It will be strange

As I write this, the rock band Rush is in its final stages of mixing its 18th full-length studio album with an anticipated release time of late April or early May.
Yes, I've been listening to a lot of old Rush lately to get ready and pouncing on any new information floating out there in cyberspace.
What will be hard about this release is that Amanda and I won't have Chris Walls with whom to talk to about it. We last saw Chris alive when he, Amanda, another friend of his and I went to see Rush in Nashville, Tenn. on the opening show of their 30th anniversary tour in May '04.
We often talked about Rush - a likely strong influence on his desire to drum - when we got together. (Rush's drummer and lyricist Neil Peart is considered by many one of the best percussionists in the recorded world.)
If we do get to see Rush on this tour, possibly one of their last, it will be difficult emotionally for at least part of it, especially Neil's solo, which is usually mind-blowing.
As we awaited official word of Chris' death on a Saturday in June, I listened to a disc of an old Rush show and sobbed. Amanda mentioned said it today - it won't be the same when the new album comes out. She sure is right.
We aren't the same people because of Chris and Leah - they inspired us to take risks and dream big. They put some distance between themselves and the familiar to move to Nashville for an undetermined outcome, then did the same when they moved to Arizona.
While we haven't reached our potential (who really does?), we were motivated to some degree by them to step out where the ground is uncertain and the people are unfamiliar. In coming to this region of Mississippi, we did exactly that. That's something that just isn't normally part of who I am.
But we're living in a previously uncharted part of the world for us, and for the most part, enjoying it. Having a child like Jadyn and some of our closer friends around sure helps.
So, when the Rush album comes out, there are a few people around who care and who I hopefully won't bore to tears as I break it down, piece by piece, and put it back together again to understand the meaning of the lyrics and the musical structure of the songs. I hope they'll pardon me as they fill in for Chris.
Here's hoping that somehow, someday, Amanda and I will have some kind of lasting influence on those around us (like Chris and Leah did for us), and that they won't only remember us, but Jesus Christ above all.

Can a sports victory help heal a city?

In my last blog about the University of Alabama's hiring of Nick Saban, I wondered what actual good a national championship would bring the university and the state. I still ponder that question, especially when looking at the price tag of Saban's salary.
However, I look at the circumstances New Orleans finds itself in and I have to raise a question on the opposite of the coin - could a Super Bowl win do this city some good?
I think on the whole the answer is a resounding 'Yes.'
It still concerns me that the Superdome was merely cleaned up and repaired after Hurricane Katrina, not bulldozed in memory of those who died within its walls. And winning the Super Bowl won't fully cure the ills which led to nine murders less than two weeks into the new year.
But it certainly gives people there something else - something fun and exciting to think about - and it could help them think they can succeed in their own struggles to rebuild and overcome.

Saban the best for last?

A friend sent me an e-mail of another friend's blog about the prospect - now reality - that Nick Saban would leave the Miami Dolphins to become the latest to jump off the coaching merry-go-round and land in Tuscaloosa.
The friend who wrote the post pretty much bashed the whole thing, including the apparently misleading statements Saban made about not wanting the job, yet considering and now accepting it.
I am an Alabama fan, and this may come as a surprise to the person who sent the blog to me, but I don't see much with which to disagree.
The desire to win a national championship again at Alabama is manifesting itself like some kind of strange virus.

It makes otherwise rational people do irrational things, like offer a coach who hasn't stayed put very long a GUARANTEED $32 million over eight years and turn loose a guy who was loyal by default over two losses - those to Mississippi State and Auburn.
It also makes ordinary citizens drive to the Tuscaloosa airport and wait for the new coach to arrive - bringing an image akin to those awaiting an exiled leader of a nation in turmoil to return from his exodus and restore order.
How quickly we forget that another previous coach found his "dream job" was calling him to Texas just a few short years ago. Who's to say this new savior won't pull the ripcord in his contract in three years and leave everyone disillusioned again? Only this time, he'll leave us closer to bankruptcy.

As my friend mentions, the state of Alabama consistently ranks near the bottom in quality of life issues.
Sure, much of the money Alabama has at its disposal to run its athletic program is from sources like ticket sales and private donations - not taxpayer money. But it still could be used elsewhere - a 13th national championship will do little more than give us a short-lived swelling of pride. Granted, it would be fun. I still have memorabilia from the 1992 title. But it won't fix roads, mend racial fences, heal the sick or educate a community.
Another acquaintance of mine mentioned recently that Paul "Bear" Bryant himself couldn't measure up to the pressure those currently in charge - whomever they may be - place on the job. I think he's absolutely right.
I'm willing to give Saban - and those who wanted him so badly they figuratively mortgaged the farm - a chance.
I hope they're right.
And I hope that $32 million is somehow worth the investment.
Somehow.