Journey and Journeys Cut Short

Today I am grateful for this life journey I am on and the people sharing it with me. I am also grateful for my work colleagues.

A first look at the letter "J" starts with a highlight--the band Journey. From the late 1970's into the mid-1980's, I came of age and so did this rock group. Some of my favorite songs from the group are Wheel in the Sky, Be Good to Yourself, Only the Young, Don't Stop, I'll Be Alright Without You, Ask the Lonely, After the Fall, The Party's Over (Hopelessly in Love) and Separate Ways (Worlds Apart). 

This last song seemed very fitting when it came out our senior year of high school. My friends and I would be heading in different directions after graduation. For me, Separate Ways has always defined that time in our lives and captured the mixed emotions we were experiencing.

A sadder side of the letter "J" comes when remembering those in the music world whose journeys were cut short. Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix died about three weeks apart in the fall of 1970. Both were just 27 years old and died drug-related deaths. The following summer, Jim Morrison of the Doors died, also at age 27, and also likely a drug-related death, though that remains in question. Just think what these three could have gone on to do if their journeys hadn't been cut short?

Another "J" artist I think of is Jim Croce. His career was off to a good start when he died in a plane crash in 1973. He was only 30 years old.

Janis Joplin's Piece of My Heart, The Doors' People Are Strange, Jimi Hendrix's version of The Star Spangled Banner, and Jim Croce's I Got a Name are all songs I am glad are part of the legacies of these artists who died young.

Appreciate that those of us writing and reading today get to continue this amazing and emotional journey of life one day at a time.




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