Battle of the Bands ~ Waiting For Superman

I know that Battle of the Bands has become an adventure in time management. This all began with a few participants and grown to something pretty amazing. However, what I once could do in one day (vote on all BoTB) has now become a marathon versus the sprint. Yes, I'm often voting on Day 6 (and that's okay). I could've posted this read on a different day, but it goes with the song, so you get it today AND I think it's worth reading, so I hope you do.

A few days ago, one of my friends linked to a blog on Facebook entitled I Should Be Engaged. The inner me sighed in disgust, but this friend almost always links to very interesting things, so I clicked over. Turns out that the writer didn't want to be engaged to be married in 2016 but more engaged in life. In people. In daily discourse. In all of the opportunities for connection with others that get lost with this "advance" of technology (which is a double-edged sword for sure!). It made me think about all of the ways I've disengaged due to the hazardous combination of chronic illness, technology, and plain old human nature.

The truth is that it is work to be actively engaged with others. Active listening (just to name one element of engagement) is work. Am I the only one who will find my brain wandering when a story drags on a just a bit too long? That is one area of engagement I know I can work on. Another one is just the doing. Active engagement requires volunteering/participating even when it falls somewhere outside of where you feel comfortable. Isn't there someone else more "qualified" to do this? Probably. But, if you've been asked or given the opportunity... Heck, even this act of blogging requires engagement. Let's face it, I've been lacking since the holidays (and probably before that). I get tired. I run out of ideas for interesting things to write about and I find my time being sucked in other directions. But, I care very much about my blog friends and want to stay actively engaged with you.

So, while you listen to this song, I hope you think about the word engagement. Think about if you're as engaged in this life as you'd like to be. Think about ways you could engage better. I hope you share your thoughts on this (along with your vote) in the comments section. I think choosing to be engaged in the year 2016 would serve us all well!!!

The song is Waiting For Superman. I'm going to do something I rarely do and pit the originator of this song against a cover of this song. I'm only doing that because so many of you will have never heard the song, ergo it really makes no difference. Ha!

Who sang it first? Daughtry. Here is his version. I really love this video (and I think it speaks to the topic of engagement as discussed above), but if you don't think you can vote without voting on the video... don't watch it. Or watch it again after you've voted.




Here is the cover by Corvyx.


Please vote for the version of this song you prefer. If you want to get into the Ins and Outs of why you like one better than the other... I LOVE long comments!

For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles:

• Far Away Series 
• Stephen T. McCarthy's Battle of the Bands Blog
• Tossing it Out
• DiscConnected (temporarily disconnected from BoTB)
• Mike's Ramblings
• Curious as a Cathy 
• Book Lover
• The Sound of One Hand Typing
• dcrelief ~ Battle of the Bands 
• Cherdo on the Flipside 
• Angels Bark 
• THE DOGLADY'S DEN 
• Jingle Jangle Jungle 
• Janie Junebug Righting and Editing
• NovelBrews
• J.A. Scott
• Quiet Laughter
• Holli's Hoots and Hollers 
• beReInVintaged 

The Soundtrack of My Life, Tumbling Down

I'm back a day late with Battle of the Band results (gave you all one extra day to get those votes in). The song was Ho Hey. The Lumineers vs. The Stella Sisters. How did it turn out? Well, really good. More of you than I expected had heard of The Lumineers. None of you had heard of The Stella Sisters, and even those who didn't vote for them... liked them. I'd say that was a successful battle. It was a tight race for a while. They were tied, then The Lumineers pulled ahead, and then The Stella Sisters came from behind and took the race. Here's the final tally with my vote..

The Lumineers: 10

The Stella Sisters: 15

My vote is for The Stella Sisters, though I really like the version by The Lumineers. The Stella Sisters are on the TV show Nashville. Every week they shock me with how darn good they are. 

On to The Soundtrack of My Life.

Family Pic just before it all came tumbling down. My dad looks fine, doesn't he? Oh how deceiving a picture can be.

When I was ten years old, my dad became very sick. I'm trying to remember what I know now vs then (because they are very different). I didn't really get it then. He was sick. He stopped going to work. My mom drove him to Miami to the VA Hospital where he stayed for what seemed a long time. I have no idea how long it actually was. He spent a lot of time pacing the back yard. And still... I didn't really have a clue as to what was going on or how sick he was. 

So, I was shocked when my parents made the decision to sell our house in Florida and move to Ohio. We'd be living with my grandparents for an undetermined length of time.

At first, all I could think about was the loss of my dancing. Missing my friends. Kid stuff. And it stayed that way for a long time.

It was when we were in Ohio and I overheard my mom talking to Grandma that I grasped what was happening. My mom said something like, "I'm really afraid Bob (my dad) might die." And my grandma said something in agreement with that, and probably followed it up with something reassuring. I just remember hearing the words "dad" and "die" in the same sentence.

As anyone who's read this blog for any length of time knows... my dad didn't actually die until 2011. So, this wasn't the end for him. It was the end for life as we knew it. He eventually got better and we moved out of my grandparents' house. But that idyllic time from the last post was over. I now knew about death and dying and that it can happen to anyone at any time. The world is not a safe place.

Well I was moving at the speed of sound.
Head-spinning, couldn't find my way around, and
Didn't know that I was going down.
Yeah, yeah.
Where I've been, well it's all a blur.
What I was looking for, I'm not sure.
Too late and didn't see it coming.
Yeah, yeah.

And then I crashed into you,
And I went up in flames.
Could've been the death of me,
But then you breathed your breath in me.
And I crashed into you,
Like a runaway train.
Your will consumed me,
But I can't walk away.

Somehow, I couldn't stop myself.
I just wanted to know how it felt.
Too strong, I couldn't hold on.
Yeah, yeah.
Now I'm just tryin' to make some sense
Out of how and why this happened.
Where we're heading, there's just no knowing.
Yeah, yeah.

And then I crashed into you,
And I went up in flames.
Could've been the death of me,
But then you breathed your breath in me.
And I crashed into you,
Like a runaway train.
Your will consumed me,
But I can't walk away.

From your face, your eyes
Are burning to me.
You saved me, you gave me
Just what I need.
Oh, just what I need.

And then I crashed into you,
And I went up in flames.
Could've been the death of me,
But then you breathed your breath in me.
And I crashed into you,
Like a runaway train.
Your will consumed me,
But I can't walk away.

And then I crashed into you,
And then I crashed into you,
And then I crashed into you,
And then I crashed into you,
And I crashed into you,
Like a runaway train.
Your will consumed me,
But I can't walk away.

Do you remember when you discovered the world simply isn't a safe place? It rocked my world. How did you take it?

If you're enjoying these posts, feel free to share your own Soundtrack. This isn't a hop. No requirements at all, but a suggestion to do it one song at a time. (If you participated in the hop several years ago, you can still do this. Just post them one song at a time, with the freedom to add more songs if you'd like.) I'll link to all participants at the bottom of each of these posts:

StMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

FINALLY, A WORDLESS WEDNESDAY!

Well... almost. Don't forget to turn off my music player at the bottom of the page.