Installment #1

The Vision is different from “the mission”. The vision is bigger, and broader. It’s as much a philosophical or spiritual endeavor, as it is a physical one. It’s a lot harder to ‘pin down’.

The mission is today. It can be summarized in a “statement”. The vision is the tomorrow… (Ellipsis applied intentionally.) It’s gonna take some time to ‘flesh out’, and I wouldn’t even be surprised if it changes a bit, on the fly, as it goes through the process. So, bear with me.

My name is Donald McCullough, and I am the ‘brains’ (for lack of a better word) behind the Local Music Showcase. I’ll answer to “B.Robert.Sock”, as well – it’s a nickname my dad gave me, and I’ve used it as a pen name, in the past.

I am a flawed human being – I want to acknowledge that, right up front.

I, like all of us, have certain strengths, and certain weaknesses. I tend to believe my weaknesses outnumber my strengths by a pretty significant margin, and that they tend to dominate my ‘persona’. I also think, however, this might just be a cultural thing.

(We Americans are ‘trained’, pretty much from the cradle to the grave, to focus on ‘all the things that are wrong’, and to take ‘all the things that are right’ for granted. It’s why our schools are so focused on grades and tests. It’s why our jobs are so focused on monetary reward. It’s why our ‘news’ is always so terrible. If we’re kept in a constant state of feeling insecure and afraid, it makes us a more compliant citizenry, and – most importantly – much better consumers. But I digress…)

I speak only for me. Here are some of my strengths – the ones that jump out, anyway:

  • I’m creative
  • I’m reasonably intelligent, and reasonably well-educated (‘intelligence’ and ‘education’ being, perhaps, different sides of a single coin, but certainly not the same thing)
  • I’m a ‘big ideas’ guy
  • I try, always, to be kind and/or respectful
  • I’m principled
  • I’m a very mellow, classic Type-B personality
  • I’m (very intentionally) idealistic*
  • I’m a romantic*

Here are some of my weaknesses – likewise, the ones that jump out:

  • I’m disorganized
  • I – like so many of us these days – am distracted
  • I’m absent-minded
  • My mind whirs a little too fast, and it likes to wander ‘far and wide’
  • I want to ‘do it all’, and I want it done NOW
  • I talk (think) too much and DO too little
  • I’m an introvert (something I KNOW to be a strength), so people sometimes perceive me as being aloof (the weakness, when it comes to doing anything in public)
  • I always use too many words

*I’m well aware, depending on one’s perspective, these traits can be viewed as weaknesses, akin to things like “unrealistic” and “naive”, but the fact I’ve put ’em in the ‘strengths’ column is intended to be an overt clue to MY personal perspective.

Neither list is complete, by any means. Rather, they’re intended to give you a sort of ‘general idea’ about the particular ‘well’ from which the ensuing ‘vision’ will be bubbling up, and some of the things that lurk, in the murk below.

That’s it for now. This broader ‘vision’ I have is going to be revealed in installments. I’ve tried several times over the years, to get it written down in a single, cohesive document, but the task has proven to be too daunting (see ‘weaknesses’, above). I’ll close with this – yes, it involves a LOT of music, which is why the “Local Music Showcase” has been imagined into existence. But it’s not ONLY about the music.

Stay tuned.

Posted in Vision