Last Post of the Day
By Parrothead Jeff, on 3 July 2009
Philosophy and inspiration from Jimmy Buffett:
LAST MANGO IN PARIS
Album: Last Mango in Paris
Song: Last Mango in Paris
I went down to Captain Tony’s to get out of the heat
When I heard a voice call out to me, “Son, come have a seat”
I had to search my memory as I looked into those eyes
Our lives change like the weather but a legend never dies
He said, “I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And “Jimmy, there’s still so much to be done.”
I had a third world girl in Buzios
With a pistol on each hand
She always kept me covered
As we moved from land to land
I had a damn good run on wall street
With my high fashion model wife
Til I woke up dry beneath the African sky
Just me and my Swiss Army knife
I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy there’s still so much to be done
We shot the breeze for hours
As the sun fell from the skies
And like the sun hw disappeared before my very eyes
It was somewhere past dark-thirty
When I went back to the head
I read upon the dingy wall
The words the old man said
I ate the last mango in Paris…
….so much to be done.
Why don’t we wander and follow la vie dansante.
LA VIE DANSANTE
Album: Riddles in the Sand
Song: La Vie Dansante
They can can come take it all away
Break your heart in the light of day
Drown your love in a distant bay
So lonely
See the ship heading for the rocks
See the time melting off the clocks
There’s a light shattering all the locks
And saves me
It saves me
Chorus
That’s why I wander and follow La Vie Dansante
On the night wind that takes me just where I want
That’s all I want La Vie Dansante
Why don’t you wander and follow La Vie Dansante
On the night wind that takes you just where you want
That’s all you’ll want La Vie Dansante
Miss the beat if you close your eyes
Every night wears a new disguise
And I live when a new surprise surrenders
Feel it all with a willing heart
Every stop is a place to start
If you know how to play the part with feeling
I play with feeling
These two songs are a couple of Buffett tunes you’re likely to find in heavy rotation on my playlists. They’re a couple of my true favorites and yes, I know I have a lot of favorite Buffett songs
Last Mango and La Vie Dansante both describe the basic philosophy of how I would like to live my life. Seek adventure and novelty where you can, learn all you can absorb, and don’t be averse to sharing that knowledge and those experiences from time to time.
As Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” I firmly believe this is true and it’s one of the reasons I stop at places like Alien Fresh Jerky in Baker, CA, the Little A’Le’Inn and the Black Mailbox in Rachel, NV, and it’s at least part of the reason I go out of my way to enjoy the tourist and other unusual stuff in Vegas
Carpe Diem and Carpe Noctem while you’re at it
I got that one from the movie Dead Poet’s Society which I highly recommend and I think I’d pull out of my collection and watch right about now if it weren’t 0212 hours and I didn’t have to wake up in four or five hours.
It’s late/early, I’m tired, and I think I’m getting a bit loopy so I’d better call it a day and get some shut-eye
Have a great day, everyone
Darn it, I wish I could come up with some good lyrics — something along the lines of:
Nah, Nah, you’re at work and I’m not!!!!
Happy July 3rd!
Yeah, yeah, I know. But at least I got paid 2.5x normal for today