If heaven wasn't so far away....it would kind of defeat the purpose.

Here I am, talking about country music.  Again.  Unfortunately.

When you actually listen to the lyrics, "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away" by Justin Moore is one of the most ridiculous songs ever.  I've been critiquing the hell out of this song in my head for years.  Now I need to actually write out my feelings of rage.

Watch the video.  Usually I have ridiculous celebrity crushes on country music boys, but Justin Moore really just looks like a douchefag.

Every day I drive to work across Flint River Bridge,
A hundred yards from the spot where me and Grandpa fished.
There's a piece of his old fruit stand on the side of Sawmill Road,
He'd be there peelin' peaches if it was twenty years ago.

This is nonsense.  What kind of fruit stand was this?  How is there seriously still a piece of it around if it was last functioning TWENTY FUCKING YEARS AGO?  I understand that this is some hick town, but is there no roadside cleanup whatsoever?

And what I wouldn't give
To ride around in that old truck with him

He was probably a drunk racist.  Be careful.

If heaven wasn't so far away,
I'd pack up the kids and go for the day
Introduce 'em to their Grandpa,
Watch 'em laugh at the way he talks.

That'll be good for the kids.  Gramps is dead, so you go laugh at his ghostly, funny-talkin' soul and then come back to real life?  They won't need years of costly therapy or anything.

I'd find my long lost cousin John,
The one we left back in Vietnam

Fair enough, support our veterans.  No laughing here.

Show him a picture of his daughter now,
She's a doctor and he'd be proud

John's in heaven looking down on all of us...don't lie to him.  He knows his daughter is a stripper, and that she changed her name from Brandi to Candii.  With two i's.

Then tell him we'd be back in a couple of days,
In the rear view mirror we'd all watch 'em wave.
Yeah, and losing them wouldn't be so hard to take,
If heaven wasn't so far away.

Look, they earned their right to be in heaven.  By, you know, dying and shit.  They're not going to cheerfully wave you goodbye.  They're flipping you the bird in the rear view because you're that jackass who decided to chillax in heaven without paying your dues.

I'd hug all three of those girls we lost from the class of '99

My friend Kenny pointed out this discontinuity to me a while back.  So you left someone "back in Vietnam" and you're also in the class of '99?  That makes no effin' sense.  Were you fightin' the good fight in 'Nam before you were born? Impressive, dude. Today's sperm and egg cells could totally learn a thing or two about combat from you.

And I'd find my bird dog Bo and take him huntin' one more time.

Really? Ghost dogs are shitty hunting companions. Those heaven-dogs just lay around with their damn halos and wings while ignoring the angel-deer.  Take my word on this one.

I'd ask Hank why he took those pills back in '53

Isn't it in the book of etiquette to not ask about things like overdoses?  I doubt he wants to talk about it.

And Janis to sing the second verse of "Me and Bobby McGee"

She's so over that song.

Sit on a cloud and visit for a while.
It'd do me good just to see them smile.

You can't actually sit on clouds, Mr. Moore.

Then it repeats and you have to hear about John and Grandpa again.
 
See what I mean?  These country songs make little to no sense.  Why do I listen to this stuff?  I guess simply because it's ridiculous.


XOXO,
Country Caroline.

104 Days

"104 Days" sounds like a bad movie title.

In actuality, it's the number of days until the first Sunday of regular-season NFL.

Now, I'm aware that not everyone loves football as much as I do. But that's okay!  Because I'm going to compile a list of reasons why non-sports-watchers can look forward to NFL season as much as I do:

1) Gambling.  Everyone can enjoy gambling, even if they aren't a video poker star or a big Vegas fanatic. If you put money on football, you are guaranteed to start caring about the games every Sunday, even if you don't know what the hell is going on.  Pull out your wallets, y'all. You might (probably) go broke, but you'll also start finding football games to be actually interesting. Win-win....just make sure to save enough money for reason #3 on this list.

 

2) An excuse to eat junk.  I'd be willing to wager that most people can't really justify eating a vat of melted Velveeta or bacon-wrapped bacon every day of their lives. But during football season, you're allowed to eat like a fatass without judgement!  Sure, you'll gain five pounds every Sunday, but you won't have to think about it until Monday morning.  Bonus: football jerseys are very forgiving clothing items. Everyone looks kind of like a lumpy sack in them, so no one will notice the pudge you've gotten from eating one too many cheeseburgers.

 A staple for many fatty football recipes, and one of the only things I like about Philly. (www.kraftbrands.com)

3) Day drinking.  This is last on my list, but it's probably the reason that has the most pull.  Everyone I know is at least a borderline alcoholic.  This means they search for reasons (however invalid those reasons may be) to booze it up while the sun's still a-shinin'.  No one will ever judge you for drinking all day on an Autumn Sunday while watching football.  If anyone does give you any shit, just call them un-American. Works every time. If you hate sports, here's your perk: you don't even have to watch the game!  Just go to a sports bar and sit on the patio while sipping (read: chugging) a Budweiser:

If those reasons aren't good enough, then you obviously don't like awesomeness.  And if that's the case, I'd just go away now.
Join me in my countdown, y'all!

XOXO,
Caroline