It has been a lot of years since I have been to a Styx concert, over 40 to be somewhat vague about just how long. Back then it was the first big arena concert that Jane and I attended together at the Saint Paul Civic Center. Last night we were at the Agua Cliente casino in Rancho Mirage. Most of the people were our age so it had probably been a while for them as well.

As I sat there listening to some of the lyrics they really connected with me and our time, probably much more than they did in the early 80’s! From Rockin' the Paradise

What you doin' tonight? Well have you heard that the world’s gone crazy? Young Americans, listen when I say There’s people puttin' us down I know they’re sayin' that we’ve gone lazy To tell you the truth, we’ve all seen better days

Don’t need no fast buck lame duck profits for fun Quick trick plans, take the money and run We need long-term, slow burn, gettin' it done And some straight talkin', hard workin' son of a gun

Come on and take pride, be wise spottin' the fools Big shots, crackpots bendin' the rules A fair shot here for me and for you Knowin' that we can’t lose

If they had written this today I would easily think they are talking about our current administration.

I would also add that these lyrics from “The Best of Times” kind of express my day to day frustrations:

The headlines read, “These are the worst of times” I do believe it’s true I feel so helpless like a boat against the tide I wish the summer winds could bring back paradise But I know, if the world turned upside down Baby, I know you’d always be around, my my