Painful Lessons

So my shit's gone from *sweet* to TARFU so fast it's making my head spin, but just as I thought to feel bad, I took a look at my peers:

Country music star Randy Travis suffered a stroke while at a Texas hospital and was in surgery late Wednesday, the singer's publicist said. 

Publicist Kirt Webster said Wednesday night that the 54-year-old Travis suffered the stroke while he was being treated for congestive heart failure because of a viral illness. 

The North Carolina-born Travis is a traditional country purist who is a pivotal figure in the genre best known for his hits "Forever and Ever, Amen" and "Three Wooden Crosses." His Warner Bros. debut album "Storms of Life" sold 3 million copies and helped return country music to its roots. 

The illness came as Travis was trying to put his life back together after a series of embarrassing public incidents involving alcohol. Travis pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in January following an arrest last year and received two years of probation and a $2,000 fine. He was required to spend at least 30 days at an alcohol treatment facility and complete 100 hours of community service. 

He recently made several public appearances, including a spot on the Country Music Association Festival's nightly concert lineup and a poignant performance at George Jones' funeral. 

His peers and fans have been watching Travis' progress closely.

And Storm Large - a female-type, inside baseball, friend-friend who once wanted to join my band - just came through town but, because I'm off Facebook, I had no idea:

She sang in Spanish, German, Japanese and Turkish. And then she sang about ketchup. 

Storm Large, the lead singer of Pink Martini, mesmerized the capacity crowd at Red Butte Garden on Tuesday evening with not just her lyrics, but also her stage presence. For a band that refers to itself as "a little orchestra," Large is anything but little. Her voice and constant dancing onstage commanded the Portland-based band as she seamlessly moved between samba mixes, swing jazz tunes and a little bit of humor.

It's a fact of existence - and why the NSA "scandal" doesn't scare me:

Trying to watch anybody's progress "closely" is never as simple as it sounds,...