Mancation

This is what my wife called the trip she sent me on to Chicago this past weekend.  Actually she joined up with two of her friends who also sent their husbands as well.  We had an incredible time. 

When I travel I usually have my laptop but this time it stayed home.  This was definitely the right move on my part. I'm so thankful I didn't find myself in front of the computer screen in Chicago.  If I had I probably wouldn't have found, free bratwurst, deep dish Chicago style pizza at Gino's East, ESPN zone, the view from the John Hancock building, U2 3D, the Jimmy Johnson band at the B.L.U.E.S. bar (the oldest blues bar in Chicago), the free Lincoln Park Zoo, the many samples of chocolate, the Chicago hotdog, The Mix (cheese and caramel popcorn mix at Garretts), Ed Debevic's Diner, and much much more. 

Its hard to say what I enjoyed the most but high up there was Chico Banks of the Jimmy Johnson Band.  This guy was completely amazing on the guitar. 

In my life I have been exposed to very little of the blues.  What I've heard I've liked but have never really understood why.  After listening to Chico and the rest of the Jimmy Johnson band for an hour or so I think I know the draw.  There is a repetition to the music and

Chico Banks

the lyrics.  It's simplicity becomes complex with each layer of creativity added to the underlying pattern of each song.  The songs touch a part of life that is often closed up in each of us.  You find yourself identifying with the soul of each song in a way you couldn't have fathomed before you sat down to listen. 

As you listen the thing that becomes evident is that the song never really ends no matter which blues song is being played.  Not only does it never end but hope never enters.  The sun never comes out.  This is where the blues leaves me short.  I hope to be able to lament like the blues but eventually I want the song to end. 

If we learn to despair with the blues where can we go to learn joy?