Date:         Fri, 05 Apr 96 09:10:14 CST
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      drugs and bugs and buses and fusses ...

having grown up in the army with all the drugs and vietnam and strange music,
and having been around vw's since 1958 and buses since 1970, and having read
a small bit about music and literature throughout the ages, i feel somewhat
compelled to comment:

addictive substances have been around for a lot more years than any of us have
been alive. and those "drugs" have ruined many many many lives. but the art,
poetry, music, or whatever that some creative people have produced, with or
without the "aid" or necessity of those drugs has to stand on its own merit.
Edgar Allen Poe was a flagrant dope addict, but they still teach "The Raven"
in English classes in high schools and colleges. also William Blake's poems
(Tiger, Tiger, burning bright ...) <who i always disliked, by the by). Wagner
and many other musical "geniuses" weren't exactly tee-totalers. Elvis had his
problems as well. all throughout the ages, those whom we set apart by virtue
of their art or music or whatever (actors, politicians, generals, etc.) ...
they sometimes have problems dealing with that fame and recognition, and they
look for a crutch for help. and that crutch becomes a set of chains that
imprisons them, and sometimes kills them.

and the hangers-on or followers or fans or whatever you want to call people who
flock to follow such artists aren't always made of the strongest will-power ...
so, rather than try to copy the artistry of the artist, they choose to copy his
actions. and for many, this is their downfall.

but not ALL artists and musicians and famous people do this. and not ALL the
fans or followers of such people surcumb to the siren call of the substances,
if any, used by those artists and musicians.

and certainly not all of them drive vw buses. :)  i doubt if very many of the
drug-addicted followers and fans of Elvis ever even got into a vw bus.

so what's my point?  i dunno ... looking back from my many years on the Hill of
Life, and seeing all the drugs used by bored and scared people in vietnam,
whether listening to Elvis or Jimi Hendrix or the Beetles or whoever, i guess
it's that it really doesn't seem to matter which music or cars are used as an
excuse. people to become addicts probably would have become addicts anyway,
just in a different way and in a different situation. and those that didn't,
wouldn't. and those that need to live their lives through others like musicians
and artists and actors will find someone to fill that need, whether it's Jerry
Garcia or Days of Our Lives or Elvis or Volkswagen Buses. :)

i had friends in the army who were destroyed by beer and marriage, but i don't
think either of those are inherently "bad". well ... fer sure, BEER isn't!!!
;)  and i still like the music of those years, even though it's associated
with drugs and riots and protests and lost causes. and i even like Willie
Nelson's music, even though i pay my taxes on time. ;)

music is music. you make of it what you will.

vw buses are vw buses. you make of them what you will.

our common thoughts on these subjects make us into either an orchestra, or a
mailing list. and we can neither hear nor see each other as we communicate,
so we have to depend on the worst medium of all: words. and words have a way
of being written and read "wrong", depending upon the state of mind of the
writer AND the reader. and with the speed of electronic communication these
days, we've all gotten really sloppy with our words, failing to choose
carefully the ones we use to express ourselves.

so, let's be careful out there with what we say.

joel
<i think that's what i meant to say ... :)  >