BILL BLOG
Thursday, September 3, 2026
Good morning from Ruidoso, New Mexico. 89 for a high today in the mountains, but tonight’s low is a comfortable 65 with zero humidity. I see why a lot of folks choose to live here.
YESTERDAY
I caught an early flight from Nashville to Austin, then on to El Paso, where Buddy Hyatt and I rented a car and drove to beautiful Ruidoso, New Mexico.
Buddy is a great piano player and will be the bandleader for the first half of our “Evening in the Round” show tonight at the Spencer Theater in nearby Alto. And I found out during our layover in Austin that Buddy loves Salt Lick BBQ, and after tasting it, so do I.
Buddy has had quite the musical career. He’s played on tons of hit records; he’s currently the band leader for the bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent, which means that he’s playing my song “Moonshines on the Still” a LOT- the song that I wrote with Laura Leigh Jones.
And, he was also a member of the famed rock band TOTO for a couple of years, touring the world playing all those great TOTO songs.
Buddy is also a cancer survivor, with quite the story he shared with me, and these days he even does some “talking about the Lord” on YouTube. Having cancer can inspire that, especially when you think that HE answered your prayers.
Our drive into Ruidoso was surely pretty.
The drive seems shorter when the view out your car window looks like this.
We arrived at the home of Linda’s cousin Rhonda (some kind of home!)
just in time for dinner along with about 85 other guests. Thank you, Rhonda, for having us…again! And then she did make us sing for our supper, which we were more than happy to do.
And then this morning, I grabbed this picture of an elk in the front yard, and a big bull elk was not far behind her.
Wow.
SONG OF THE DAY
Texas country artist Payton Howie has been in Nashville making a video of the song “Truck Bed” that I wrote with her and Brady Seals. Here’s a TEASE of what’s coming.
Can’t wait to see and hear the finished product. I’m making that the SONG of the day.
HEALTH NOTES
Figure this one out. A woman with a history of anorexia was prescribed a weight-loss jab and was told, ‘You’re eating too much.’
Experts say that some yoga poses will ease anxiety. All I know is that if I strike THIS pose, I may never get back up.
Word is that cyclosporiasis is now surging in 48 states. (I’m still not eating lettuce)
HERE’S YOUR SIGN
Pretty sure I’d have one too if I took karate lessons.
UBER
That company is slashing over 3K jobs because those Robo Taxis are cutting into their business. Wow. Which reminds me to thank my Uber driver, Robert, who took me to the airport yesterday for this trip I’m on. Turns out Robert was in the Navy for 20 years as a Para Rescue, meaning he’d jump out of a chopper into the ocean to save lives. He told me some incredible stories. Thank you, Robert, for your amazing service.
AND THEN THERE’S PARKING
In Nashville, the price of parking will keep one from going downtown. One lot is now charging $50 for a 90-minute stay. I got charged $40 dollars the other night when I attended an event downtown, and then got an add-on that ran the cost to over $70…their mistake. And of course you call, send a “chat” message, and nobody replies. So there has to be a really good reason for me to go downtown these days.
SPEAKING OF DRIVING
Over 153 million driver’s licenses have been stolen and are up for sale on the dark web. One guy said he rented a car, and within hours, his license was up for sale. Wow. I think I’ll be showing folks my YMCA membership card instead of my driver’s license from now on.
FANTASY COFFINS
In the country of Ghana, you can get buried in a fantasy coffin. Like a tennis shoe coffin.
Or an airplane coffin.
And then there’s my pick.
FAST FOOD GAS
At Murphy gas stations, you can now get a White Castle burger out of a vending machine. So you can stop and get gas, and then get more gas…I guess.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
From Markus Herz:
“Be careful about reading health books. One day you might read a misprint and die.”
TODAY
We load into the Spencer Theater today at 1 pm for set up, rehearsal, dinner, and our “Evening in the Round” show, where the first half will feature our trio with a full band singing country classic songs.
Then after intermission, we’ll do our normal “Evening in the Round” show.
This will be the third time I’ve played this theater with Linda and Lang, and it’s truly one of my favorite places to play in the country.
Have a great Thursday!
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