Sometimes I Wonder and other thoughts by Jack Coll

Sometimes I Wonder

And Some Other Thoughts

By Jack Coll

I enjoy listening to an artist named Sixto Rodriguez, some of you might remember a documentary film about him called “Searching for Sugarman.” One of Rodriguez’s songs is called “I Wonder,” a catchy little tune where he wonders about a number of things pertaining to a number of topics.

A portion of the lyrics read like this:

I wonder how many times you’ve been had

And I wonder how many plans have gone bad

I wonder how many times you had sex

I wonder do you know who’ll be next?

I wonder, I wonder, wonder I do.

I wonder about the love you can’t find

And I wonder about the loneliness that’s mine

I wonder how much going have you got

And I wonder about your friends that are not

I wonder, I wonder, wonder I do.

I wonder about the tears in children’s eyes

And I wonder about the soldier that dies

I wonder will this hatred ever end?

I wonder and worry my friend

I wonder, I wonder, wonder don’t you?

Well yea, I wonder about things and I’m sure other people around me wonder about things as well. For instance I wonder what ever happened to the soft rock band “The New Colony Six?” You might remember them from the late 1960’s with songs like “Things I’d Like to Say” and “I Will Always Think About You.”

I wonder why people still wear a watch but check the time on their phone?

I wonder why someone sitting in a traffic jam with traffic at a stand-still, and for whatever reason that someone decides to blow their horn as if it’s going to help.

I see young married couples with a really nice house, nice car in the driveway, beautiful children, I wonder why they look so miserable all the time?

I wonder about the logic of radio stations using a jingle “Throwback Thursday.” So many of them will play a song say from, 1983, then announce its “Throwback Thursday” and in honor play a song from 1993.

I wonder if people have been singing the wrong lyrics to certain songs nearly their entire life.

I wonder if our communities nationwide will ever have politicians that will rise up and lead, instead of just follow in an effort to get reelected.

I wonder about “Road-Rage,” just how angry are we as a society?

I wonder why we don’t see children playing at local playgrounds in the summer.

I wonder if the shooting will ever stop in our inner cities throughout the country.

I wonder what makes someone so angry that they would want to shoot at a law-enforcement officer.

I wonder about the future of volunteer firefighters?

I wonder why we can’t lighten-up and put more money into the arts.

I’ve wondered for many years just what the hell the song “Whiter Shade of Pale” means.

I wonder if anyone would laugh at me for having the song, “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road” on my play-list.

I wonder when we will truly give our veterans the respect they deserve.

I wonder why, as a country the United States of America sends non repayable billions of dollars overseas supporting other countries.

I wonder why we can’t hold that money for a year or two and take care of every homeless person in America.

Does anyone else wonder about the state of ethics the entire country is in?

I wonder why “BREAKING NEWS” is no longer “BREAKING NEWS.” Say a fire or train wreck happens, and three days later with no new information they lead-off the broadcast with “BREAKING NEWS, BREAKING NEWS” just to rehash the story.

I wonder why when it rains a little, traffic everywhere gets screwed-up for entire day.

I wonder what makes someone walk into a school with a firearm and open fire.

I wonder if it will ever be possible to stop school shooting.

So many of us over the past 40 years have sang along with the song “Running on Empty” by Jackson Browne. I love the second verse that includes the lines:

Gotta do what you can just to keep your love alive

Trying not to confuse it with what you do to survive

In sixty-nine I was twenty-one and I called the road my own

???????????????????????????????????

I’ve always wondered how many people singing that song actually knows the final line to that verse.

I wonder what ever happened to One-Hit artist like Sam the Sham, Question Mark and the Mysterians,

John Richard Belley who fronted a group called The Human Beinz with their one hit called “Nobody But Me” and Dennis and Larry Larden who fronted a group called Every Mother’s Son with their hit song “Come on Down to My Boat.

I’ve often wondered, not by looking at the records, but sheer talent, who is the greatest, Tyson or Ali.

I wonder why, people driving cars simply don’t get out of the way of an emergency vehicle when the lights and sirens are in full emergency mode. Is it possible that the drivers simply don’t know it’s a common curtsey?

I wonder why there is no infield chatter in professional baseball.

I wonder why, when a professional sports team drafts a thug, that everyone believes he’ll change once he gets there.

I wonder if there is a Rock-and-Roll band in heaven, if there is, I bet it’s something to hear.

I wonder if everyone who will be voting throughout the entire country in November, if every single voter checked the “write in” box for the presidential election, and wrote in Mickey Mouse, effectively not voting into office either candidate, I wonder if the country might be better-off.

I wonder why school buses don’t have seat-belts.

I wonder if local residents care about playoff games in any sport if a Philly team is not involved.

I wonder why Chubby Checker isn’t in the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame.

I wonder why when the Philadelphia Eagles play a football game against the Dallas Cowboys, that nobody seems to cover Jason Witten, Ever.

I wonder why you need a membership card in supermarkets to get a better price, I suppose they don’t value the customer’s with-out a supermarket card.

I have wondered my entire life who Jesus H Crist is.

I often wonder why everyone behind me in traffic seems to be in a hurry.

And finally I wonder why we have to sit and watch the Cubs and Indians in the World Series, we couldn’t do better than that.

I wonder, I wonder, I wonder don’t you?