the blues

[Kirk Reiser]

1. Most Blues begin, "Woke up this morning..."

2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, 'less you
stick  something nasty in the next line like, "I got
a good woman,  with the meanest face in town."

3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line
right, repeat  it. Then find something that rhymes...sort of: 
"Got a good woman with the meanest face in town.
Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in
town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher, and she weigh 500 pound."

4. The Blues is not about choice. You stuck in a  ditch, you stuck in  a
ditch-ain't no way out.

5. Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs and
broken-down trucks.
 Blues don't travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport UtilityVehicles.
 Most Blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. 
Jet aircraft an' state-sponsored motor pools ain't even in the runnin'. 
Walkin' plays a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die.

6. Teenagers can't sing the Blues. They ain't fixin' to die yet. 
Adults sing the Blues. 
In Blues, "adulthood" means being old enough to get  the electric chair.

7. Blues can take place in New York City, but not in Hawaii 
or any place in Canada.
 Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just
clinical  depression.  Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City are still the
best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place that
don't get rain.

8. A man with male pattern baldness ain't the blues.
A woman with  pattern baldness is. 
Breaking your leg cause you skiing is not the blues. 
Breaking your leg 'cause a alligator be chompin' on it is.

9. You can't have no Blues in an office or a shopping mall. The  lighting is
wrong. 
Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster.

10. Good places for the Blues:
a. highway 
b. jailhouse
c. empty bed
d. bottom of a whiskey glass

Bad places:
a. Dillard's
b. gallery openings
c. Ivy League institutions
d. golf courses

11. No one will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, 'less you
happen to be a old ethnic person, and you sleep in it.

2. Do you have the right to sing the Blues?  Yes, if:
a. you older than dirt
b. you blind
c. you shot a man in Memphis
d. you can't be satisfied

No, if:
a. you have all your teeth
b. you were once blind but now can see
c. the man in Memphis lived
d. you have a 401K or trust fund

13. Blues is not a matter of color. It's a matter of bad luck.
 Tiger Woods cannot sing the blues. Sonny Liston could.
Ugly white people  also got a leg up on the blues.

14. If you ask for water and your darlin' give you gasoline, it's theBlues. 
Other acceptable Blues beverages are:
a. cheap wine
b. whiskey or bourbon
c. muddy water
d. nasty black coffee

The following are NOT Blues beverages:
a. Perrier
b. Chardonnay
c. Snapple
d. Slim Fast

15. If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death.
Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die.
So is the electric chair, substance abuse, and dying lonely on a broken-down
cot. 
You can't have a Blues death if you die during a  tennis match or getting
liposuction.

16. Some Blues names for women:
a. Sadie
b. Big Mama
c. Bessie
d. Fat River Dumpling

17. Some Blues names for men:
a. Joe
b. Willie
c. Little Willie
d. Big Willie

18. Persons with names like Michelle, Amber, Debbie, and Heather  can't
sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.

19. Make your own Blues name Starter Kit:
a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.)
b. first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon,Lime,Kiwi,etc.)
c. last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.)

For example, Blind Lime Jefferson, Jakeleg Lemon Johnson or 
Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well,maybe not "Kiwi.")

20. I don't care how tragic your life: if you own a
computer, you cannot  sing the blues.