karaoke

tonight after the wednesday night race at wakefield I joined some people at a local bar
it is an interesting subculture in there
a culture that is very different than the culture I am most familiar with
in addition to a handful of mountain bikers that show up as a group for four wednesday nights each summer
there are people who have been playing softball once a week for who knows how long for a much longer season
and people who are there just for the karaoke

I feel like jane goodall
only I am the big hairy one

like a stranger in a strange camp I try to enjoy myself and just pass through

as much as I hate karaoke
I will have to tell you
the people there are not all bad
usually there are people singing songs I definitely do not want to hear
while on top of that they are singing them poorly
bad songs done badly
it is a train wreck... I want to look away
but... I think they have some sort of magic mic
the singers all do a pretty solid job
well... almost all of them
but as much as I want to make fun of the ones who are really bad
I need to respect them for trying
and the others
I need to respect them for getting up there and having a good time
even if I do not get it

it is not up to me to "get" karaoke
as I do not expect them to get my mountain bike racing or riding



it is not the gong show
well, had I been twenty I may have thought it was the gong show
but now I see it otherwise