The Rolling Stone(s)

     Long before the Rolling Stones pleaded with you to offer up "Satanic Sympathy," or Rolling Stone magazine began providing insight into rock 'n' roll before devolving into the MTV of the newstand, the proverb "a rolling stone gathers no moss" was coined in Latin (Saxum volutum non obducitur musco) sometime just before Christ. The meaning of the phrase is both literally apparent- moss takes a long time to grow and can not do so on a mobile object, three-toed sloths notwithstanding- and metaphorically apparent- constant movement or activity relinquishes one from becoming stagnant and from life's burdens and responsibilities.

     The term "rock and roll" is derived from its predecessor rockabilly and references the pitching back and forth aboard a ship, but in my opinion this proverb is the true root of rock 'n' roll. Besides the obvious nominal relation (rock 'n' roll, a rolling rock), this proverb represents rock 'n' roll better than anything Cleveland can offer up.

     A life on the road is only a morsel of the perpetual motion of the life of a rockstar. High energy shows every other night and parties in between, song writing and substance abuse, strange places and stranger people- the norm for a rocker is the abnormal. Keith Moon once went six days without sleep in New York City, playing shows each night and partying to pass the time until he had to play another show. And the most shocking part? This didn't shock anyone. His stone was in freefall down a stratospheric mountain and the only behavior of his that would have shocked those around him would have been slowing down. Muddy Waters first started it ("I got a boy child's comin/ He's gonna be, he's gonna be a rollin' stone"), Buddy Holly fed the momentum ("Well you know a rolling stone don't gather no moss"), Dylan and the Beatles immortalized it ("Like a rolling stone" for both), Jagger named a juggernaut after it, even Sublime and Dave Matthews did their part to perpetuate the motion. The rolling stone is forever imprinted on the rock 'n' roll mentality.

     Even centuries after its inception, the proverb is more generally applied to anyone with nomadic or restless tendencies, not just cracked out rockstars. For example, my good friend Cody certainly relates with the rolling stone ideology. He's been in London, Ireland, Belgium, Tampa, New Hampshire, Boston, Maine, Atlanta, and Tallahassee in just the last half year. The constantly changing stimuli seem to help him with the creativity that he demands as an artist and photographer. More than that, though, it's the times when he refuses to remain stagnant that he seems happiest. We increasingly talk about our respective futures these days, and his ideas always stem from his need to constantly stimulate himself, whether that means driving across the country with no purpose other than to expand his mind and portfolio, or taking to Transatlanticism once again to expound upon his previous work and adventures.

     Cody has a girlfriend, Hope, that would relate more with another Latin saying: "Planta quae saepius transfertus non coalescit, or Saepius plantata arbor fructum profert exiguum." Roughly, it means "a plant that is repeatedly uprooted and replanted will yield poor fruit." Hope thrives in routine and consistency, working for Georgia's governor's office and putting her nose to the grindstone every day. Though she doesn't plan to stay in her current circumstances for too long, she sees the power of setting her roots firmly in order to flourish.

     They are a truly amazing couple, one of the few that I respect and admire. So in spite of ancient Latin phrases, they obviously find themselves more sympathetic to each other's ideologies than the polarizing proverbs might suggest. Cody loves being at home surrounded by those he loves and the comforts he has grown accustomed to, and Hope loves challenges, adventure, and putting aside any professional aspirations to work in the water with kids at camp all summer, every summer. And thus the problem with most proverbs: they create extreme ideology instead of taking into account the spectrum of humanity- oversimplification in order to prove a point.

     And this brings us back to those wild rockstars, who often don't have the understanding and balance that Cody and Hope each have. Rockers fail to realize that even the tallest mountain eventually becomes a valley, and the cost of the rolling stone lifestyle becomes evident. The mountain ends and the stone, having used up all of it's potential energy, inevitably stops rolling. Worse for wear with pieces chipped off and a trail of destruction in its wake, the stone-roller has a choice to make: let the battered stone gather moss or take up the Sisyphean task of rolling it themselzes. Because even a middle school student studying the physical sciences can tell you that there is no such thing as free energy, no such thing as perpetual motion. You get back what you put in.

     Think about riding a roller coaster. You wait for an hour, get harnessed in and slowly ascend, click click click click, for what feels like an eternity until, whooosh, you finally fall back to earth with a superfluous flourish and end up exactly where you started, a net gain of zero. You're precious time and an immense amount of energy from the machines powering the coaster had to be invested in order to give you your 30 second rush. I'm not saying the rush isn't worth these investments, I am simply pointing out that the investments were necessary for the rush.

     There is no such thing as a life without burdens and responsibilities. Even if you decide to stop caring for your loved ones or accepting social responsibility, there is the minor issue of subsistence. There's a reason why so many rolling rockstars end up divorced, in rehab, miserable, and many times, dead. There's a reason why you don't have bruises all over your legs from rogue rocks careening down the streets. No stone rolls forever. But watch out when one is rolling, because it's a hell of a ride.