Out of the Wilderness: 2020 in review

I set out at the beginning of 2020 to write a blog post every day of the year and I am very happy to say that I posted MORE than 365 times. Every day at 1pm there was something new on the site, whether you liked or not is a gray area but I’m so thankful for you all who have been on the journey with me. Who knew back in January what we were in store for as 2020 has been a crazy year. Lots of posts addressed the wild events of 2020 from the coronavirus, the US Presidential election, and a handful of terrible dating profiles.

Here is a list of the top 10 posts from this year, based on number of views.

The Song in Apple’s Commercial for iPhone 12 Pro Max and Mini

More about Xfinity’s ad “Go Your Own Way”

Allstate’s Island Commercial: The Islands, the Truck, the Music, and the Hound!

Toyota’s Holiday Ad featuring Military Man Returning Home

New Allstate commercial – actors, location, and music

Truist TV Ad featuring well-known song and Cruiser the dog

The Woman in Jon Pardi’s “Ain’t Always the Cowboy”

Who’s the Dude in “More Than My Hometown” by Morgan Wallen

Publix ad featuring Ro Malone is simply adorable

8 Movies and Songs with “Mask” in the Title

Well, then! Obviously a lot of posts about commercials and music were sought after. To be honest, I loved researching for these posts and discovered that with a little time and effort, I could find the info people were seeking. I’m hoping to do more of that in 2021, for sure. As far as posts about my personal life and experiences, here are a few of my favorites from 2020…

Soul change or just behavior modification?

Marriage worship

“[enter city name] Strong” is so overused

Toothbrushes for 20 years

God, I thought I understood You

And I also wrote more satire in the style of The Onion and The Babylon Bee. That was fun. Here are a few favorites from that catalog of posts…

Joe Biden Hosts Grassroots Event with Room Full of Cardboard Cutouts

Hindsight Distancing Itself from 2020

Joe Biden Exercises with “Basement to 5K” plan

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

A message to Nashville Police and First Responders, and body cam footage from the Christmas bombing

I wasn’t in Nashville when the Christmas event happened. I was with family in Florida and that morning, we all woke up and soon after, ate breakfast together and opened presents. That’s how Christmas was for many people, I’m sure. But that afternoon I learned it wasn’t that way in downtown Nashville. When I heard of the bombing, my heart went right back to my city. And I can’t really say more without sharing the body cam footage that I watched for the first time about an hour ago. Here it is…

The more that’s come out about the person behind this weird and tragic event, whether he was mentally stable or not, I find myself stuck on two thoughts…

  1. What an a-hole. Seriously. A full-blown, 100%, nasty person. Who does this to their own city?
  2. I already appreciated Metro Nashville Police Department. But now… well, I don’t know how else to say it… THEY’RE ROCK STARS.

The body cam footage confirms the level of commitment these officers have; from the ones on the scene to the ones behind the scenes, they truly are guardians of this city. All of them.

As 2020 ends, I’m feeling such different things all at the same time. Anger from the event, obviously. But I hope pride and brotherly love will outweigh all my other feelings as a new year begins in just a few hours.

To Metro Nashville Police/Fire/First Responders… I know you’ll just say you were doing your job that morning and that’s something to be applauded but from the outside looking in, I believe you’re all heroes and every time you run towards a tragedy proves it, even if no one is there to see heroics in motion. While a lot of us were doing Christmas things, you were walking the streets, clearing out the area because of the threat of a possible tragedy. I just can’t quite grasp the selflessness of what y’all did that morning (and presumably every day). And as someone who works “behind the scenes” although in a completely different industry, I know there are so many other people that helped Christmas morning. Those officers, staff, and employees are heroes, too. It takes a team to battle all the things mankind can come up with, get into, fall into, crash into, right? Thank you and I hope God Himself has already prepared 2021 to be a year of peace in Nashville, with six-hundred-and-fifteen blessings for every one of you.

Thank you!!

-Out of the Wilderness

Auld Lang Syne with American Express Commercial… the locations, the music, and more!

Usually credit card companies just make us cry when the bill comes but this time American Express has outdone themselves with a “Shop Local” ad featuring a song we all know, “Auld Lang Syne.” Here’s the heartwarming and charming ad…

The version of the song in this commercial is performed by India Carney, who just couldn’t help but take in the moment on Instagram. Adorable! India was propelled to fame in 2015 in season 8 of “The Voice” on NBC. Scroll down for a longer version of India’s take on “Auld Lang Syne.”

The minute-long ad features a handful of local shops, which I will now list for you. In order of appearance, locations in this ad are:

Reid’s BBQ… Derby, CT

Wilton Hardware… Wilton, CT

Vesta Chocolate… Upper Montclair, NJ

Bianca Rossa… Wilton, CT

Coffee and Cornbread… Upper Montclair, NJ

Lis-A-Lis Salon… Guilford, CT

Just Kidding Around Toys… Montclair, NJ

Good Plans Coffee… Montclair, NJ

Breakwater Books… Guilford, CT

Here is the full version India singing this song…

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

Our Best Days Are Always Ahead

I’ve asked myself in the past few months, “Are my best days already behind me?” Sure, this is a pessimistic question and I’ll be totally transparent as I always try to be… sometimes I wonder about the future as my life hasn’t really gone the way an American’s life is supposed to. The formula is this:

  1. You’re born
  2. You go to school
  3. Graduate college
  4. Get married
  5. Find a real job
  6. Have kids
  7. Become grandparents
  8. Retire
  9. Travel
  10. Die

From that list I’ve done about half. I’m not married, I don’t have a 9 to 5 job, no kids, and therefore becoming a grandparent is out of the question. By this standard, I’ve failed. I’m failing the expectations set forth in the unwritten American dream. When I feel the weight of these expectations, that’s when I wonder if somewhere along the line I got off the right path and now I’m wandering around the wilderness with no map.

I’m just being real. Some days are hard because of these thoughts. But then I think:

I might be single, but I’m not alone.

I may not have a real job (whatever that is?), but I love my life.

I don’t have kids, but I have dogs.

I believe in God. Like, the Spirit in the Sky, Big Man Upstairs, Cloud by day and fire by night Old Testament God, the God who is FOR me, and for ME… He has blessed me with, well, to keep it very simple, He has blessed me with life each morning when I wake up. Then there are the details and circumstances and He blesses me in those, too. But even knowing this, I still get dragged down by what I’m “supposed to be doing” or believing my best days are behind me. It’s not true. With God in my life, the best days are ALWAYS in front of me. On this planet, I’ll get to see the next generation in my family grow up. They may or may not have families of their own. I’m so happy I can show them that they, too, can take a different route in life and be happy and fulfilled. They don’t have to live by the American formula. No college? That’s OK. No career? Fine. Want be single till your 50 or 100? Go for it.

If they DO find those things, great. If they go another route, great.

And when I’m 99 years old and one of my great grand-nieces are taking care of me, my best days are STILL ahead of me. Because one day, I’ll be in Heaven with God. That’s sure something to look forward to. Mysterious, sure, but it gives me comfort knowing I have a future that will outshine my past. And in the present, I’ll keep shining as best I can… even on the cloudy days.

-Out of the Wilderness

Break-up Songs for 2021

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to put together a list of break-up songs! What have I been doing with my time? Wasting it, that’s what! There are a million lists of this type out there, so I’m not going to copy all the common break-up songs. I’ll just stick with songs that I like, or that are currently on any of my Spotify playlists. Let me know what you think about these songs in the comments below 🙂

Christina Perri “Jar of Hearts” with a memorable line, “…who do you think you are?”

This next one isn’t exactly a break-up song but I love the line, “The sun still rises, even through the rain.”

The Head and the Heart “Another Story”

One of my favorite songs during my middle school years, here’s “The King of Wishful Thinking” Go West. “I refuse to give into my blues.”

“Karma Police” Radiohead …haunting, memorable, and simply great. “This is what you get when you mess with us.”

“So Cruel” U2 …perhaps my favorite song of 2020, and maybe in my top 5 all time. This one stopped me in my tracks, and I haven’t actually started up again yet from it. “…To stay with you, I’d be a fool.”

“Guiding Light” Muse …I feel such remorse in this song. “I can’t hurt you anymore…” plus the guitar solo is more to me than the lyrics of so many other songs.

“Stars” Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. “I can’t look at the stars. They make me wonder where you are.”

Thanks for stopping by…

-Out of the Wilderness