The Show In VA...Veteran Recordings...Hot Dog Guns

BILL BLOG

Monday April 3, 2023

Monday morning and we are into the month of April. 65 for a high today and then tomorrow we leap up to 83.

 

THE WEEKEND

Friday morning I made a 9-hour trip from Nashville to Stephens City, Virginia with Linda Davis, and Lang Scott for our show Saturday evening at the Valley Bible Church. It rained most of the way over, and we had a 1-hour delay on the interstate because of an accident that shut the interstate down. That wasn’t fun, but the trip with the two of them is always a fun adventure. And I was worried about my wife who did not make the trip as all those storms and tornados were brewing about and did damage in Little Rock and other places. I thought we had gotten through it as our power stayed on that night. Then the next morning under blue skies it goes out and stays out for 24 hours. Go figure. 

 

 

Our hotel was in Winchester, Virginia. A cool old stately hotel downtown that we enjoyed being in. 

 

Came home with this little souvenir from the restaurant we ate in Friday night that was SO good. (My wife will be THRILLED with addition to my miniature beer glass collection)

 

 

Winchester, Virginia did not register with me until Linda Davis told me it was the birthplace of the great Patsy Cline…and yes there’s a museum here that we did not have time to get to. But it was cool to know.

 

 

THE SHOW

Terrific fun as always with Lang and Linda. Thank you to Rhonda and William DeHaven who put the show together and worked so hard to make it successful. Folks truly had a great time and we enjoyed working with both Gina Miller who opened the show as well as the southern gospel quartet PromisedLand A great bunch of guys…so fun. Playing in a church you KNOW they had great food and Rhonda went the extra mile to make sure there was Mac n Cheese. That suited be AND my sister Vickie who drove down from Newport News to see our show and it gave us a chance to hangout and visit. We don’t get to do that all that much these days so that made this trip even more special. 

 

 

So a very fun weekend and now they’re talking about having us come back at the end of next year 2024 for a Christmas show. Stay tuned.

 

TRIVIA LADY A

I had never heard this before. I read an article this weekend. Hillary Scott had a solo record deal before Lady A became a hit, and one of the songs offered to her was “Jesus Take The Wheel”. She never got around recording a “solo” project so the song went to Carrie Underwood fresh off her American Idol win. How about that?

 

HEALTH NOTES

A study claims, though not all agree that the mental health crisis during the pandemic was minimal. Now that may not apply to this lady who spent part of her pandemic time doing this!

 

 

They also say that bird watching has big mental health benefits and the amount of folks who sat out and watched and listened to birds spiked big time during the pandemic.

 

And yet one more study backs up what I’ve thought and said for years. Laughter is good therapy for both the mind and body. Nobody feels bad when they laugh.

 

VETERAN SONGS

I got word that the songs myself and several other songwriters wrote a couple of weekends ago with nurses who serve our military for Freedom Sings USA will be recorded in a couple of weeks. I’ll be in studio as well recording the song I wrote for my nurse Christine Brooks  titled “Welcome Home”. It’s going to be a pleasure to give this recording to Christine…her personal story in song. 

 

 

 

I don’t do this often, but I thought it might be appropriate to share the lyrics to her story.  Here it is.

 

WELCOME HOME

 

V

Joined the Air Force out of High School

Was sent to Myrtle Beach

I built bombs bullets and missiles

At the time we were at peace

But the Gulf War came calling

My unit was deployed

They weren’t gonna let me go

Until I made a little Christine noise

 

V

7 months in Saudi Arabia

Where Scud missiles were a thing

And at least one time I made peace with God

But he never came calling for me

And when our plane landed in Bangor Maine

Viet Nam vets lined the way

Each one of them reached out to hug me

I won’t forget what they had to say

 

Chorus

Welcome home Airman

Welcome home, welcome home

Thank you for your service

Welcome home

We’ve been there too

You’re not alone

We just wanted to thank you 

Welcome home

 

V

I was thinking how unfair it was

The way we  treated them

Their country came a calling

And they answered and they went

When I got back to  Myrtle Beach

There was a six pack in my fridge

With a note from my supervisor

Here’s what it said when I opened it

 

Chorus 2

Welcome home Airman

Welcome home, welcome home

Thank you for your service

Welcome home

I’ve been there too

You’re not alone

I just wanted to say thank you and

Welcome home

 

V

The GI Bill helped made me a nurse

I work at the VA

And my patients know their service numbers

More than their own birth dates

And it makes me proud to help them heal

Cause I am  one of them

And now it’s me holding their hands

Saying these words to them

 

Chorus 3

Welcome home soldier

Welcome home, welcome home

Thank you for your service

Welcome home

I’ve been there too

You’re not alone

I just wanted to say thank you and

Welcome home

 

Thank you for your service Christine.

 

SPEAKING OF VETERANS

I’m certainly thinking about the families of those 9 soldiers who were killed in a training exercise on Blackhawk helicopter up at Fort Campbell. Our son in law trained on choppers at Fort Campbell so those kinds of things really make you pause.

 

FUNNY BUT TRUE MARRIAGE PHILOSOPHY

Never laugh at your wife’s choices. You’re one of them.

 

YELLOWSTONE

For the fans of that huge TV hit there’s more good news. Rumors have been flying that this season is it for Kevin Costner in the lead role, but they can look for a new spinoff that will star Matthew McConaughey and he should be great in this series spinoff. 

 

OH…YOU NEED THIS

Tell me you don’t want a sleeping bag that you can WEAR. You KNOW you do!

 

 

BASEBALL

It’s back. And that means if you go the right baseball game you can see a mascot shoot a hot dog out of a cannon. And you might catch it!  Who doesn’t want that?!  This picture is of the Philly Phanatic doing just that.

 

 

BUT…in Montgomery, Alabama which is the home of the Montgomery Biscuits baseball team…guess what shoots out of a cannon there?  Uh huh. Biscuits. It does get pretty messy though when they start firing the gravy.

 

TODAY

I’m off to write with my buddy Jerry Salley this morning who is also the head of our bluegrass record label Billy Blue. So this morning we’re going to try and write something that might work for a new artist Jerry just signed to the record label. Wish us luck.

 

Have a great Monday!