Life is pretty tough. You’re lucky if you live through it.

Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie is a hero of mine. He directed his life toward the common man. He seldom parsed his words when he had something to say. In 2015, I had the pleasure of visiting the Wood Guthrie Center in Tulsa Oklahoma. It was not until then that I realized the depth of his life. For years now I have advocated using his song “This Land Is Your Land” as our national anthem. It’s a shame to me that our national anthem is about one of the many wars we have been in. Why shouldn’t it be about the heart and soul of our country?

Woody was a pretty satirical guy. He, like another hero of mine, liked to poke fun at those who took their lives far too seriously. He was one of the “fathers of folk music”, which I love and mourn almost daily of my inability to hear those songs now.

The quote above has some pretty serious irony in it. For most of us life is pretty tough, sometimes unimaginable, but it is our job to make the most of whatever life gives us. If we do that, we are lucky to experience it…