The Macedonian

Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop....I'm THE SCATMAN!!!!! That's how my day started today, I got up around 8 AM, the scatman and the sun outside woke me up! Although it's about a degree above 0 Celsius the weather outside is very bright and sunny! Usually on Sundays I go with my uncle on the near mountain Vodno and climb to the peak (not very high but very rewarding once you get there and see the whole city laying down in front of you), but today I'm not. The tracks are all frozen and even if you get up there I really don't know how you are going to get down without breaking something, so, instead I stayed home and I decided to write something, first something for my blog and than something for my book. Scatman really got me thinking a few days ago. You see since I was just a kid (about 6 years old)I loved listening to music but I didn't know the names of the artists or their songs so I couldn't find and buy them when I got older. Recently I remembered of some of those songs and I got them, among which was Scatman too. I love his songs, they bring me back to my childhood, and I remember things solely by listening to the songs. I did some background research on Scatman John (John Paul Larkin), and I learned a few interesting things about him. He was a stutterer and made his living as a jazz musician. He worked on cruise ships and played in Europe. As a child the stuttering had very strong effects on him, and he struggled with it ever since he was borne. Not being able to speak his mind easily, being denied something we take for granted (it's true rarely any of us appreciate the ability to express ourselves freely, and being able to stand up for ourselves and say what we want), he found the music to be his communication medium and he never gave in to his disability. His persistence paid off as he made the hit "Scatman" which circled the globe faster than than anything we've ever seen. His story touched the lives of people from around the world. He's album "Scatman's World" smashed the world record for being sold in more countries than any other album. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1999, and in spite of that he released the album "Take your Time" (which was his last) and kept a positive attitude till the end saying "whatever God wants is fine by me... I've had the very best life. I have tasted beauty". His great heart and soul are depicted in his words "I hope that the kids, while they sing along to my songs or dance to it, feel that life is not that bad at all. Even for just a minute". It is impossible not to admire this man. He should be a model for everyone of us. Understanding that there is nothing that can stop you is the first step towards your freedom! All you need is will and a positive attitude, and life will not be that grim, and things will work out more easily! Don't be afraid to take the scatman in you to the surface and let yourself live in scatman's world, thus making this world a better place.