Way back in the early summer days of 1976 , and a full week ahead of myself ( which i'm convinced explains my obession with always being early! ) , i opened my eyes upon this world for the very first time.
Home back then , as it remains today and will forever be , even when i'm not living there all the time , was and is the beautiful little parish of Lusmagh in the the Irish West- Midlands.
As far as writing goes , i've self-published both of my own collections so far , " Under Star And Under Sun " , back in 2004 , and " Pilgrim In The Heartland " which should be out by the end of July 2009. Before those , i've had a number of my poems published in local newspapers and different anthologies down the years.
There are so many great writers whose work i admire and it's pretty safe to say that list just keeps on getting longer and longer all the time. But some names will always be way up there right at the top because their talent is something i return to time and again , both for inspiration and for comfort in my own life. Among those writeres are ;
Hank Williams , Willie Nelson , Kris Kristofferson , Lucinda Williams , Robert Earl Keen , Mary Chapin Carpenter , Lyle Lovett , Gretchen Peters , Tom Russell , Nanci Griffith , Todd Snider , Matraca Berg , Robbie Fulks , Karen Staley , Billy Joe Shaver , Jewel , Alan Jackson and Charlie McGettigan.
But then of course , there's also a trio of Texans who are a songwriting holy-trinity as far as i'm concerned; the late Townes Van Zandt , Guy Clark and Steve Earle.
As for other interests in my life , i try to stay as fit as possible so i go through periods of working-out with great dilligence indeed. Trouble is , i also go through periods of not wanting to be anywhere near weights or any kind of structured training plan! Pizza and satelite tv have so much to answer for!!!
|
I also like to run and i've completed the Dublin City Marathon twice so far , in 2004 and 2006 , and i'm working towards taking part again this year. All i have to do is keep training come hail , rain or shine and even when my throat burns with the dryness , my lungs gasp for air and my knees ache to the point of collapse! Oh , and avoid too much pizza. So yeah , that should be no problem !!! : )
Something i believe in fairly strongly is that we don't need to eat meat to live. I've been a vegetarian for almost a decade now and i'm as fit and healthy as anyone i know. And as long as you don't know some of the people i know , that might sound in some way impressive! Seriously though , if we are antwhere near as mighty a species as we like to think we are , then surely it's time we found in ourselves the responsibility of compassion and conscience that breeds respect not just for human life ( and heaven know's that's a struggle in itself! ) , but RESPECT FOR ALL LIFE!
Just because it's what people have done for centuries , from the beginning of time as known to us quite possibily , and just because we assume we're the only , or at the very least , the most intelligent lifeforce on the planet , i don't think we have the right to slaughter other sentient creatures just so our bellies can be full.
All of that being said though , i also believe that it's a matter of personal choice and i'd never really " preach " to anyone about what they should do. By talking about my own choice however , and the reasons behind it , i'd hope that maybe people might think a little more about the choice they make. If a change is gonna come , as in any area of anybody's life , it's always best for that process to begin and grow from within the individual. |
|
