Rant #2,371: Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)

Well, even though that song was a huge hit more than 50 years ago, boy, is it an appropriate song for the times today.

Yesterday, I had to venture out and have blood drawn for a future physical examination by my doctor, and it just so happened that I had to get my monthly allergy shots on the very same day.

I usually get my allergy shots on a Saturday, but the office was closed this past Saturday to allow workers in this office to be better allocated by the company they work for, so there were no shots being given when I normally get them.

Funny, I got them, but my allergies are really bad today, effecting my eyes, and right now, I am having a hard time focusing om the screen and what I am writing.

Anyway, when my blood was drawn, I was the only person there for blood work, and I was taken immediately.

the nurse who handled me was dressed to the gills with protective gear, and there was even a more intensive procedure when I gave a urine sample, both to protect myself and whoever would be handling the sample.

Whatever the case, the procedure was handled quickly, and the nurse told me that she had one child who had lost her job and another who had to take some examinations that were being postponed and were in jeopardy. Her husband was ready to retire, and she admitted that she was somewhat happy that her job as a nurse was considered essential, so she could continue to draw a regular paycheck.

I, too, am happy that my wife's job as a bank teller is considered essential, and that she can draw a regular paycheck while I am out of work and our son is furloughed, but I worry about her direct contact with money--both paper and coin--during this pandemic.

Happily, only her bank's drive-through area is open for transactions, although the cash machine is open for business and anyone who needs to speak with someone on the floor can do it with an appointment.

Personally, the only regular appointment that I have is with my computer and proceeding with my job hunt, although that, as you could imagine, is a completely fruitless exercise at this point in time.

I would say that job posts were down yesterday by about two-thirds, and even the posts that are up are mainly repeats of jobs that have been up before, sometimes for months at a time, so you have to question their veracity in the current time and overall.

However, I am fairly busy, not just for myself but for my family.

Over the past few months, I have become the hub for so many things, including caring for and helping my elderly parents. In fact, once again later this week, I must take my father to the doctor for a mandatory visit.

I really don't mind. It makes me feel that there really is a God, and that there is a true, divine reason that I am out of work. I am not a necessarily religious person, but I do believe that God has had a purpose for me during these nearly sis months ... or perhaps it just calms me down when I look at my situation.

And yes, I would be completely remiss if I did not write a little bit about the passing of Kenny Rogers, one of the true icons of the music business. He died the other day, of natural causes, leaving behind a legacy of music that has impacted so many performers and enticed so many fans.

Rogers, like Glen Campbell and Michael Nesmith, brought country music into living rooms around the country and the world, when that type of music really was thought of as nothing more than hillbilly music. Sure, there were successful crossovers before those three reached the pinnacle of their craft, but these guys were able to mix traditional country with the newer sounds making their way into our consciousness, but they all could not do it before they got their foot firmly in the door, a door that once in, gave them long, productive careers turning and bending the country genre into the popular music that it has since become.

Campbell was part of the famed Wrecking Crew, which played on hundreds of hits in the 1960s, mostly pop and rock, and he was so good and had the right look and talent that he was able to break off on his own and become one of out most popular performers of the late 1960s really through the 1980s and beyond.

Nesmith used the platform of the Monkees TV show and music to get young kids to listen to country music in a new and different way, and while his solo career became and still is something of an under the radar spectacular, those few years with the Monkees opened up the ears--and eyes--of the Baby Boomer generation to a whole new realm of music.

Rogers, who had been knocking around for some years prior to any success he eventually had, opened the door with the First Edition with the only-could-be-a-hit-in-the-1960s "Just Dropped In ... ." which got up to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968, and like Nesmith and Campbell, once his foot was in the door, the door could not be closed.

And also like Campbell and Nesmith, Rogers used the medium of television to get his point across. With that one rock hit behind him, the First Edition was ubiquitous on TV, led by Rogers. With an earring in tow, the act had numerous top 40 hits over the next few years, all in the country-pop genre, such as "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town" and "But You Know I Love You," and they even had their own TV series, "Rollin' with Kenny Rogers and the First Edition."

But Rogers was getting too big for the First Edition, and he broke away, and that is when his popularity soared even higher. Now firmly in the country genre, he had numerous big hits, including "Lucille," "Coward of the County and "The Gambler," the latter of which he parlayed, once again, into a TV package, this time of made-for-TV movies.

Rogers also became a major concert attraction, playing to packed houses in both smaller venues and larger ones too.

He also was embroiled in some controversies over the years involving improper use of the phone (I will leave it at that) and of his radical plastic surgery, but even through these negatives, nobody could argue about his talent.

He will certainly be missed.

But don't miss this blog tomorrow. I have no idea what I will write about, but you can be sure that with this pandemic in place and not yet ready to go away, I can guarantee that I will present you something that will take up a few minutes of your time while you try to stay as busy as you possibly can.

We will beat this thing; even "The Gambler" would bet on that.