Use what you've got

I saw the Flametrick Subs play Beerland last night with Nate and his older brother Matt, who I also knew in high school. That band rocked the house. Joining them were the Satan's Cheerleaders, a group of women who dress in leather cheerleading outfits with "666" sewn on the front and fishnet stockings. They're somewhat similar to the Poon Girls, only the Poon Girls wear obscenely short shorts and button-down shirts tied up like a bra to show their midriffs.

They're all cute and harmless, although I did see a brand on one of the Cheerleaders' shoulder in addition to all the tattoos, but the Poon Girls get the edge for actually dancing with the crowd and having their own little performance between bands, whereas the Cheerleaders stood on stage with the band and just danced behind them. Not to diminish the effort they put into it. They had three women rotating into the two positions, one on break while the other two danced, for more than an hour and a half, and it was full body dancing.

The bassist for the Subs only has one hand, which he uses to pick an upright bass while running the stub of his left arm up and down the neck. He was good, too (I especially liked that the singer credited him as rocking "single-handedly"). At work the other day, we were talking about dogs and I told a story my dad once told me about when he was growing up on the farm. There was a dog (I don't remember if it was his or a friend's) that lost its hind legs, probably to a piece of farm equipment. After that, it learned to walk on its front legs only, with its rear end pointing up in the air.

You hear stories about people with disabilities who overcome them pretty regularly, especially on TV, like the drummer for Def Leppard who lost an arm and continues to play, or of course Lance Armstrong. This serves a purpose, in encouraging people who are born disabled or suffer tragedies to not give up on their interests and dreams. People (and animals) find a way to keep on making it, and life overcomes. That's a story worth telling again and again.