Dylan Who?

 

James 4:14
 
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 
 
My brother and I went to see Bob Dylan last night in Hershey. It was a lovely evening. Fall was in the air...it was cool and refreshing. Also in the air was reefer smoke. A guy who I initially thought was a girl because of long hair, until I saw his beard, offered me the remains of his joint. He saddled up to me sideways and it was loud. And, it was dark. He soons found someone else for his pot philanthropy. I passed.
 
No desire to puff. None, nada, and it has nothing to do with legal or not, really. I just don't want to be a dopey pothead, even for a couple of hours. I wouldn't even smoke pot even if was legal like some strange land (i.e. California). Boy, that is something California needs. More unproductive people high on Dope. The CaliChronic.    
 
Today, I conducted a survey of sorts with my students when they came to my office for one thing or another. I queried if they knew of Bob Dylan. Blank stares. Justin  Bieber, definitely. Snooki, for sure. Dylan, the troubadour of a generation, the troubled and tumultuous sixties? Nope. Not even a flicker of recognition.  Kind of telling and perhaps humbling. The hero of the young two generations ago, now a fading rock start with a voice of gravel. He plays a mean harmonica though and does pretty good on the piano too. He is a great musician who pens thoughtful, if not opaque, lyrics, still.  
 
Now, a complete unknown or close to it, with the young. My survey was far from scientific but revealing nonetheless. The refrain lines from his song "Like a Rolling Stone" are ironic and haunting:
 
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone? 
 
Fame is fleeting as well as fortune. A big step in coming to Christ is recognizing anything or anyone else we put our hope in will soon burn-out like a candle. Or a reefer. Life is surely a vapor.
 
   
 
    
 


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