Oh, to be at the top of my game
 | Rob Crowe
Columnist
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I’ve always had a great respect for those individuals who are at the top of their game.
I’ve never been there, but it is a pleasure to listen to and watch an accomplished musician play his or her instrument, a unique timbre and rhythm springing magically from the strings or bell of the instrument.
This past weekend in Bigfork, at the funeral of a fine gentleman I had met some years back, the assembled had the opportunity to hear a musician at this point in his career. I didn’t know who the musician was when he came to the front of the church and did a modern arrangement of It is Well for the congregation, all I knew was that his strumming and chording were impeccable. His voice was fitting with the contemporary gospel genre, the composite sound exquisite to the practiced ear. Not a missed string or unnecessary sound.
I like the original arrangement better but this was obviously something written for the younger generation and it was excellent. On top of it all, it looked so easy, yet if someone with any less skill tried to do the same thing, the results would have been much different. I still can’t tell you the name of the musician, just that he was one of the many progeny of my friend, he is lead guitarist for a popular contemporary gospel group that has won many awards for their music and the arrangement of the song was his own.
I don’t know if I’ve reached the top of my game at anything. Part of this may be that I haven’t the ability, but another thing I’ve noticed about myself is that I am interested in a whole host of things. I like racing cars, raising cows, driving tractors, building buildings, making toys, singing songs, discussing politics, siring kids, you get the picture. I have lots of experiences but haven’t focused enough on anything to succeed financially or professionally to any great extent.
I’ve also the propensity for being greatly over-committed, much of my extra curricular stuff is done when I probably should be sleeping.
Writing columns from this perspective has been rewarding work and I’ve managed to pick up a few things along the way. I try to read the best of the business. National Review on-line is a must read as is OpinionJournal.com for the quality of the writing. In my opinion, Rich Galen at Mullings.com is probably the premier columnist for the genre of conservative writing, his humor is only exceeded by his vast knowledge of politics and life in general.
Many authors, including myself, tend to have quite an edge to their writing. Rich manages to get his point across with a unique sense of humor that deflects the sharpness.
The recent favorite subject on nearly every one of the afore mentioned Web sites has been the conflict between Samuel Alito, Supreme Court nominee and the frumpy senator from Massachusetts, The Teddy Kennedy.
Alito is a person definitely at the top of his game. His demeanor and clear, crisp answers before the Senate committee have been in great contrast with the appallingly crude insinuations of The Teddy. The Teddy, member of the Harvard Owl Club, an all-male frat, tried to blacken Alito’s reputation for his long ago membership in Concerned Alumni of Princeton, a group devoted to academic excellence at Princeton. It seems that someone had written a satirical piece in the group’s newsletter that could be construed different ways so The Teddy took some excerpts from it and tried to intimate that Alito held anti-female views. The baseless accusations didn’t work. In fact, after the hearings, The Teddy decided that he probably should divest himself of his OWL Club membership.
It was rather painful reading the lame defense of The Teddy by liberal apologist Susan Estrich on the NewsMax website. She employed the oft used strategy of stringing together non-relevant tidbits to “prove” a point, calling The Teddy's antics “courageous.” She even ridiculed Alito’s wife’s tears, the reader is left wondering whether there is any integrity left in the liberal writing community.
Most of this particular genre are definitely not at the top of their game.
(By the way, the guitarist's name is Tyler Burkum. He does lead guitar and vocals for Audio Adrenaline.)
Rob Crowe chairs the Aitkin County Republicans and raises kids and cows on a farm near Hill City.
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