**Alternative to a real post**

My life has a soundtrack.

When Dad and Uncle Darrell shot pool, I rested my chin on the table, and tapped my foot to the Beach Boys' "Endless Summer." Uncle Randy liked the J. Giles Band and Kiss, but he didn't hang out with his brother very much.

A few years later, Dad would drive fast in his black Monte Carlo, The Eagles putting an absolute hurt on the stock stero speakers. I'd sit unbuckled in the back seat, watching the Missouri countryside blur against the speed.

Sean sang the Marshall Tucker Band around the campfire and made me wish I had black hair and a voice that made women tremble. The music of "The Big Chill" and Aretha Franklin make me think of sweaty sex. Ska makes me think of The Blue Note, drunk, stupid, and happy to go through life that way.

My life, friends, has a soundtrack that drives almost everything I do.

I've recently discovered that one poker blogger is a big fan of a band from my hometown that I like very much. Late last year I discovered that another popular poker blogger really likes of one of my most favorite bands of all time.

This means what? I dunno.

But, it must mean something.

When I discvered Yahoo! Launchcast, I discovered that I now have a soundtrack for online poker play (my user name is otisbdart for those wanting a taste of the good life). When the cards aren't going right (as they haven't been for some time), I click over to LaunchCast and slip into the amber world that used to keep me so happy in years past

I sat down to write, hoping a few words on the screen might bring me out of a misty funk I've been wading through for a couple of weeks. So far, the words aren't helping, but Leo Kotke and Guy Clark are a little bit.

Maybe I'll just sit back and listen to some Uncle Tupelo and wonder who else is fnding comfort in the acoustic guitars tonight.

| Otis' Thoughts