In the 45 years I have been on this planet I have been able to solidify one truth about myself; to quote the great Joe Walsh “I’m just an ordinary average guy”. It’s a fact about myself that I am perfectly content in having. There will be no monuments baring my name. I won’t be remembered in the history books. No lasting brand.

Don’t take “ordinary” to mean dull, though. On the contrary, I feel I lead a life that is exciting, full, and productive. Throughout our time together I hope that you will see that to be true. That you will find that there is beauty in the ordinary. Too much emphasis is placed on the extraordinary, or what society sees as extraordinary. Achieving any type of recognition in today’s popular culture is a testament to mediocrity. So much so that I’m inclined to find extraordinary in the ordinary!

For example, my fiancé and I had a rare night to ourselves this past Saturday. A simple dinner that was delicious! We followed that with a night at a local jazz place where we shared a bottle of wine. My date was absolutely stunning! The wine was great. The music…moving! Social media, and by extension popular culture, would have you thinking that this was a lame evening. To us, the average and ordinary, it was perfect because it was us doing what we enjoyed. It also helps when you have an absolute smoke show who is to be your wife!

My point is this. Life doesn’t have to include a non-stop barrage of extravagance for it to be full or exciting. Not everything needs to be shared, and liked, and made viral. It just has to be lived! The average parts that make up the ordinary me also make up the extraordinary moments of my life because I choose to not let them pass without being experienced. And those parts, well there are many, and my hope for anyone who reads this is for them to find the beauty in their own ordinary parts to make their lives extraordinarily lived!

I’m going to talk about many things, but there will be a constant theme with music, parenthood, generation gaps, and getting older. In between I’ll discuss art, sports, career, and even sex. Is this blog about being a playbook for life? No! I do hope that it inspires someone. Social media has people all screwed up trying to live life at Mach 5. All I want to do is even the scales a little and make it okay, to be ordinary. A prop plane will still get you there, just a little slower. We will talk soon but until then, take in some Lena Horne, Sinatra, and Jon Hendricks. Let your mind slow down and feel the music with your soul.

D.H.