What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

This blog isn't so much about being an amputee, prosthetics or anything amputee related. So I apologize in advance.

I've been doing that 'What are you doing with your life?' soul search, that I know some of us visit from time to time. I thought the job I had kind of fallen into, due to my accident had been a perfect fit. That maybe becoming an amputee was part of some grand scheme and I had found my calling. As of late I have been doubting myself. I feel like I am facing adversity at every corner. I have to admit that much of it I have created myself....by unfortunately just being myself.

I ran into some relatives on Facebook late last week, from my Dad's side of the family, in Indiana. I became 'friends' or 'friended' my uncle, an aunt and some of my cousins that I have not seen in years. Some of us had kept up on MySpace, but I got off that site quite a while back. I have a hard time keeping up with email, so I can do only so many sites. My theory is that they are all going to merge into one big site eventually anyway...

My Father was a musician and kind of what you would could call a legend in his own zip code around Central Indiana. After gigging around Austin, Texas in the late 60's and early 70's Dad got signed to Columbia Records. To make a long story short Bill Wilson recorded his debut album and moved back to his home state, Indiana in 1973. He became a local celebrity in the Indianapolis area, gigging and promoting his upcoming album.

To make an even longer story shorter, Dad never became a huge recording artist, but he did lead a very rewarding life following his dreams. Admittedly it was very tough at times. Musicians that don't make it big can live a very hard life. Talk about self doubt? Week after week of scraping by, playing smoky clubs, putting up with drunks and endless road trips. Year after year my Dad walked that path. Don't get me wrong there were some definite bennies my Dad craved on that come with being a musician as well. He loved to talk, tell stories, joke around and be the center of attention...something he got to do just about every night.

Dad did manage to put out several full length LP's and have a lot of single tracks on many local music compilation releases. 'Bill' made a modest living, finding a perfect environment to settle and work in Bloomington, IN. I have to tell you I met some of the neatest people while growing up. There are quite a lot of characters associated with the music biz.

My Father died of a heart attack in 1993 at the age of 46.

To bring all of this around full circle, my Dad is one of the only people I ever met that did exactly what he wanted for a living. I remember him telling me that he knew as a young boy he wanted to become a musician. Being a musical artist was the only job after he got out of the service I ever remember him having...think and thin he held steadfast to his dream.

Many of us just 'fall' into jobs. Others of us get a certain job because it pays good or has benefits, often not really caring about the work. Even in College most people go so they can make more money. No one rarely attends a university just to learn and become a more rounded person (it's original intent)...fortunately though that is one of the many good side effects that just seems to happen in College.

Not that I have many answers right now. I will be doing some serious soul searching 'once again' this week. As I always say...I need to figure out what I want to be when I grow up...lol. So my question to you is...What is a career without passion?

I went through some of my Dad's old recordings this last Sunday and found one of my favorite songs, 'Ballad Of Cody'. Cody is a real guy my Dad met while hanging out in the Austin music scene in the late 60's. This version of the song was originally recorded acoustically. I took the liberty of laying down a bass line and adding a drum sample. I thought some of those relatives I mentioned running into on Facebook might get a kick out of a remixed version of an an old song. A friend of mine convinced me that making a video would be neat, so I did that as well.

So maybe if you want to kick back and think about 'where you are in life' right now with with me you can give it a listen. Maybe you can find your passion?

Bill Wilson - Ballad Of Cody (2010 remix)/YouTube

Remember to keep dreaming big!

Until next time.
Ty