Slow Down Santa Barbara!

In the city I live, there are these silly green signs that say, "Slow down Santa Barbara." One day I was speeding around a corner trying to make a meeting up at Westmont while an elderly couple was walking in the shoulder. There was no danger of hitting them, but the woman jumped in shock and yelled, "SLOW DOWN," shaking her fist.

On the very same corner a week later, I saw the first "Slow down Santa Barbara" sign . A big smile spread across my face. I wouldn't be surprised if that same woman put up the sign just because of me. Every time I see it, I imagine that white haired woman complaining to all her friends about some kid who was driving like a crazy person and almost ran her off the road.

Greg Rollette was recently talking about what Generation Y's short attention span means for musicians. He says that we need to constantly be compressing our messages to hook the interest of our ADD audience.

I don't necessarily disagree with him. However, I think there is much to be said for activities (including listening to music) that increase our attention span. Last night I worked on a puzzle with two of my closest friends. It was probably one of the hardest puzzles of all time, but we had a nice time staring at the tiniest details and trying to fit them into a larger picture.

William Faulkner and Simon & Garfunkel are two artists that teach us to slow down. They may not have sold the most records or books, but for the people who love them, they are the best.

Our culture moves a thousand miles a second, and that's all well and good some of the time. There are other times, though, where we all need to relax, put on some Simon & Garfunkel, and do a really hard puzzle.