Jimmy Buffett, a Gecko, && a Conch

"There are no words to the song of the ocean, but the message is and always has been simple: not to forget where we came from. The melody is locked in the water that composes much of what we are. Most humans tend to ignore the song, but not all. But be warned: it is a wandering song carried by the winds and the currents. It can turn you into a piece of driftwood that washes up on shore after shore, but one day, when you find the place that is meant to be, you will take root."

Jimmy Buffett is one of my favorite musicians/authors. My favorite book at the moment is "A Salty Piece Of Land". It's an amazing story of Tully Mars, who decides that he is unhappy with being a ranch hand at a farm tucked deeply in the Midwest. He gets on his horse and rides, to the southern most part of the country, meeting people along the way, and collecting stories as he goes. He eventually ends up in Cayo Loco and begins to rebuild a lighthouse, the proud piece of that land.

Also, in the book, Buffett talks about a gecko and a conch shell. Tully is given a necklace in the shape of a gecko and a conch shell by a good friend of his before he leaves the barren Midwest.

The gecko is his travelling partner and keeps him from feeling alone. The conch is representative of the ocean and Tully's goal to reach it.

(I'm avid on getting a tattoo of the gecko with a conch in its mouth)

Buffett is an amazing writer and even if you don't like his music, you at least have to get lost in his soulful way of looking at life. Let things go, learn to relax, and listen to the sound of the ocean.

I have my dad to thank for that. My dad is an avid Buffett fan, who has every cd, book, bumper sticker, shirt known to man. As I've grown I've taken alot from Buffett's laid back tone. His music is silly, his books teach you that life isn't always hard, and sometimes you just have to embrace life for what it is. Look out unto the sea of your life.

GET CARRIED AWAY....