BILL BLOG
Monday, July 6, 2026
Monday morning has rolled around. Hope you had a great 4th of July weekend. It was a hot one here in Nashville. Last Thursday and Friday, we hit 100 degrees. Today we are looking for a little cooler, with a high of 87 predicted.
THE WEEKEND
A pretty quiet 4th here at the Whyte House as America turned 250 years old. We had a lot of fireworks booming on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Bridge caught fire after fireworks were shot off on the bridge. And in LA, fireworks were shot into a crowd. Fortunately, nobody got hurt.
It’s safer to watch fireworks on TV, sit on the couch, and go “ooh” and “ahh”.
NEW DATE
I’m going to be in Paris, Kentucky a week from today, which is about 3 and a half hours from the house, for a special Freedom Sings USA trip. I’ll be going by myself on this one, and I’ll drive to the home of a 102-year-old World War II veteran. Our Freedom Sings group will bring five or so songwriters to Paris in September, but this one is a solo project, and I’m happy to do it.
I wrote with 102-year-old Marine veteran Bob Schultz a couple of years ago in Shiloh, Illinois, who had an incredible story about being a Seagoing Marine, which is the name of his song. You can click this LINK to watch a pretty moving video set to his song. Bob is 104 years old now, and I’m happy to say he’s doing great.
I’m looking forward to creating something memorable for yet another 102-year-old soldier in Paris, Kentucky, whose name I don’t have yet.
SONG OF THE DAY
On Friday’s blog, I mentioned that Spencer Hatcher officially released a summer song I wrote with him, his brother Connor, and my friend Steve Dean. Today, I’m making it the song of the day. So check out this new song-video of “Hot Weather, Cold Beer.”
HEALTH NOTES
The mysterious Legionnaires’ disease outbreak has skyrocketed to 14 cases in two New York City neighborhoods.
A study finds that fast walkers in their 80s cut their risk of cognitive decline by half.
Another study shows that ten weeks of cognitive rehab can help long COVID patients lift much of their brain fog.
HERE’S YOUR SIGN
I’m thinking her phone’s not ringing a lot.
DAD BRAG
Just a little dress my daughter sewed.
Nope, don’t know how she does it. But I do know that my wife and I are excited that she and her husband, Casey are moving from Germany back to the states within just two weeks. Can’t wait.
ONE BILLION AND COUNTING
Disneyland welcomed its one “billionth” guest over the weekend in California. One BILLION. Well, it is the “happiest place on earth.”
Our family is big Disney World fans, but we’ve only been to the original park once, and it was a memorable visit. I was out in LA doing my radio show for the ACM Awards for WUBE Radio in Cincinnati, and our group went a day early to go to Disneyland. Our daughter Heather was in a stroller at the time and was not feeling well. So when the “Goofy” mascot walked up and kneeled to say hello to her, our daughter threw up on Goofy’s oversized shoes.
So yeah, it was memorable.
THEY SAID “I DO”
The big news, seemingly over the 4th of July, was that Taylor Swift said “I do” to her football star sweetie, Jason Kelce.
To me, the bigger news was their generosity as they donated $26 million to charities before their wedding at Madison Square Garden. Money that’s going to do a lot of good, with some of the money going to charities here in Tennessee.
1 million to Brad Paisley and his wife Kimberly Williams’ food store to feed the hungry.
And 2 million to Dolly Parton’s “Imagination Library”, ensuring that hundreds of thousands of kids get free books to read.
Pretty danged cool.
And their wedding singers were pretty cool too. Paul McCartney sang the Beatles’ hit, “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” And Stevie Nicks got up and did an entire set. What are we going to talk about now that they’ve tied the knot?
GREAT ADVICE!
This came from comedian Adam Sandler, who officiated the wedding. He said to the couple, “Kiss every chance you get, every chance you have, every single day. So whether you’re going to bed or going to work…go ahead and kiss her.” Might be the best wedding advice I’ve ever heard.
WORST TV SHOWS
A TV publication listed the worst TV shows of all time. Their Top 5:
5…The Ugliest Girl In Town
4…Baby Bob
3…Modern Men
2…Painkiller Jane
And their choice for worst ever? Rules of Engagement.
I don’t remember watching any of these. How about you?
The publication listed 45 or so shows. Two that I disagree with would be “The Muppets TV Show” and “Hogan’s Heroes”. I was a fan of both.
And I was certainly a fan of Colonel Klink, played by Werner Von Klemperer, who won two Emmys for his comedic portrayal of the Colonel.
I had the pleasure of interviewing him once while doing a broadcast at the MGM Park at Disney World.
He was a great guest, very intelligent. In fact, besides being an actor, he conducted symphonies in his spare time. His father was a conductor. How bout that?
JUMP IN THE POOL
A lot of folks are looking for a pool to jump into with this heat wave going on.
In Nashville, you could find a guitar to jump into.
Or, you could dive into a cat.
But I do not recommend jumping into this one.
Someone might flush it by accident, and there’s no telling where you might go.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
From comedienne Rita Rudner:
“I work for myself, which is fun. Except when I call in sick, I know I’m lying.”
TODAY
For the first time in a long time, I am writing with Shay Watson. Shay and I used to write a lot for his duo that was named Watson & Nash, that feature himself alongside our friend Joe Nash. Shay is the one wearing the ballcap.
They put out a great album that I had several songs on, including “Tough People Do,” just to name one. The duo broke up, and Shay turned his attention to writing songs for movies and TV shows. And he’s had a LOT of success. It was Shay who landed one of our songs on the Soap Opera “Young and Restless,” not once, but twice.
It’s going to be fun catching up with my old friend, seeing what we can create today.
Have a great Monday!
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