The blues have always been something important to me and my spirit. I knew it was so when I first heard Cream on the radio playing "Crossroads" when I was in high school. I was on a trip with my parents, we'd just arrived home in our Toyota Celica, and I stayed in the car until the song was over. I knew that something special was contained in the chord structures and verse of the blues. Eric Clapton's spirited solo in "Crossroads" gave me a desire to search deep within the meaning of the blues ... and within it, I found Robert Johnson.

Very little is known of Robert's life. Robert had done his recordings in November 23, 26 and 27, 1936 in San Antonio and June 19 and 20, 1937 in Dallas. That's all of his recorded history. For many years, I was unable to find much more about him other than his legend. Then, I heard "Crossroads" ... "went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees" ... and something struck a chord deep within me.

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Here's a question for you: how long have you known your best friend? A few years? Maybe a decade? Since college?

How many can say that they've had a best friend since before kindergarten? Well, I can ... and it's a very cool thing indeed.

I've had the good fortune of knowing Richard since I was 3 or 4 ... and yes, that would be 38 or 39 years now! You think it's a long time - but when you look back on it, you realize that it's all gone by so quickly and goes faster every day. It seems like yesterday that we were in kindergarten together - and yes, I do vaguely remember that. Growing up in a small town, it's pretty easy to envision going to the same elementary school and the same high school. And what never ceases to amaze me most is that no matter how long we've not spoken to each other or seen each other, when we pick back up again it's like no time has passed. We invariably pick up where we left off last time.

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There was a time when I thought that there was but one reality. It exists as it "is", and we exist within that world and experience it in but one way. Blue is blue, right? Vertical is vertical? Well, maybe I hadn't simplified it quite that much, but I certainly didn't think there was that much difference from person to person. Man oh man, was I wrong on that one! You mean to tell me that there isn't just "one" reality?

Our reality is based on our perceptions. Our perceptual mechanisms are driven by our experiences. We collect the data from our surroundings that we want to collect, and we act on it accordingly. Humans are driven by their past experiences and their perceived competence and self-image (or lack thereof). Two people could be standing in exactly the same place, witnessing the same scenario unfold before them - yet their perceptions could conjure up completely different emotional and physical responses. Even something totally benign could create something utterly diabolical in one person's mind ... and something ecstatic in someone else's mind ... all in the same moment of perception.

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I'll be the first to admit that I can get caught up in the "day-to-day" as much as anyone. Suddenly, you turn around and look at the calendar and :::poof::: another week (or month - insert appropriate time factor here) has gone by without a trace. Or at least it seems like it's without a trace.

When I was a child, I can remember always thinking that it was such a long time to wait until my birthday ... or Christmas ... or any other day of note. You know how it is as a kid - time seems to plod along. It seems like forever for the summer to start. School seems to drag on forever. My birthday could never get here fast enough (note to self - my oh my how THAT perspective has changed!). I can always remember my mother telling me that I should enjoy it now because as I got older, the time would seem like it was just flying by me.

Of course, as a child, what an adult says doesn't necessarily have a lot of credibility or relevance. And, worse yet, if it's your parents telling you that, then how much can it be believed or trusted, right? It's your parents!! What do they know?!

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