BILL BLOG
Friday, February 13, 2026
Friday morning, ready to return home to Nashville from Indiana. Oh, and it’s Friday the 13th.
50 degrees high here in Greensburg, Indiana.
YESTERDAY
After an early breakfast in Greensburg, Indiana, with Freedom Sings USA, I met the veteran whom I had been assigned to write with. And that was Tom Sullivan and his lovely wife, Kathy.
Colonel Tom served as a pilot in the Air Force for 27 years before retiring. He took an ROTC course while he was in college, just because they could teach you to fly. And then he was shipped to Vietnam for 5 years, flying missions, and somehow survived.
He flew Bob Hope and other celebrities to their shows in Vietnam. He planned the mission that extracted Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos safely. He was involved with the Pueblo ship incident.
And he was the commander at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque at the end of his career before he and his wife, Kathy retired and returned to Indiana.
Tom’s song is titled “All I Wanted To Do”. Here’s the first verse of his song:
There was ROTC where I went to college
I signed up on the dotted line
I really wasn’t thinking about combat
All I wanted to do was learn to fly
When I played Tom and Kathy the song the first time yesterday, they were truly elated and said the nicest things. And I heard after they left the room that she broke down and cried, telling the organizers how great the experience was, and how great the song was. And then I also heard that he went to his car privately and might have shed a tear or two himself.
That makes a songwriter feel so good, knowing that the song impacted the veteran you wrote with.
LAST NIGHT
What an incredible night. Our songwriters were the first to play at a new event center at the local fairgrounds in Decatur County, Indiana. It’s a big room…and it was packed with American patriots.
I really can’t describe how great the evening was. It seems like the entire city/county was there supporting their local veterans and the nation’s 250th birthday.
And look at our transportation to last night’s event.
They build these kinds of RV/Coaches in Greensburg. If you want one, it will only set you back $750,000. But it has a 200-gallon gas tank, so you can go for a while before you have to fill up.
They served up an incredible brisket dinner last night for the ticketed event. And before we went on stage, they played the theme songs for each branch of the military, and as they did, those who served in that branch would stand up, while it was playing, and received thunderous applause. Gave me goosebumps.
And then our five songwriters hit the stage, one at a time, with the veterans we wrote with and performed their songs. And each veteran got a loud standing ovation after their song was performed. It truly was a night that made one proud to be an American.
Each songwriter then performed one last song before closing the evening. I chose the song “Retired” that I wrote with my buddy Brent Burns that Ray Stevens recorded. And I have NEVER heard that kind of LOUD laughter in so many places during that song that I performed a thousand times through the years. When I sang the line, “I’m still at attention, no Cialis intervention required”, I had to wait several seconds to finish the song because they were laughing so hard.
This was a first-time event for Freedom Sings USA, and we were all blown away at how organized the event was. I certainly hope this will become an annual event.
SONG OF THE DAY
One more song that I got to write with a veteran. I wrote this song with veteran Drew Guy in Little Rock several years ago at a Freedom Sings USA retreat. It was one of the very first songs I helped write with one of our vets.
Drew’s entire family seemingly served our country, and he followed suit. His song is titled “Family, of Red, White & Blue”. Listen to Drew’s song HERE.
HEALTH NOTES
McDonald’s is testing GLP-1-friendly menu items as Ozempic patients are seeking protein-packed meals.
A new study shows Alzheimer’s can develop as early as the teen years.
Actor James Van Der Beek’s death is putting a spotlight on the alarming colon cancer rise in younger adults.
HERE’S YOUR SIGN
Now there’s a good law.
VALENTINE DAY
It’s tomorrow! I asked ChatGPT to write a Valentine’s poem for my wife, and here’s what it gave me.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I still can’t believe
You married me
What?! It doesn’t even rhyme. Sigh. Thanks a lot, AI.
GROCERIES
Hard not to notice how expensive grocery shopping is these days. WalletHub just released a list of the states where groceries take the biggest share of the median household income each month.
The top 5 states are Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Mississippi is number one on the list.
The states LEAST affected are:
Utah, New Hampshire, Maryland, New Jersey, and least affected is the state of Massachusetts.
OLYMPICS
Lesson learned. Don’t attend the Winter Olympics if you have an outstanding arrest warrant. They nabbed a guy going to see the Slovakia team play hockey, and the police nabbed him. His arrest warrant was issued 16 years ago. What a hockey puck this guy was.
SAVE UP
Hard to believe, but the median American worker has just $955 saved for retirement through a defined contribution plan like a 401 (k) account.
For those who do have a 401k, the median savings were much higher at $40,000.
No wonder the Dave Ramsey show is so popular.
THIS HAPPENED
In Florida, a couple of guys get into an argument over pickleball rules. And then they started throwing punches. One guy hit the other with his paddle.
Let’s call it a “pickle-brawl.”
BOOK SIGNING
My wife Kathy’s book “Subtle Frequency” is out everywhere. Thank you to all who have bought a copy already. A couple of book signings are coming up, with the first one being on February 28 here in Nashville, where folks can come and buy a copy and get an autograph. More details on this coming soon!
QUOTE OF THE DAY
From comedian Joan Rivers:
“You know you’ve reached middle age when you’re cautioned to slow down by your doctor, instead of the police.”
TODAY
I’ll be piling into a van with 4 other songwriters and we’ll head back to Nashville, after a great couple of days writing with veterans for Freedom Sings USA
Have a great weekend!
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