Damien Riley and his Guitar

"Playing the Ponderosa Tonight (4-17-09) "
Damien Riley, MySpace blog (April 17, 2009)

"I'm looking forward to playing guitar and singing tunes tonight at the Ponderosa in Apple Valley. I've been playing rooms like this for 22 years. That's almost staggering to watch myself type. I have to tell ya I love performing with my guitar...."

That announcement won't be of much practical use to you, unless you're close to Apple Valley, California. On the other hand, Damien Riley is a good example of what a performer's life can be life. I know him through Twitter (damien_riley), where he posts ("twitters" is, I think, the community's term) things like

• "Getting ready to take my girls to the park."
• "Looking forward to my show tonight"
• "Home sick watching my girls"
• "Arrival Moment: Lunchtime and son made me tuna."
• "9 days til the California Standards Test so we're working hard every day."

One of the big advantages I see to a career like his is the amount of time during the day, when the kids are around and awake - and you're not at work.

"Stable, healthy, families" and "show business" don't seem to go together - but I suspect that's in part due to the attention that major film studios and the mainline music performers get. I've known some people like Damien Riley over the decades - and wondered what my life would have been like, with different choices.

Two of my high school teachers tried to get me pointed toward a creative career - without success at the time. Getting laid off in the spring of 2006 gave me the opportunity to get some long-overdue operations out of the way - and room to try a new career, online.

Creative careers aren't all that glamorous - but they're great for letting a guy have time with the family.