I had the opportunity to attend the Joan Osborne concert at one of the Washington areas better music venues, the Birchmere in Arlington. Her sound has changed; she is doing a lot of rhythm and blues, music of Muddy Waters, Van Morrison and so on.
She is famous, however, for her ear-sticking song “One of Us” which she saved for her closing number.
One of the verses is:
“What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home”*
An interesting theological question. There would not be a problem for God who would be able to get home without a bus. Others are not so lucky. While the Republicans in the House are fighting among themselves and refusing to talk to Democrats to find a bi-partisan solution to passing a transportation bill, the likelihood increases that an impasse will cause road construction and transit programs around the country to lay off thousands.
It is time for the adults in the room to stop threatening to cripple our infrastructure network so that all of us slobs can find a way home, without wasting unnecessary time in traffic, wasting gas or waiting hours between buses.
*© Music and Lyrics by Eric Bazilian