Why Georgia?

Yesterday was "any given Thursday". Sophie and I had plans to meet Grandma in Greensboro for lunch. Sophie was going to try out her new DVD player for the car that Grandma & Grandpa had given her as a 4th birthday present. (Yes, it really is more of a gift for Mom & Dad, isn't it?) So, assuming that I would have some peace & quiet on this particular drive with child, maybe my first since having Sophie, I decided to choose some nice CDs to listen to. Driving is one true pleasure and luxury in my life and, to me, there isn't much better than cruising down a highway on a sunny day with really good music blaring.

As you've probably already guessed, the way there was a BUST. Sophie isn't used to watching TV in the car. She watched for 10 minutes then declared that she was DONE and asked to play with her cars. For the next almost 2 hours I had to hear this.....

Why this taking so long?

I don't like these boring highways.

ANOTHER long highway?

When are we going to get there?

I wanna' see Grandma.

All in that particularly grating whiny voice. When I arrived at lunch, I was sitting on my last nerve. Whew.

I lucked out on the way home. We hung out with Grandma for a couple of hours and she and I made sure Sophie was worn out. Good move. The entire 2-hour drive home.......(angels singing)......she watched Go Diego, Go......and I didn't hear a peep out of her. It was heavenly. A few times I even caught her singing out loud. Precious.

And me? Well, I popped in the "Any Given Thursday" CD from John Mayer. I'd chosen it because it WAS any given Thursday and the CD was just calling out to me from the shelf. This is the live CD that was recorded during one of his shows in Birmingham, Alabama.

Album Cover

Well, I hadn't heard this CD in years. And I had totally forgotten just how good it is. How good he was. How much I really liked and respected his talent. The rendition of "Why Georgia" on this CD is unreal. The guitar riffs in the intro. The "I'm Portable" prelude. Fill me up, take me out, I'm portable. I love it. And, honestly, it was just the right song on the right day. I WAS driving on 85. I'm currently stuck inside the gloom. Isn't it just human to sometimes daydream about keeping the car in drive and leaving all this $hit behind? And yes, I too wonder sometimes about the outcome. And, if you know me at all, you know that there is ALWAYS something stirring in my soul. Am I living it right?

Long after the song ended I found myself still thinking about John Mayer. I mean what the hell happened to him? I couldn't help but think about the time some friends brought over the DVD from this very CD that I was listening to. And how I sat glued to the screen. He was like an elixir. Watching him play guitar was so intoxicating. Those baggy jeans. Standing on the oriental carpets. Floppy hair all over the place. He was damned good.

Image via Guitar-Stuff.net

Fast forward a few years and he's just an a-hole of gargantuan magnitudes. Indiscreet. Full of himself. Inappropriate. Desperate for attention. Really? John, we all liked you better when you acted like a mensch. I couldn't even tell you if he still has talent. Nowadays I do my best NOT to listen to him.

Image via NYPost

So all I can ask is this:

Why, tell me why why why why why, why why Georgia why......is John Mayer such a tool?