T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 103
Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #103!
Here are some things I really like and that you might too.
Financial Independence/Work Life/Retirement Articles
Running Out of Life (Lazy Man And Money) – “At some point, you may find that you have more money than life.”
Does FI=Wealthy? (Life In FIRE) – “Having enough financial resources to be independent of producing more income for spending/savings is probably the true meaning of FI. But, is that same FI household—wealthy?”
Video
A recent Youtube clicking spree had me watching this again. For my money this is one of the greatest live performances in rock history, partly because of the setting but also because U2 just kills it here. Live Aid was the biggest rock concert ever, held on 2 continents and broadcast to zillions. This is in 1985 when U2 where a pretty famous act, but before they really blew up and became the meme-like thing we know now. That came 2 years later after the Joshua Tree release in 1987. Bono is in his element here, love him or hate him. He’s brimming with confidence, having girls pulled from the crushing crowd to kiss and dance with, mashing up Stones and Lou Reed songs with his own, the consummate showman. But even if you hate him you have to deal with the fact that he doesn’t hit a bad note and the band is fucking slaying it. I also love this performance because “Bad” is probably my favorite U2 song for very personal reasons.
Who’s Inspired Me
Jim Walmsley.
Walmsley is the best male ultra runner in America. He’s won all the big races and set course records on most of them. But the biggest and most prestigious ultra in the world is called UTMB, and it’s in Chamonix France. It’s the Super Bowl of 100 mile races. Walmsley had made three unsuccessful attempts at UTMB, and each time he was a favorite. He had a monkey on his back. In 2022 Walmsley went all in on UTMB – by uprooting his life in Arizona and moving to Chamonix to live and train. Talk about dedication. And he made this very public by having his sponsor make films about it. That’s really putting your intents out there, and has to be nerve wracking as hell because it just sets you up for another an even bigger failure if you don’t succeed.
Well the 2023 UTMB just happened, and damn if he didn’t win it. He also set a course record to boot.
Walmsley is the first American male ever to win the race. Of course Courtney Dauwalter who I’ve highlighted numerous times on this blog won the women’s race again, for the third time. So American ultra runners swept the race, and the second place man was even American too. Booyah. Walmsley is inspiring because he wore his failures on his sleeve, and then made his intents clear to dig deeper to win the race by moving his life to France. He trained his ass off and won. Hard work and dedication pay off my friends.
What I’m Grateful For
Craigslist. I’ve been offloading lots of stuff lately and I love that craigslist let’s you post anonymously unlike most other online marketplaces. In one recent victory, I sold a bike rack that I paid $80 for and used for over 12 years. I got $65 for it. Now that’s winning.
Lyrically Speaking
I made enough money to buy Miami
But I pissed it away so fast
Never meant to last
Never meant to last
From “A Pirate Looks At Forty” by Jimmy Buffett
Another T.G.I.F. Friday and another music legend gone. Jimmy Buffet died this week, and it made me really sad. I was never a parrothead, as his legions of devotees are called, but the guy wrote some damn banger songs. And in my heavy drinking days whether at the beach or the campsite there was always one guy who would change the song to a Buffett anthem, and I’d happily sing along.
One could dismiss Buffett’s music based on the ubiquity and shallowness of “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, but they’d be missing out. Songs like “Come Monday”, “He Went To Paris”, “Son of A Sailor” and the song quoted above are as lyrically deep and well written as any out there. And when Buffett actually sang (versus his later years of quasi- shouting) he had a rich and beautiful voice. R.I.P. Jimmy and thanks for the music and memories.
As for those lyrics, I’ve made a lot of money. I can’t quite buy Miami but I can buy lots of nice stuff. I will not, however, piss it away on anything and it will last.
Miscellaneous
Obesity Epidemic Threatens Not Just Public Health, but Also National Security – “We cannot let sensitivities surrounding obesity prevent us from taking these commonsense steps that will both improve lives and America’s security.“
Active children are more resilient – “According to findings by researchers from the University of Basel, school children cope better with the stress if they get plenty of daily exercise.“
Connected cars are a “privacy nightmare,” Mozilla Foundation says – “Data privacy protections are almost nonexistent when it comes to automobiles.“
in 1999 when i first moved to new orleans a singer songwriter named keith sykes used to come in my dive bar. he and his wife stayed a week of two across the street at the st. peter guest house and were fantastic people. they would just come in for a beer and a grilled cheese most afternoons as he really was/is a working songwriter. anyhow, he co-wrote some songs on buffett’s volcano album they recorded at the famous studio in montserrat. he was also in the corral reefer band for that great stretch in the 70’s.
i looked him up after buffett passed and some estimate had sales of songs he has written at over 25,000,000 with people like john prine and jerry jeff walker. he also appeared as a musical guest on saturday night live in 1980. pretty cool for an unassuming guy in a dive bar, eh? had you ever heard of him before?
No I had not heard of him and thanks for bringing him to my attention. Reading about him on Wikipedia now and he seems like one of those super-talented dudes who’s been around forever but mostly quietly in the background of the music industry. Apparently he discovered Todd Snider who I’ve highlighted here and is one of my favorite singer-songwriters. Buffett always had really talented folks in his band over the years so no surprise he had a guy like this in his circles.
I’ve been saying it for years…the best performance at Live Aid was this performance and of course Queen and Mercury. U2 rarely plays this song live like they do here which also makes this special. This is the best version of this song and the energy of Bono is off the charts. I have watched this video probably dozens of times and I’m constantly showing it to my friends. There is another early video on YouTube of them playing this song where Bono climbs part of the stage that I’ve come across once but can’t find again. Sooooo good!
Yes, this performance and the Queen one are both so iconic and legendary. Both Mercury and Bono were the persona of rock lead-man that day and they delivered. I couldn’t imagine the terror of going on stage and looking at a crowd that large and also knowing there’s millions more watching on TV live. That takes some confidence and nerves.
I like the article “Running out of Life”. My wife and I are retiring in 10 months, when I will be 55 and she will be 52.5. She has gone back and forth on retiring so early in her head. I sent her the link to the article since it points out we just don’t know when our time ends. You have to enjoy the time when you have the financial part done.
Glad you liked that one, I’m constantly trying to remind myself of that. For me it hits home every time I hear about a young musician or sports star dying. And when I say young I mean as low as 60’s because no one should be dying in their 60’s and I consider that relatively young still. Cheers
Very inspiring story about Jim Walmsley, Dave, never heard his story. Now I’ll have to go investigate more about him. You always introduce some really great stories on your TGIF posts, so keep them coming, I for one appreciate them!
Thanks for reading and commenting Jim, I really appreciate it!