RIP Shel Silverstein

I don’t remember what his books were about, only that I was particularly fond of the Light in the Attic as a kid.
Then my father and I were driving back from Jalama, listening to the old-time country radio program, when a song called “The Winner” was performed by Bobby Bare. What a song and what a moment to share with my father.
My father bought the Bobby Bare CD at Amoeba Records the night we got into San Francisco. It turns out Shel Silverstein wrote these lyrics, in addition to many other popular song lyrics (including “A Boy Named Sue”). He did a lot of fascinating stuff in his life.
As I told my father, the Pentagon should be required to play this song over its PA on a weekly basis. It’s as funny as it is wise.
I seem to have forgotten that there was a time when country music considered humility and wisdom among the attributes it sang. So I offer this as a corrective to the influence of Toby Keith, et al. Perhaps you call this nostalgia. But that doesn’t mean we weren’t better then, at least in some regards.
Thank you, Mr. Silverstein and Dad for reminding me that to win is to live peacefully.