Toys In The Attic???

Leavin' the things that are real behind...

Leavin' the things that you love from mind

All of the things that you learned from fears

Nothing is left for the years...

Toys! Toys! In the attic - Toys!...

- Aersomith, "Toys in the Attic"

The greatest rock band in American history is, without questions...undoubtedly...And don't even try to argue with me...

Aersomith!

I was first enticed by Steven Tyler's boys from Boston back in the nineties, when "Permanent Vacation" and "Angel" were fresh on our minds. I was first in line to buy "Pump" the day it went on sale at Camelot. And my first rock concert was, you don't hafta guess, AEROSMITH!

After Joan Jett's opening act, I was amazed to see the then-forty-ish Steven Tyler rip up the stage at Huntsville's VBC. From one side to the other, on top of speakers and into the crowd, Steven created the stage dive before there was such a thing. From Steven's scarves on the mike to Joe Perry's excellent guitar solo's, I was hooked! No more John Conlee for me...it was all Aerosmith all the time.

I immediately began collecting every single Aerosmith album I could find. And what I learned from the collection surprised me: The band who could never get any better was once much better! And who could argue, considering the familiarity of their lyrics in everyone's mind even today. Love 'em or hate 'em, Aerosmith had made their mark on the music scene.

They had toughed it out through drugs, women, booze, and the whole "sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll" scene. And if they could survive it, so could us teens.

Looking back now, I still love Aerosmith. I love the depth of their lyrics, the showmanship of the boys, and the openness of their testimony. Now, don't misunderstand - I have no idea whether the boys from Boston ever found Christ. I have no idea whether they are Christians or not, saints or sinners. But what I do know is that they struggled, overcame, struggled some more, overcame again, struggled even more (almost to the point of death), and overcame AGAIN. In the end, there's a reason for the lyrics to "Toys in the Attic." Just not sure now that it means the same as it did back then...to the band OR to me.

I've got things in my past...skeletons in my closet...toys in the attic...but I've learned and moved on. I've left reality at times. I've left things I loved at times. I've learned from fears MANY times. And I've got a few years under me with nothing to show for them.

But I'm thankful that God has protected me. He has saved me from the attic, from the ghosts in my past and the bats in the belfry. And He has forgotten my sins. Blotted them out, removed them, erased them...gone!

And He let me keep the memories of good Aerosmith music!

Speaking of Toys in the Attic, guess what I just found? Cleaning out my desk, I ran across a stack of our original books "Time Flies: My First Thirty Years." This was published about 5 years ago with a retail price of $29.95, but I would like to move them on out. Follow the "Buy Now" link below to get your copy for only $9.95. (As the guy on TV says: "No small talk. Truth is, We Need The Money!" LOL Enjoy this nice little toy from our attic. :) - Philip