tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877731088554997649.post7070388416681180662..comments2024-03-22T17:39:44.420-07:00Comments on 37th Dream/ Rumors of Peace at Sunrise Sunrise Sunrise Sunrise Sunrise Sunrise Sunrise: "When Amy came to Dingle"amhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09212213177713917828noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877731088554997649.post-33556430653605191562011-12-06T15:13:15.764-08:002011-12-06T15:13:15.764-08:00My experience is that being an alcoholic is not a ...My experience is that being an alcoholic is not a tragedy as long as I don't drink. It was at the time of Janis Joplin's death in 1970 that I began to seriously wonder if I was an alcoholic and start to be more conscious about alcohol and its effect on me. It wasn't until 1987 that I realized I am an real alcoholic. I don't think I would be alive today if I hadn't stopped drinking. Amy Winehouse's death reminded me once again of that very real possibility.amhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212213177713917828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877731088554997649.post-69777045281117082662011-12-06T00:29:51.342-08:002011-12-06T00:29:51.342-08:00Although I realised 'Love and Theft' was f...Although I realised 'Love and Theft' was full of rich borrowings and references, I, like you, had not made this connection! The passage you quote from Lincoln is wonderfully compassionate and full of insight, as you say.<br /><br />There but for the grace of God.The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877731088554997649.post-44438088667218585012011-12-05T14:02:48.504-08:002011-12-05T14:02:48.504-08:00Solitary Walker -- With your words about Amy Wineh...Solitary Walker -- With your words about Amy Winehouse in mind, I'm reminded of Abraham Lincoln's memorable compassion and insight and nonjudgmental stance in regard to the ancient tragedy of the alcoholic:<br /><br />"In my judgment such of us who have never fallen victims have been spared more by the absence of appetite than from any mental or moral superiority over those who have. Indeed, I believe if we take habitual drunkards as a class, their heads and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any other class."<br /><br />"There seems <i>ever</i> to have been a proneness in the brilliant and warm blooded to fall into the vice. The demon of intemperance, <i>ever</i> seems to have delighted in sucking the blood of genius and of generosity. What one of us but can call to mind some relative, <i>more promising in youth than all his fellows</i>, who has fallen a sacrifice to his rapacity? He seems ever to have gone forth like the Egyptian angel of death, commissioned to slay, if not the first, the fairest born of every family." (my italics)<br /><br />(!) Just noticed that it appears that Bob Dylan lifted a line from Abraham Lincoln for the song "Summer Days":<br /><br />... He been suckin’ the blood out of the genius of generosity ... (from "Love and Theft")<br /><br />I'm not looking for these odd connections. They just jump out at me! It is likely that Bob Dylan may have read something of Abraham Lincoln's address to members of the Washingtonian movement in Springfield, Illinois, on February 22, 1842.amhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212213177713917828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877731088554997649.post-4594971753676625602011-12-05T11:47:51.400-08:002011-12-05T11:47:51.400-08:00I am moved by Amy Winehouse's ancient voice, a...I am moved by Amy Winehouse's ancient voice, and what happened to her was part of an ancient tragedy.The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.com