Charlie Kuchler: Blog

Recently, I've been giving some thought to the meaning of Memorial Day. I think it means different things to different people.
Memorial Day is supposed to be a time when we remember those who have given their lives in the service of our country. It is the ultimate sacrifice.
How does this apply to me? I never served in the Armed Forces. I got lucky during Viet Nam and got a high draft lottery number. I have friends that served and I even have a great-cousin that died in WWII. His name was Charles Kuchler.
Here I am playing my accordion and writing my own music in Florida enjoying life in a free country. That's what I call freedom!
I wouldn't have this freedom, without the sacrifices that have been made by our soldiers. It started with the revolutionary war and continues through today in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Thank you to all of them.

I've always placed a high value on friendship. Through the years I've had a lot of acquaintances, but only a few good friends. I once heard that throughout your life the friends you have is like a pyramid. Most of the people you get acquainted with are on the bottom. As people become closer to you and your friendships grow there are fewer and fewer people that are really good friends, until you get near the top of the pyramid and there will probably be about 2 or 3 people that are your best friends in your whole lifetime.
It's hard being a good friend because it means you know a person so well that you are aware of their faults. Being a good friend means seeing the part of someone that you like and focusing on it. It also means that you will listen to them through good and bad times and offer honest and sometimes painful advice.
It's easy to be a friend when things are going smooth. It's a lot harder when your friend isn't being so friendly. Good friends hang together through thick [...]

This past Sunday a woman comes up to me with a five dollar bill and asks, "Can you play the 'She's Too Fat Polka?'" Now this a question that really pisses me off. Just because she sees an accordion she assumes that I can play a polka. Now, I don't have anything against polkas they are part of popular music. And I hear Lawrence Welk was a stud and got laid a lot. (How about those Andrew sisters?) Franky Yankovich was like a rock god to his fans. But, please don't sterotype me. I play the accordion they way I see it. Just because you see an accordion doesn't mean you'll hear a polka. Remember, Accordions don't play polkas...people do. And don't get me going on Lady Of Spain!!!

I decided to start a blog . By the way, what is a "blog" anyway? What a weird word. It freaks me out. From what I can tell it's one of the last real places where freedom of speech is evident. I like that. You can write about your opinions or experiences. You can be serious, funny, gross, informative and it's pretty much uncensored. So that's what I'll be doing with my blog. Just giving you a little insight into my twisted mind. As I go forward with this I sure would appreciate your comments. You can leave them on the guest book. I need more entries anyway.