The Black Crows at Red Rocks, Dirty Filthy Honey, Dividing the World by Wise People and Fools

“Our world is not divided by race, color, gender, or religion.  Our world is divided into wise people and fools.  And fools divide themselves by race, color, gender, or religion.” – Mohamad Safa

Good morning; the sunrise is breathtaking as usual,  my wife is in bed, my coffee is made, time for me to pen a few thoughts about life, liberty, and happiness. We had a good day yesterday; we started working early and took our pup for a 2-mile walk. Then, a crane came and removed our old hot tub; it was an exciting process.   Later today, our friend comes out to assess our new deck construction and remove our old; according to him, our current setup is not a safe deck for a hot tub.

We worked here until 3:30 and then headed down the hill to Brooks Place Tavern.  We met the owners, Dave and Nicole, and we loaded up our Forerunner and headed to Red Rocks. Although we had bought Black Crow tickets a couple of years ago, we had been waiting on this show. Finally, we arrived and tailgated; Dave had made us some wraps, we had a drink, and we watched the folks in the parking lot.

At 6:30, we headed into our seats, met some friendly folks, my friend Jay stopped by; he had his crew.  The opening band was a band we found last year, a four-piece called Dirty Honey.  They are superb—young rockers with a vocalist that can belt out some tunes if you want to check them out, find them on Youtube.

When I first heard the Black Crows were getting together, I was excited, then disappointed they were not using their original lineup.  The Crows are essentially two brothers, Chris and Rich Robinson; Chris is the vocalist, and Rich is the guitarist.   I first heard them in college, followed them until they broke up; it seems the brothers are not fans of one another.  But, a couple of years ago, they decided to reform and bring in a new team of musicians to back them up.

The band is tight, I mean, I have no idea the other players in the band, but it might have been the best show we have ever seen at Red Rocks.  Great energy, great stage setup, minimal talk, and a lot of rock.  We danced and sang along until 10:30, our mandatory leave time; we picked up our Chik Fila sandwiches and headed home.  That is our last music concert this year at our favorite venue; we did score some Bill Burr tickets for October that will wrap our 2021 concert series.  

Last night, it occurred to me that I’ve been to Red Rocks 3 times in the previous three weeks.  That’s me surrounded by 30,000 dancing, singing, happy, joyful people, and I have not contracted the Delta Variant. If one would watch the news, my experience is a miracle; yes, I’m vaccinated, but if you watch some media, my experience is almost unbelievable; Since May of 2020, my wife and I have decided to live our lives as we see fit. 

I know many folks that have chosen to stay inside, not venture too far out; if they do, they wear a mask and social distance. If that is how you have chosen to live your life, good on you.  But please understand and respect that 50% of the population is built like us; we have decided to choose freedom over fear.  

I saw the quote above yesterday and grabbed it.  I thought it a perfect selection for today’s times of some trying to separate us on race. For example, a New York University has set up black-only dorms to give that segment of the population a safe place.   When I first heard that news, I thought, that’s racist, but today I understand it’s just foolish. 

I do think we live in a time where some are wise, and some are fools.  I want to believe my thoughts and ideas have some wisdom, but I’m sure I am sometimes a fool; I’m not perfect, but I think I use logic and facts to determine my outlook and view of our world. If something does not sound right, I’m not above looking up facts to prove or disprove the information provided. I suggest you do the same, don’t believe everything you hear, do a little work to fact check the “misinformation.”

We have our monthly sales meeting this morning, all team members jump on a Zoom, and we share our success, failures, and how we did this month. Of course, each salesperson has a goal; I have a good idea of using my weekly text reporting system.  But it’s good to get our sales team together and share stories. So today, I want to take a deep dive into what is driving our sales.  Where are we finding our new business, what is driving our pipeline?

I think in every business, there are four P’s that drive growth and success.  They are people, processes, pipelines, and Products. So, if you want to check your company quickly, ask yourself what area you most need to improve.  Running a company allows for your firm’s continued analysis, and small incremental changes in each “P” can take you from good to great.

Another great day ahead, a walk; we are dog sitting for our friend Melissa starting tonight through Friday.  Jack is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and also is Parker Van Halen’s boyfriend.  They are about the same age; they have boundless energy, it will be fun watching them play and wear themselves out.  We have some errands to run this afternoon; our friends Keith and Kathy are coming over for dinner. 

Well, I think that will do it for this older man.  At 52, I feel and act like I’m 14, but I can tell old man time is doing a number on my body.  I’m creaky in the morning, but after a few steps around the house, my body opens up, and it’s a functional vessel for my soul.  How’s your soul?  I mean, we can talk about your body, mind, and spirit, but how is your soul.  Are you connected to something bigger than yourself?   If not, I’m sorry, if you think you are alone, I guess you will be alone, but I know for a fact there is something greater than ourselves, something that ties us all together no matter your race, color, or creed. So please do me a favor and try to be wise and not a fool.

“Our world is not divided by race, color, gender, or religion.  Our world is divided into wise people and fools.  And fools divide themselves by race, color, gender, or religion.” – Mohamad Safa