Don't be a knot on a log

If a person has not seen the advertisement featuring the statement concerning “a body at rest will stay at rest unless,” means you haven’t watched television very much during the past few months.

The ad is a take on Sir Isaac Newton’s law of motion. While the ad doesn’t take in both the “at rest” and “in motion” aspect of Newton’s law it does set forth a fundamental fact in the study of physics. This law doesn’t only apply to the physical world it also applies to our mental aspects of life.

For the life of me, I can’t think of what that ad on TV is promoting. I think it is either a medicine or an insurance company. I will make it a part of my memory bank the next time I see it, which should not be long after I sit in front of a television for a few minutes.

What is the name of the property about which this law states? Simply, the word is “inertia.” In both high school and college physics the discussion of inertia was both enlightening and exciting. While we don’t use or discuss the word prevalently in common conversation there isn’t much that the properties of the law don’t touch on in our lives.

For the practical purposes of this column let me say that inertia has to do with motion; it has to do with getting started either physically or mentally on some goal or project to be accomplished. There has been so much written in motivational and inspirational material setting forth the importance of getting up and getting going -- In other words, in simply starting.

Years ago, I read a statement I think of often. This statement set forth the physical law that it takes six times more energy to set a fly wheel in motion than it does to keep it going once it is set in motion. What is true of that flywheel is true of every aspect of life. The rule is often is thought of when I set out on a journey across country. It took just as much effort to get ready each week to go on the 500 mile trip to Harding University back in 1976 to see my son play football as it did to go the 180 miles to Nashville on the way. The travel was easy after getting things packed and getting on the road. So it is with other projects in life.

Our contemporary writer, Ben Stein, made the astute observation “so many fail because they don’t get started - they don’t go. They don’t overcome inertia. They don’t begin.” The great American humorist Will Rogers added his wisdom when he said, “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there” These writers were emphasizing two important points neces- sary for success; getting started and staying on the journey.

The question might arise as to what motivates my writing a column on the law of inertia. Two or three thoughts have recently motivated me to “get started” and to get the job done. One, was a consciousness of the fact so many talented people, young and old, don’t accomplish what they should in life by reason of not getting started ,or if they started allowed forces to sidetrack them from their original intention, ambition or goal.

One of these thoughts is simply, “I have waited too late.” There are so many things I would like to do or places I would like to see but at a rapid pace in I travel on the downhill side of life. I have waited too long to see Key West, Florida which has been on my agenda for years. There are people from earlier life I would like to see and talk to. What is true of me is true of most people. We allowed the law of inertia having to do with “setting the flywheel in motion” to get in our way.

It was on a recent episode of an old “Murphy Brown” show that the FYI crew heard that an acquaintance (a rival in broadcasting I think) had died, and one of the members said the he had intended “one of these days….” to see the man. Another member of the FYI show made the observation, “I suspect we all have within us a ‘one of these days projects.” And I suspect we all have one within us.

The lesson is to get up and get going. It is the first law of accomplishment.

The annual BBQ, Boogie and Blues festival in Calhoun is quickly becoming one of my favorite events of the year so I had been looking forward to last weekend’s festivities for some time.

For one thing, what’s not to love about barbecue? Granted, I eat less of it than I used to, but there are just some things a man can’t do without — chief among them are ribs, pulled pork and brisket.

But there is more to my fondness for BBQ, Boogie and Blues than just food. Music is a big deal to me, too. I am a big fan of old time music — generally the tunes played prior to WWII — though I wouldn’t call myself an aficionado like Paul Shoffner. Shoffner is an organizer of the Georgia String Band Festival and Gordon County Fiddler’s Convention ( A BBQ, Boogie and Blues event). This guy knows his stuff and is passionate about it. We’d been talking about the festival for a few months and he really got me interested in some of the musicians who were trailblazers in the genre like the Skillet Lickers and Andrew and Jim Baxter. I looked them up on my Spotify ap (a type of MP3 playing service like iTunes) and got ready for the string band festival.

The event was held at the Harris Arts Center in downtown Calhoun and let me tell you, those folks at the HAC could not have been more generous. They were very accommodating and friendly, so I want to publicly thank them for that.

The festival kicked off last Friday ( April 25) and featured pickers and grinners from around the country. One guy, for example, drove down from Minnesota just for the festival. That’s hardcore.

On the opening night, Norman and Nancy Blake and fiddler James Bryan got things started with a double set of what some call “chamber folk” music. It was certainly old time music and my wife and I enjoyed it tremendously. You may have heard Norman Blake playing on the multi-platinum O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack, which won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2002.

It also helped spark the rebirth of old time music. It’s safe to say that the Blakes are at least partially responsible for that regeneration as well.

The following day, musicians competed in events like singing, buck dancing, banjo picking and fiddle playing. To me there isn’t a more wonderful instrument than a banjo so I was most enthralled by that event.

However, the most interesting part was the string band portion of the competition. Essentially, total strangers were paired together and given a short amount of time to prepare a few songs.

I couldn’t even imagine having to do that since I am not a musician, but these folks did amazing. I have nothing but respect for talented musicians. I prefer the company of unique and creative people as it is, so I really enjoyed watching them play.

What struck me the most about the entire string band festival was that most of the participants were young—probably 20s and 30s.

That excites me because that means old time music is alive and well for the foreseeable future. It’s important to keep these traditions alive. Old time music and folkways like quilting, canning, buck dancing, storytelling and others are integral elements of Americana, especially Southern Americana. If you haven’t gone to the festival before, check it out next year.

I couldn’t wrap this column up without giving a pat on the back to all the people involved in organizing the BBQ, Boogie and Blues event. There are too many organizers and volunteers to list, but you know who you are and this guy appreciates your hard work. This is an event the community should continue to support and be proud of, in my opinion.

To find out more about how people are keeping folkways and old time music going, take a look at a few of my favorite sites: www. etsu. edu/ das/ bluegrass; www. folklife.si.edu; www.oxfordamerican.org.