BILL BLOG
Wednesday March 22, 2023
Wednesday morning and we have a little rain today with more coming…and severe high wind weather again to look forward to on Friday. No wonder. The temperatures are going from the 40’s into the 80’s by Friday. 60-degree high today.
Could be worse. We could be in California where it won’t stop RAINING. Mudslides now to go with it and over 170,000 Californians have no power.
YESTERDAY
Quite a day in Murfreesboro, Tennessee at our Freedom Sings USA retreat where myself and 6 or so other songwriters sat with 5 nurses who served our country and wrote their stories into songs that we performed last night to salute them.
My veteran was Christine Brooks who signed up for the Airforce when she was still in High School. The minute she graduated she was serving. They found her qualified to be a munitions specialist. That means she built bombs, missiles, stuff that blows up. The shipped her to Myrtle Beach and six months later she found herself in the middle of the Gulf War in the sand in Saudi Arabia making munitions in a camp that was surrounded by Patriot Missiles that were there to protect them from incoming Scuds. More than once she was sure she was a gonner.
.jpg)
When they sent her home her plane landed in Bangor Maine and her commanding officer told the troops to get off the plane. There was a surprise waiting in the terminal. That surprise was a human corridor full of Viet Nam Vets who hugged them and said “welcome” home. Christine said it did not escape her how our Viet Nam Vets got a different reaction when they got home. People spit on them. They were not honored with parades. No “welcome home”.
So when she gets home to Myrtle Beach she finds a six pack of beer in her refrigerator with a note from her supervisor. Guess what the note said? “Welcome Home.” When she told me that, I knew we had found the title for her song.
She got her nursing degree in Air Force under the GI Bill and now serves as a nurse in the VA hospital in Clarksville, Tennessee. And now and then she has a chance to hold a veterans hand in a hospital bed and say, “Welcome Home”. Full circle.
When we finished she not only told me how much she loved the song, but she also gave me this…her military challenge coin.
And when you flip the coin over...check out what it says.
I was moved to tears as it was I who was truly honored to hear her story and write it into a song that she loves. God Bless our troops.
MORE FREEDOM SINGS
There are 3 more Freedom Sings USA songwriter retreats already on the books.
April 14 & 15 in Shiloh Illinois
June 2 & 3 in Memphis, TN
And June 21-24 in Montrose, Colorado
NEXT SHOW
My very next show will be back in Stephens City, Virginia with Linda Davis, and Lang Scott at the Valley Bible Church for “Evening in the Round” concert titled “Faith Love and Laughter”. That show is April 1…no fooling.
HEALTH NOTES
Happiness is always a good thing for your heath. Think about moving to Finland which has been named the happiest country in the world for the 6th year in a row by the folks that measure “happy” somehow. Denmark, Iceland, Israel, and the Netherlands are next in line for a “Be Happy” place to live. The U.S.? #15 on the list. I will say for being such a danged happy place I never hear anyone saying they’re going to Finland.
The CDC now says that lethal virus Candida Aurist is not just spreading, The fungus has tripled in recent years.
Some hopeful news. Focused ultrasound care can improve Parkinson’s symptoms for up to a 1 year…they say.
BIG BEHIND
I saw an article this morning titled “3 Best Secrets To Make Your Butt Grow”. I didn’t read it. Everyone knows you need to water and fertilizer and have a little sun to make anything really grow like a Kardashian. And trying to get my butt to grow bigger is simply not high on my “To Do” list.
FUNNY
A recent study has found that women who carry a little extra weight live longer than men who mention it. Amen.
HOT TUB SCARE
A guy in Colorado is sitting in his hot tub relaxing when out of nowhere he’s attacked by a mountain lion at a rental home in Colorado. The mountain lion grabbed his head before he and his wife made enough of a commotion to scare the lion off. Wow. I’m pretty sure hot tubs are supposed to be relaxing…not life threatening.
HEADLINE OF THE DAY
Enormous Python Found Emerging From Toilet That Wouldn’t Flush. So now I feel a need to stay away from hot tubs AND toilets.
TODAY
I’ve got an open day to take a breath and catch up. Think I’ll try and take full advantage of that. Have a great Wednesday!
Comments
Post a Comment