The keys to every day being a happy day

One key to a happy day is you can never say “so what?” too many times. Another is to be a Parrott Head.

I wouldn’t call myself a Parrot Head. That being said, I learned to sail a sailboat when I was 10 years old. I got my pilot’s license at 20, and at 22, I earned my seaplane rating. Other than not being able to sing, play guitar, or be the least bit entertaining in a crowd, I had a lot in common with Jimmy Buffet. I only saw him live one time, and that was pure serendipity. He was playing an outdoor concert at the Cape May ferry terminal and we were catching the last ferry to Lewes, Delaware. I caught him performing a flawless “Cheeseburger in Paradise” as the ship’s horn drowned him out.

Photo: Steve Berman

Not knowing the man, I can only assume Jimmy Buffett had the same challenges every person has. He struggled with the cancer that took his life. I’m sure he had bad days, frustrations, and people he disliked (and who disliked him). All of that is done now, because Jimmy Buffett’s days on earth are through. I can only say that he always appeared publicly to be a happy person, committed to entertaining his audience. George Varga eulogized Buffett in the San Diego Union-Tribune, on what he thought of critics:

“I just don’t listen to them anymore,” he said. “Because, as Faulkner said, ‘I don’t read reviews — they hurt my feelings.’ (Critics) say, ‘Well, he’s just playing the same old s---.’ Well, that’s what people pay to see. I’m an entertainer, and until I can’t fill up seats, I’m not going to listen to any of that (criticism).

Now I want to share some keys to having a happy day, which is really the goal of every Parrott Head. The better writer at this site, David Thornton, is a self-described Parrot Head. In his social media post offering a goodbye, David wrote “May Jimmy Buffett rest in peace and may God have mercy on his soul.” To which one reply offered that Jimmy’s views on God (or God’s existence) may not align with David’s.

One key to a happy day is you can never say “so what?” too many times. Whether Jimmy Buffett believed in God or not is not my issue to determine whether I should like his music, or pay money to see him play. Buffett’s attitude toward people of all religions is more important than his Sunday School attendance record, and honestly, it’s none of my business. There’s a subculture in the Parrot Head community that’s very Jewish, and has translated “Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw?” into Yiddish. My mother would roar with laughter were she alive to hear it.

Now I wouldn’t play that in church, but “so what?”

Let me share another key. Entertainers are not here to satisfy your spiritual yearnings. Music can be deeply spiritual, and meaningful in our lives. I remember, as a kid in junior high (now called middle school) attending some kind of “Up With People”-like assembly in the gym where they played some slick multi-projector slide show about how to treat people with kindness and all that. I don’t remember much about it except they used “Love Is The Answer” sung by England Dan and John Ford Coley as the sound track.

That song stuck with me all my life. It was written by Todd Rundgren, who is described by many as “Todd is God.” Rundgren is not a Christian, but wrote a lot about “Christian love,” which he told Rolling Stone “may be mythical,” but we’re supposed to feel it. Rundgren and his wife run a successful restaurant called Tikiiniki, where they treat people well. Feeding folks and being nice to them, serving them with respect and class is a good example of love, the kind that’s the answer.

The song “Love Is The Answer” was not written explicitly about Jesus. But about 20 years later, it had that effect on me, and played in my head for months as I made my journey to Christ. I don’t care what Rundgren thinks about God, or what England Dan (who sadly passed away in 2009) or John Ford Coley think about Jesus. The song stuck with me and had meaning beyond what the writer and performers intended.

Putting artists, performers and entertainers to a purity test, or making them into a fad is one way to have a bad day. Kanye West made an album “Jesus Is Lord,” which didn’t change West’s nature, unfortunately. Those who believed Kanye (Ye) was going to lead some massive revival and bring millions to Christ are sadly disappointed, and probably having some bad days over it. Kanye is an entertainer, a celebrity, and an unstable one at that. Maybe God will change that, or maybe He won’t. I listened to “Jesus Is Lord” and I’m still not a fan.

I am a fan of John Denver. He wrote a lot about contemplating life, happy days, and “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” But John Denver was not a Christian, emphatically so. In 2010, Bill Fay wrote about an encounter with Denver in the Baptist Press.

There wasn’t a single verse of Scripture he did not understand — nor was there a single verse of Scripture that he would accept.

Finally, I said, “John, when did you make up your mind Jesus Christ would never become your Lord and your Savior?”

He could remember the date, the time and the place. A godly Sunday School teacher, like some of you, said to him Jesus Christ was The Way, The Truth and The Life.

I left with a saddened heart, tears in my eyes.

Denver died doing what he loved: flying airplanes. He wasn’t a perfect man, struggling with things many Christians also struggle with, alcohol, stress. He was an extraordinary singer, musician and entertainer. The world lost something worthwhile when he died. God isn’t trying to hurry along the deaths and misery of those who don’t believe. But death does have a finality about it.

I don’t care that John Denver rejected Christ, though it saddens me. I like his music.

Sonny Bono, former half of Sonny & Cher, and later, a Congressman, died in a skiing accident. I think his music was okay, though for a different audience than me (think “Groundhog Day”). Sonny left Scientology near the end of his life. John Travolta is a Scientologist, as well as the indefatigable Tom Cruise. I still watch “Grease” and I very much enjoyed “Top Gun: Maverick.” You’ll never catch me at a meeting of Scientologists or browsing through a dog-eared copy of “Dianetics.”

Many Christians thought Lil Nas was a wholesome family act. They didn’t do their homework, because the artist is and has pretty much always been, queer. He knew how to be churchy, growing up in Georgia, with a dad who sang Gospel. When it was time for Lil Nas to show who he really was, he shocked a lot of people. I never liked his music, even though my kids listened to some of it (not the Satan worshipping version).

Arnold Schwarzenegger said that heaven is “some fantasy.” His friend Danny DeVito doesn’t take religion very seriously, but he married Jewish comedienne Rhea Perlman, and they are still together. Schwarzenegger was a Republican governor, and DeVito hates Republicans, but not Arnold. May God bless DeVito’s marriage. I very much enjoy both actors’ work. The Governator was a very good and decent governor, though he had some moral lapses. As for his views on God, “so what?”

One more example: the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra, wasn’t particularly religious (or not at all). The song “Fly Me To The Moon” performed by Frank and various famous swing bands (Tommy Dorsey, and Count Basie) was written by Bart Howard as a love song to his gay partner. Sinatra well knew this, but he was an entertainer, so he sung the song, and did it well. I danced with my mother to this song at my wedding and I don’t regret it.

A message to Christians: Christian music is a business. Many Christian artists value fame and money above spirituality. Many are committed to Christ. Some fall away from the faith. But all of them stand on stage and perform for an audience, because that’s what a concert, whether Christian or secular, is. I’ve been to some anointed, beautiful Christian concerts that turned into true worship. But where you tune your radio to hear music is not the key to a happy day.

The key is to care about others, to be kind, to love and serve, and not judge every entertainer, song, or group by their politics, or their pedigree. God can use anything to move our spirits and stir us to love. I’d like to think that Jimmy Buffett got that, and lived his life, the keys to a happy day firmly in his hand, strumming away as the shrimp began to boil.

It’s not so bad to be a Parrot Head.