Chess "Anthem"

My friend, Ray Tetz, introduced me to one of my favorite albums of all time, it's the soundtrack to the musical "Chess" and I've been deeply grateful ever since.

From "One Night in Bangkok," which you will only truly understand if you've been to Bangkok, to "Opening Ceremony," where the arbiter, the chess referee, lays down the laws for the chess match in no uncertain terms. The musical tells the story of an international match that echoes the Fisher/Spassky 1972 match that was nearly overwhelmed with Cold War politics.

I've listened to the album dozens of times and one song always leaves me choked up. One of the characters has to choose between being true to himself or supporting his country in the morass of a highly charged chess tournament. It deals, I think, with what it means to be a patriot.

As I try, daily, to wrap my head around the latest nightmare of our national sick reality show that passes for our government, this song popped into my head.

But really gets me is how much I enjoy living in this country, especially parts of it that I've lived in.

For example, we spent our weekend visiting The Ranch, a 500 acre property in Northern California, first purchased in the mid-1930s by my Grandpa Cookson. It's where I spent summers for decades as the large extended family provided the facilities for summer camps and church camps.

It sits in the Redwood Valley east of Eureka, CA. Redwood Creek runs through it and it is the closest thing to the Garden of Eden that I've ever experienced. So, add our current political chaos and this piece of real estate that has been such a big part of my heart since I was born, literally, and the nostalgia is all but overwhelming. While this song doesn't reflect my experience exactly, it nails the emotional storm as I try to live in this country of ours, which I have loved my whole life, even as I traveled the world.

Ok, I'll just post the song. I know the above is rambling but, well, it's how I feel. This country's borders "lie around my heart!"