerized, oblivious to their surroundings whether they are at ballgames, concerts or whatever is actually happening around them. The robots want to turn us into robots too!

Ah, the robots are sending me some Buddy Guy trying to get my attention back. Tricky those damned machines. I started playing Nate Gross’ award winning “Wild Turkey” live album the other day and the computer stopped and told me I had to watch a commercial if I wanted to listen to that. I relented, though I objected that, but they stopped again after one song. Forcing me into signing up to pay them a monthly bill I guess, that seems to what the machines want, people sending them automated monthly payments.

Damn, I really, truly need to get an old Leonard or Thomas & Thomas in my hand and wander out into a river…