A Thank You to The Eagles

Over the years of my life there have been many artists that I have enjoyed and that I count among my favorites.  I could never rank them in numerical order, but I can say with confidence that the Eagles would be in my top 10 list for certain.
 Nearly every song they sing has touched me in some special way at some pivotal time in my life.  Memories flood my mind as I review their selections in JamsBio, but no song they do touches me more than Desperado.  The entire song is intense with emotion and meaning, but the lines
 
And freedom, oh freedom, well that's just some people talkin'
Your prison is walking through this world all alone

hold a special meaning for me.   For many people, living alone is perfect and they enjoy the freedom of being totally independent, of not having to confer with anyone else on anything, to go and do as they please when they please, with whom they please.  I am not one of those people by any stretch of the imagination.  Oh, sure, there are times when I enjoy being by myself and having time to do whatever I please, but always with the knowledge that it is not a permanent situation.  I need people, I like people, but more than that I need to feel needed and wanted by someone special.  Maybe it comes from growing up the baby in a large family or the fact that I have had few times in my life thus far when I have been truly alone.  The reason doesn’t matter.  The fact remains, being alone would be a prison for me. 
    The imaginary in Desperado is beautiful.  One can visualize the handsome and rugged range rider alone day and night as he goes about his life.  One can also feel his thoughts as he tells himself that this is the life he wants and that he is free—alone because he chooses to be.  Yet we also feel his heart and soul telling him that he is missing something very important and vital to his well being.
 I’ve felt that emptiness—when my mother passed away even though I was surrounded by family and friends, when the young man I was dating was killed in an automobile accident, when a man I loved disappeared for a week without a word of warning, and most recently when my husband of thirty-three years died unexpectedly. 
 I am married now and I am whole again—set free from the prison of walking through this world all alone.  In that freedom, I can take it easy and take life to the limit one more time.