KBEK, my new favorite radio station—where else can you get an eclectic mix of music from the 1940’s through today’s offerings?—came to life on my car radio when I turned the key. My husband was futzing around instead of putting on his seatbelt, so I decided to park in the driveway until he behaved. He doesn’t always appreciate my subtlety, but safety first! As he over-exaggerated the difficulty of inserting the buckle into the buckle thing, I tapped along to the KBEK song of the moment. It wasn’t a song that was familiar. However, I became intrigued when I heard the following verse:
Oh hungry ghosts in the land of milk and honey
They are people so damn poor all they have is their money…
Ooooo. What an interesting thing to say, or sing, in this case. “So damn poor all they have is their money,†got me thinking about a woman I recently met. She and I were both attending a meeting about aging and, as participants; we were given various exercises as a means of thinking through our biases and belief systems.
With time, we got to know each other a little better, and she started sharing more personal pieces of her life with me. For example, when her CPA looked at her retirement savings he proclaimed her to be a pauper. She had been downsized out of her job five years earlier than she intended and had not found work afterward. I flinched. Scary. But you know what?
She told me that while she doesn’t have much money, she has never been happier. Getting tossed from her job gave her time to care for her aging parents. She re-prioritized, and found she didn’t need all that much “stuff†to make her life meaningful. I told her she had given her parents a tremendous gift by allowing them to age in place. She shrugged. “If you were my mom I’d take care of you, Gail.†Somehow, when I looked into her eyes, I believed her. Her values were so much purer than gold.  Pauper?  I don’t think so, Mr. CPA.
Here are the full lyrics to Just Visiting. Thank you, KBEK, for playing some dang exciting music!
Just Visiting
Wookiefoot, From Ready or Not, released September 5, 2012
Well you may see a man close up his open hand
And see how greed might motivate a reckless fist
And you will witness pain of people’s petty pursuits for gain
But you will never a hearse with a trailer hitch
No you will never see a hearse with a trailer hitch
Oh hungry ghosts in the land of milk and honey
They are people so damn poor all they have is their money
Truth be told, the truth will be told
Only hear it when we’re listening
Will unfold for young and old
Cause in the end we’re all just visiting
In the end we’re only visiting
On this hedonic treadmill building appetite
With collections of those little things that shine
Oh camels will not fit through needle’s eye
Your camels will not fit through the needle’s eye
On the day they lay your body down to bury
There will be no pockets on the pants you’re wearing
And on that day you will see what all it is worth
So earthlings don’t keep your treasures here on earth
Because in the end we’re only visiting
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