The Nation We Live In, a Collection of Essays and Short Stories

Who are " The Canvas People "? Well, they are a promising, energetic, gig playing four-piece band from the Central Texas area. I discovered them over a year ago while sprawling around watching You-Tube videos. Luckily, I caught a Live Concert Video of theirs with around 4-5 Live Music Songs played via Concert. Unlike the thousands of other music videos I've previously watched, with the Canvas People's music I was instantly drawn-in and hooked! Before we get into the actual talent and musical leanings of "the Canvas People", let me provide with you my personal musical history. My musical preferred premonitions may provide clues as to why I've become an avid fan and concert goer of this harmony pumping, airy rock-infused, and jovial band quartet. As a current late thirty-something, my musical tastes and course of direction was influenced heavily by one specific friend and day.  While mindless perusing the aisles at Waterlo...

As this winter gray weather haze and fog lingers over my hometown and daily life, it just kind of sucks. Today's entirely gray skyline, with zero ounces of sunshine and colder weather, has a gleeful mood buzzkill factor. Today is the type of dreary weather day in Austin, Texas, which causes me to wonder if this is an example of the daily living environment of Portland Oregon, Seattle Washington and America's Pacific Northwest? I've personally never traveled northwest of San Francisco, California and wonder if the rainy, dreary weather is what dictates the Pacific Northwest Resident's day and moods. Are we succumbed by nature? If yes, Count me OUT. I am not a fan. This gray, overcast weather is both depressing and unexciting. As creatures of our surrounding environments, everything around us has an effect on our moods and well-being. Recently I spoke and visited with my fantastic, friendly, and humorous neighborhood car mechanic expert. For the majority this ma...

Texas Book Festival Fall 2018, GVM Podcast Author Gameshow Style Audio Interview.  Click here and skip ahead to the 41:11 minute and second mark for GVM Audio Portion . " Born in Austin, George Vance McGee is a liberal arts graduate from the University of Texas. He is the author of Attractive Tales from Grand Cities : A Social Memoir, & "Open Mindful, Philosophy on the Fly." He spent five years living and working in NYC before returning to his hometown of Austin, where he writes and works as a realtor."

What are we wasting our lives on?  It's gotta be something. Are you wasting your time, energy, and finances on your pets, your cable television bill or by simply sitting on the couch? Are you wasting your time partying? Are you just meandering in nothingness? What do these time and life wasting activities accomplish? Very little to nothing my friends. I am personally guilty of watching too much cable television (hermit-style) in my studio, while endlessly reading social media and news articles on my iPhone and iPad. In my defense, reading is healthy for your brain. Folks, our actual alive time on earth is finite and limited! We only possess so much physical energy and resources to expunge. Why waste them walking around some animal on a leash, with plastic dog poop bags in your pocket, only to then be forced to manually pick up dog feces.  I'm gonna be honest, I don't get the allure or rewards from pet ownership. No thanks on pet ownership in this personal op...

The roller coaster of life contains tons of up and downs. The financial and emotional turbulence can be nagging. We all feel it, often.  Yet our idea in this chapter is to harken back to one's happiness level. Can you achieve your own unique happy? Sometimes I wonder if richer citizens are happier than the middle class, and the poorer class of society. Are they? Are the luxurious and affluent lifestyle and house living residents truly happier, than those neighbors and fellow stores patrons that are less rich? My current residential city of Austin, Texas is and has been overgoing some massive changes during just the past 5 years. Historically, my local city was known during the 1990's time period as a sleepy, cheap, and alternative College town. A cultural example would be Richard Linklater's movie titled, "Slacker".  A slacker type resident is a person who simply does just enough to get by financially on their own. Slacker lifestyle folks would rather sp...

Everyone in America is a salesperson. In some form or another, each individual American citizen is constantly selling something. For example, the typical American 9-5 commuting worker needs to impress their employer with their sales goals, content creation, accounting acumen or marketing wizardry. As the world turns and changes with each new day, the worker-bee must continue to sell their abilities and skills to both their customers and bosses alike. The employee is perpetually scrutinized, with the question, "Why is my work important, needed, and relevant?" Even your close non-business and fun-time friends are salespeople . Why? How? Well, your friends are constantly trying to enrich your friendship through excellent jokes, insightful wisdom, or enticing invites to parties and social events. All friends hope mutual fun times will translate into wild, laughable and riveting stories, upon a later date. A rhetorical question for friendom is, "Why would...

As the winter Holiday College Football Bowl Game season trots along, the big-timing television broadcasts and corporate sponsorships are profound evidence to grant College Athletes a stipend . It has become painfully obvious, now is the time to start paying these collegiate athletes. Prominent University scholarship athletes are unpaid indentured servants. These young adults sacrifice their entire physical bodies, innate well-being, reduced study time, and more in honor of representing their employers. Whoops, I mean Universities. The NCAA and United States judicial courts have turned a blind eye for way too long on this controversial subject. In my opinion, these entertaining, constantly producing and hard-working college athletes deserve to be paid a monthly stipend during their participating semesters. They should NOT be paid during their summer vacations and scholastic breaks.  How much $$ should this monetary monthly allowance and stipend be? I think the stipend sho...