this one

Earl's Pearls

By Earl Meyers

"Can you lend me a hand?" This is a request from Bill Ede, a guy who has helped me lay down guitar tracks in the studio and played backup for me a couple of times on songwriter's night. After all, he plays the guitar much better than I do.

I spent a couple of hours on a hot June Saturday last year setting an AC window unit in place and securing it in his apartment. I was happy to help him out with something I have experience in and also return a friendly favor.

Bill is a unique individual who sometimes has a unique perspective, both in his songs and his expressions. Sometimes when he tells me something I wonder if it is a compliment or if he trying to tell me to get my priorities in order and stop spreading myself so thin.

On that June Saturday, in between the sawing and nailing, Bill says, "I admire someone with the energy you have. I'm lucky if I get three things going well. You write songs, have a job and family. You seem to juggle fifteen things at the same time and do twelve reasonably well."

The first thing I'm thinking to myself is "Which three am I not doing well?" The next question is "How much better would I be if I were doing seven or eight instead of fifteen?"

How important is running a mini-marathon, being a father, being a songwriter, remodeling a house, etc. I've done some assessing from time to time and have concluded that we do have to come down to Earth and admit that we can't do it all, or come to the conclusion we can't do it all well.

Bill plays the guitar and sings very well, has a very good job and is considered by his peers as one of the best songwriters in Louisville. That's four things he's doing very well. Not bad. If I could focus on fewer than fifteen, maybe I could do better. I'm willing to give it a try.

First thing next month.