It seems that cracked windshields are just a fact of life. Maybe not as exciting as “The facts of life,” you know, the TV show with Tootie (how great of a name is that) or THE facts of life, complete with stories of birds, bees and educated fleas. No not nearly as exciting as those two, but still, I’d say it’s safe to say that cracked windshields are indeed a fact of life. Most cracked windshields start in the winter time or on a gravel road when some sand or a rock is picked up by a passing vehicle and thrown at your windshield, then “bang-o,” (that’s right, bang-o) you have a cracked windshield. One thing I always find interesting is how people blame the passing vehicle for the cracked windshield, like the driver was sitting there thinking, if I drive at just the right speed and align the car in just such a way, I can flick a rock at that car coming at me and at just the precise mili-second that will crack the windshield. Bwahahahahah. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA. (Why the passing motorist has an evil villain laugh, I don’t know? I guess I’m writing it so I should know, but alas, I don’t know why) But I think I have one of the most unique “cracked windshield” stories to have ever been told. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a “cracked windshield” story, so this may not only be the most unique, but the only one ever told. It was back when I was in grade school when we lived on a farm. I got to learn to drive at an early age by helping dad move equipment from one field to another. The “cracked story” happened when I was in the fifth or sixth grade one late summer evening. I was following dad, who was in the tractor, and I was behind him in our fearless ¾ ton Ford grooving to KGNO on the radio while a mosquito was darting around the windshield. With my cat like reflexes, I backhanded the mosquito, taking him to a bloody grave, but at the same time leaving a nice “Y” shaped crack down the left side of the windshield, centered right where my knuckle hit the mosquito and windshield. I just knew I would be in big trouble when dad saw it, so as soon as he stopped, I ran up to him to inform him that I was just trying to kill a West Nile Virus carrying mosquito and I didn’t mean to crack the windshield and I didn’t know I was strong enough to do it and please, please, please don’t kill me because it was just an accident. Much to my surprise, he just shrugged it off and was no big deal. Parents never cease to amaze me sometimes, crack a windshield, no big deal, torture your little brother and suddenly your in big trouble. But every time I got in that pickup, right up to the day we sold it, I was reminded of that mosquito. Well… I thought that was the only interesting story of a cracked windshield, right up till I heard the opening line of Wade Bowen’s song One Step Closer.
My windshield’s cracked
Just like my heart
Maybe not as good as my story, but still, a very strong opening line to one of many great songs on this CD. This CD is full of great writing and great music, all the way from the first track, God Bless This Town (A perfect snapshot of a small town “Population 153 and still going down”) all the way to the last song, Mood Ring which talks about a guy who knows how to treat his woman by the color of her mood ring that he gave her. Sly move there and one piece of advice all our male readers may want to follow.
If it turns black, I should turn back
If it turns red, she likes what I said
If it turns blue, I should leave her alone
If it turns green, she wants me I know
Another song that takes me personally back to my days on the farm is Walkin’ the Fenceline. All farm kids know what he’s talking about here. I don’t really know if city kids can really get it, but there is no better way to think about life and all that’s going on in your life than going up and down a fenceline. This song also has a great opening line that many of us may not want to admit, but is most likely fairly true.
I’m not as good as I advertise
But then again, who really is
This CD is filled with great Texas music. If you’re a fan of this type of music, you will definitely like this man’s work. There is a really cool song called Lost Hotel that I really like. The thing that is pretty cool is that he’ll sing a line and then there will be a distant echo that really adds to the feeling of the song. It just adds an extra quality to the song that turns if from good to great.
So what have we learned today:
- Wade Bowen has put a very good CD
- I have a powerful backhand, able to crack windshields in a heartbeat
- Cracked windshield stories are more common than I first thought
- And the name Tootie makes me giggle
I’ll give this CD 4 out of 5 mood rings.