I’m on the home stretch – catching up-wise. On September 28, I had the good fortune to play one of my songs for a video in the EON ONE Take – One Song One Take contest from JBL Professional and Harman. I had been picked from a large number of people to receive a slot. I arrived at the Harman truck in the Guitar Center parking lot in Farmers Branch before my required time. I signed the required form and waited my turn.
J.T. – I’m pretty sure that was his name – had me tune and set up, then do a sound check. When the red line came on, I played my newest song at the time – Peace Be With You, which I wrote about the strange year we’re having and the shooting during the protest in downtown Dallas. [A live version will be available soon.] J.T. seemed to like the song. I’m sure he has to be careful lest someone misunderstand. He explained how the contest would go from there.
The tour around the country concludes about the end of October. Voting will take place the first couple of weeks in November and the top ten finalists will be picked and notified. I’m not sure how the grand prize winner will be picked from the finalists, but the grand prize is a trip to LA to record the song at a noted studio. 
As I thanked J.T. and left, he handed me an AKG D5 microphone for recording the video and entering the contest. I used the microphone when I hosted the Monday open mic at Angela’s at the Crosswalk a week ago Monday and the mic performed beautifully. A very clear sounding mic without any of the annoying whine or scream on the high end. At $99, it’s a great deal.
Hopefully, I’ll be asking for your help to do whatever I have to do should I be chosen as a finalist. But I’m not holding my breath.
Peace be with you.
Catching up continues… On Saturday, September 16th, at 
I hosted the Monday night open mic at Angela’s on Sept. 5th. As it turns out, I’ll be hosting the open mic every third Monday, with some exceptions. Be that as it may, on the fifth I opened the show. People began to show up as I finished my set. Bah Jaz followed me with some nice instrumentals on guitar.
Every now and then someone at an open mic tells me after my set that they think I sound like someone. It happens at other times, but it’s also unique to open mics because open mics tend to be held in the spirit of a mutual admiration society. The comments, however, are usually sincere. Having people come just to listen and to hear it from them is a bonus.
Christ UMC Farmers Branch hosted the conference-wide Children’s and Youth Volunteer Training Event on Saturday morning, August 13. Amy Ruppersberg, Children’s Director, and David Magallanes, Student Ministries Director, welcomed the volunteers at 8:30 a.m. Amy thanked everyone for volunteering and went over the positions and the schedule. David said a prayer before the group departed to the greeting stations or the narthex for registration and giving directions.
him in singing. He is the leader of the ukulele choir at Grace Avenue. Joe is also a very outgoing and affable man and a practiced speaker. He shared a nice – and personal – story of not being interested at all in singing when he was growing up. A mentor saw some potential in him and talked him into playing guitar in the band, even offering to give him a very nice guitar for one dollar. Stobaugh said he could not do that. To which his mentor said he would give it to him for free with two conditions. One, he would only play music for God on the guitar. Two, when the time came, he would pass it on to another youth. Joe still has the guitar and plays it. When the time comes he will pass it on as agreed. An excellent example of the effect a volunteer can have on children and youth.
lunches from Jason’s Deli provided by the North Texas Conference. Dot Stewart of CUMC helped set up the tables for lunch, as well as the breakfast table, and served drinks at both. Attendees and presenters alike gathered to go over what they had learned, new ideas they came up with, and general church and conference news.
I was letting the dogs, Buddy and Misty, out into the backyard. Buddy took off to make his rounds through the backyard. Misty, who is quite a bit older and heavier, rumbled out past the large trunk of the tree. When she was just past the tree, she stopped, looked up at the tree, and half-heartedly let out a quick bark. Then she turned her head back around as if to say “oh, the hell with it, it’s too hot,” and sauntered on to one of her favorite resting spots.
don’t you? Come to think about it, most of my best memories are those times when I’ve found myself in a new good place, feeling the same way. I hope I’ll always have those memories. I have relatives and friends who have already lost some of their memories.
I say part one because people are doing stupid things all the time and some of them make really good stories. And, as they say, the hits just keep on coming. And part one usually means there is a better than good chance that there will be a part two. And so we begin.
Chasing After Wind 