I Rarely Get Tired of Things I Like
That’s a Good Thing
My wife and I were surfing YouTube one night, looking for something interesting to watch, and we came across a guy doing a list of “Rock’s Top Twenty Acoustic Guitar Intros”, or something like that.
Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin was numero uno on his list. I had no quarrel with that, but I could not take the guy seriously when I realized Behind Blue Eyes by The Who, and The Trees by Rush, and Angie by the Rolling Stones did not even make the list.
Anyway, the guy got to Number One and started playing those familiar beginning notes of Stairway. My wife audibly sighed and said (I’m paraphrasing) it was a great song and all, but it came out fifty years ago and they still play it on the radio all the time and that she was kind of tired of it.
The points she made were quite valid and true, and it caused me to wonder if I was tired of Stairway to Heaven, too.
And the answer is: No, I am not.
As I thought about it, I realized that I rarely get tired of things I really like.
Such as?
Music.
I walk every day. Every. Single. Day. And, I almost always have my iPod and headphones with me. I usually have the iPod set on shuffle, and as I walk along, I listen to 1800+ of the greatest classic rock songs ever made. What can I say, baby, I’m a rocker.
While I like rock songs from all the decades, I listen to many, many songs that were created 50-60 years ago. And, I do not remember hearing a tune that made me think, “Oh no, not that again.” Maybe with 1800+ classic rockers on shuffle, I don’t hear any one song often enough to get tired of it.
My favorite album, Who’s Next by The Who, is more than fifty years old and I’ve heard those songs hundreds of times. I hope to listen to them hundreds of more times before I meet my demise.
Food.
I am far from being a gourmet. I understand the importance of eating healthy food, however, I rarely do so. Unless there is a new scientific study of which I am unaware that touts the health benefits of chili cheese dogs.
But, I know what I like and I am perfectly happy to eat those favorites over and over and over. At the same time, I like trying new dishes, not out of boredom, but because I might find something else I really like. Luckily, I am not a picky eater. I like a lot of different foods so I do get some variety in my diet.
When I was working full time, I would take a lunch with me just about every day (for many years I took my lunch in a Three Stooges lunch box). There was a time some years ago when I thought I was getting a little pudgy. (For me, I feel kind of heavy when my weight gets over 165.) So, in an effort to shed a few pounds, I started taking a lunch consisting of those little cherry tomatoes and some saltine crackers. That was my workday lunch for months and months, long after I got down to my desired weight. I kept eating the tomatoes and crackers because I liked them.
After a while, though, I remembered I liked other things too, so I began eating different lunches again. When I say different lunches, I mean that I would buy enough stuff for a week’s worth of lunches. Bread, peanut butter, or some combination of lunch meat, cheese, and lettuce (fulfilling my green, leafy vegetable requirement.) I would include a little baggy of chips or Cheetos or some such thing. I would also include some fruit - an apple, banana, orange, blueberries, grapes, or, yes, those little cherry tomatoes I like so much. Then I would have the same lunch for five consecutive days. By Friday, some people might be tired of the same thing for lunch every day of the week.
Not me.
Clothes.
I’ve only had one job in my working life that required me to wear a tie. And, that was for about a year and a half. In all my other jobs, I could wear jeans and athletic shoes, and just about any kind of clean, non-raggedy shirt. It has occurred to me that the way I’ve dressed all these years, is quite similar to the way I dressed in high school, lo, those many decades ago.
A t-shirt or polo shirt or an occasional button down shirt, jeans or cargo shorts, and athletic shoes are what I like to wear. Obviously, being a snappy dresser has not interested me. Caring about the latest fashions is a foreign concept. I could not care less about any of that.
However . . .
I have been known to be fussy about what I wear. I know, I know, I’m an enigma. Not caring about fashion, but being fussy about clothes makes no sense to me, either.
I have written before about some of my personal fashion peccadillos, like no socks with sandals, or only white socks with shorts, or I’ll only wear black shoes. Shirts with button-down collars are strictly prohibited. I dislike clothing with a visible manufacturer’s logo, however, sometimes if I want to support my favorite sports team by wearing a team-branded t-shirt or polo shirt, I have no choice but to accept that damn Nike swoosh. I hate that thing.
Anyway, I have plenty of clothes in my closet from which to choose, but they all fall within the same categories as they have ever since I started buying my own clothing. Because I haven’t gotten tired of wearing the same style clothes, over and over, year after year.
At least I’m consistent.
Cars.
I bet if you’ve made it this far in my post, you will not be surprised by this section. I’ve driven my current car for 24 years. I bought a brand new 2001 Chevy Monte Carlo in June of 2001. It now has a few dings and scratches, but it still looks darn good, and the interior is in fantastic shape. I must say, I’ve maintained it pretty well, I still like it, and I can’t see any reason why I would get rid of it.
However, this is not to say that I’ve never thought about buying a new Dodge Challenger or a new Ford Mustang. I have. Not seriously, though. For one thing, I probably would be a menace to society if I had more horsepower under my right foot. And, another reason not to buy a new car is, I haven’t had a car payment for nearly 20 years. It’s been wonderful not shelling out all that money every month.
I like my Monte Carlo. Of course, being as old as it is, things break down from time to time. I have put a lot of money into keeping it going, but it’s been worth it.
I very much prefer the styling of a two-door coupe, although they are increasingly rare. I have no desire whatsoever to drive around in an SUV. They’re just glorified station wagons, you know.
My wife has a Honda HRV and I drive it sometimes, and I like it. It’s a good car, but it’s her car, and I am perfectly fine with her having the kind of car she wants.
But, for me, I want at least the illusion of a good, old American muscle car. And, I’ll never get tired of that.
It Works for Me.
Rarely getting tired of the things I like can lead to a general stagnancy in life, I guess. Or it could kind of handcuff me to the past. But I think of it this way: There are so many occurrences in day to day living that cause feelings of dissatisfaction or boredom or unhappiness. But, somehow I’ve found a way to eliminate at least some of those feelings by enjoying the same comforting old stuff over and over and over again.
This way of being works for me. What could be wrong with that?
To my extremely likable subscribers, thank you for your support.
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Do you have something to say about I Rarely Get Tired of Things I Like? Well, then . . .
While growing up on the farm, I wore levis, sweat shirts or t shirts and always tennis shoes, unless I was riding my horse when I wore cowboy boots. I know, I'm a girl and we're not supposed to look like that all the time....but here I sit. In my levis, t shirt and white tennies.. My grandma tried her best to get me to wear dresses. She would buy me one when she came to visit and I had to wear it while she was there...unless I had to go outside to play...which was 90 percent of the time. I explained to my mom I hated wearing a dress. I liked to run and climb trees and things. Did you ever try to wear a dress with your legs not covered and doing these things? I bet not! So you can understand. I never fell into the girl fashion things. Now, if I ever go out to a nice restaurant to eat....which is very seldom, I will put on a nice pair of slacks and a nice blouse, with white tennies if I can get away with them. I don't like leather shoes on my feet...my feet don't like them either. I won't and can't ever wear heels. I can't walk on my toes. And heels pinch your feet. They are horrible for your feet. And, most uncomfortable.
So maybe my life is boring, clothwise, but I am very comfortable, thank you. And I do like to look clean and neat. That much is true of me. If I need bling, I add earrings, a bracelet, necklace and rings. Bling is easy to put together and fun to wear. It makes me feel better and I even add perfume if I go to the pub or something. People at least will turn and look at me as I pass, just because I smell good. Whatever works, I say.
Thank you for laying this out.
You know how to live.
Classic joy cannot be beat.
Declares the owner
of a dark green Z28
with hp out the hooha.
Only car I ever owned.
Only car I ever want.