I’m still thinking about all those concert ticket facsimiles all over the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. Back in its heyday, several well-known acts performed there. You could see acts like Elton John, Queen, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, Rush, and even Elvis Presley– all for $10 or under.

I know this is all science fiction at the moment, but I sure would like to have a DeLorean  with a flux capacitor (or some other form of time travel device) to take me back to the 70’s so I could see all this great music for a lot less than you’d pay to see any of them now. Plus, a lot of them are no longer living, like Tom Petty or Freddie Mercury of Queen.

While I grew up in the 80’s and claim that decade as my go-to for everything nostalgic, I still say that the 70’s was the absolute best decade for music. In my humble opinion, there was more diversity of music that crossed all kinds of genres and boundaries. Radio stations actually had playlists of more than 15 songs.

Oh yeah, and concert tickets were much more affordable.

I’m currently looking after a 15-year old pup named Mulligan, affectionately known as Mugs. He’s a gentle old soul who is snoozing away in one of his doggie beds at the moment.

It’s been a while since I’ve done any dog-sitting, and I’m remembering how much I like being around and taking care of dogs.

It’s a low-stress, high reward gig. This time, it’s a one night only kind of thing.

I’m enjoying it while I can. I’m hoping and praying this old boy lives at least a few more years. I’m still learning to live in the moment and not get caught up in obsessing over the past or the future.

I think I’m going to attempt to take ol’ Mugs out to potty one last time before I call it a night.

It’s a good life.

Apparently, there was a sporting event of some sort today, and Gryffindor came away with another Quiddich victory. I imagine that they also caught the golden snitch.

I’m actually aware that the team in question is Loyola-Chicago, sporting the colors of that fabled house from the Harry Potter books and movies. They and their 98-year old fan, Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt are capturing the hearts and imaginations of basketball fans all over the nation.

When the tournament began, very few gave them much of a chance of advancing out of the first round. The odds of them making it to the Elite Eight were probably something close to the odds of me bowling a 300 game or winning the jackpot. In other words, not good at all.

Yet here they are, still standing while other better known and higher seeded teams are headed home, including some fabled programs who are familiar faces in the tournament every year.

I love a good sports Cinderella story. It reminds me that there’s always hope for the underdog. It also reminds me that Jesus was a champion of the underdog. The gospels, especially Luke, tell of how Jesus went out of His way to include and involve the outcast and marginalized of that culture.

The Bible says that God chose the weak and the nobodies to shame the wise and strong (or the ones who think they are wise and strong and have it all together).

People like you and me may not account to much in the eyes of the media and society, but Jesus thought that we were to die for. Literally.

I’m hoping that the Ramblers can keep it going for at least one more round. Maybe they can pull off the ultimate upset and win it all. I know it’s highly unlikely but I’ll be rooting for this underdog until the bitter end.

Some friends and I attended an Eric Johnson concert at the City Winery. It was a first for me on both counts– the artist and the venue. I’ve been to quite a few venues over the years since I moved to Nashville in 2006, but never this one. Until today.

To sum it up with my vast musical and artistic knowledge, it was great.

Eric Johnson is a phenomenal guitar talent who played some of the best face-melty rock I’ve heard in a long, long time.

The only downside was that I stayed up late on a weeknight. I imagine I will be one of the Walking Dead when my alarm clock sounds off at 5 am, but it was way worth it.

I still love music because it’s the only artistic medium to touch all five of the senses. Good music can transport me out of my current circumstances and take me to a place visually and spiritually like almost nothing else can.

There’s still nothing like the right song at the right moment when I’m driving down the interstate headed for home.

I think God did good when He created music.

Now I get to sleep for 4 hours and 40 minutes before I’m up and at it again for another work day. It will not be pretty.

It’s the first day of spring. It didn’t feel like spring. It felt more like winter trying to make a comeback.

And about my prediction that it might snow on Wednesday? Yep, it snowed today. On the first day of spring.

Mind you, it didn’t stick and probably barely registered as accumulation by whatever methods they use to measure precipitation.

But still it snowed.

That’s the way it works around here. The first day of fall is usually hot, the first day of winter is warm, the first day of spring is cold, and the first day of summer will probably be rainy.

And we still get all four seasons in one week. Sometimes in 48 hours.

Ah for the joys of living in Tennessee.

I can’t believe that tomorrow is officially the first day of spring. It’s the Vernal Equinox. I’m not quite sure what that means, other than putting away all the flannel and heavy coats for 6-7 months until fall rolls around again.

And it might snow on Wednesday. Only in Tennessee.

March Madness is truly living up to its name this year. For the first time in tournament history, a 16 seed knocked off a 1 seed. So is your bracket busted yet?

I like to fill out multiple brackets each year to cover different scenarios. So far, most of mine are on life support. It’s not pretty.

I had both Arizona and Tennessee going further than they did. I certainly did not foresee Virginia falling by 20 to UMBC. I doubt anyone who didn’t graduate from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County did.

Every year, I have delusions of grandeur. I always think at the very beginning that this could possibly be the year that I get one of my brackets 100% right. That usually lasts until maybe halfway through the first day of the tournament.

The odds are that somewhere out there, somebody’s got a perfect bracket. Someone picked that 16 seed to win. Not me. Probably not most of you.

Usually at some point, I give up on my brackets and start pulling for as many upsets as possible. But not just yet.

Note: there’s no actual nudity in this post. I just wanted to get your attention. Now that I have it, guess what? I left my phone at work, so I really do feel naked.

My car was in the shop getting the brakes worked on and a co-worker was dropping me off after work. In all the hustle and bustle, I walked right out the side door and left my phone sitting on my desk, where it will likely remain until Monday morning.

I suppose I’ll find out exactly how addicted I am to my phone in the next two days.

If that’s the worst thing that happens to me, I suppose I’m doing alright. I think I can live 48 or so hours without a phone to stare at. It’s probably good that I’m currently off social media. Now, I’ll have a mini-fast from my phone.

Wish me luck.

I’m current on the latest season of The Walking Dead after finally getting around to the  most recent episode.

I have two thoughts:

1. It’s time for Negan and the Saviors to go away. He made a crafty villain and a worthy adversary, but the whole Saviors Versus Rick & Company is getting a little old.
2. I love how Rick and his crew always seem to find each other, no matter how many times they get separated. That could be the running theme of the show– how friendship and love win out, even in the zombie apocalypse.

I’ll be a good boy and not give away any spoilers from Season 8. I will say that there have been some very unexpected twists and turns so far. It’s not for the feint of heart (or of stomach) but it’s still one of the best series out there at the moment.

I’m reminded that I’m better off when I’m in community. The Bible doesn’t teach any kind of Lone Ranger Christianity. In fact, it says that that kind of faith is most liable to temptation.

We as the Body of Christ are truly better together. Your strengths make up for my weaknesses, and visa versa.

That old song by Sanctus Real is right. We do need each other.