..........different thoughts.

This post is not of the norm with me. I'm usually bashing some political idiot(s) for what they are doing, what they have done, or what they have left undone. This is a little bit from my life that I thought I may write about.

I like to take walks when the weather gets warmer. I did just that yesterday; although, the weather was not as warm as I had anticipated. It was about 50ish with a wind gusts of 15-25 mph. At any rate, I had my three mile walk. What I like best about walking is that I do it myself and I have the opportunity to just think and reflect about many things. We had a great day last week, in which the temperature was over 60. It was a couple of days before state band contest, and I spent the entire time going through the music in my mind. That usually helps me in preparing the band. I need that unobstructed time. (side note: we scored a Superior at the contest last Thursday). This most recent walk found me thinking about my oldest daughter. She's going to graduate from high school in a couple of months, and I don't want to miss a single experience with her. Our family is very close, and I feel we can talk about anything and solve any problem with the support of each other. I'll miss her when she goes off to college, but I also know that it will be the beginning of a different part of our relationship. I look forward to that even as I dread the change. We are going on a short vacation next week, and I really look forward to spending time with all three of my girls (mom and daughters). Family is so very, very important to me.

Last week, we had a death in our school community. A student committed suicide. Even if you don't know the person well, it still hurts. You see all the kids wondering; "why?". You see all the adults scrambling to make sure they were not at fault by not seeing the warning signs. I don't think I ever spoke to the student the entire time he was here at the high school. He was a popular athlete and didn't take any of my classes. It still hurt. I think one of the hardest things was to see the students realizing their own mortality. My wife and I talked to our girls in detail about the incident and tried our best to help them deal with the loss. This has happened to our school community before, and it never makes any sense. It's impossible for me to imagine that there would never be anyone there for me to confide in. I have my family and my church. I know that I'm never alone. I wish this boy would have felt the same way. He had little family structure and there were drugs and alcohol involved.

Wow, let's get to something more uplifting! I love to have our school steel drum band perform. We had the opportunity to perform this past Saturday at a local arts council event, and the people just loved them! It's great to see people having fun with music. A couple of weeks ago, I thought outside of the box for a performance, and I think it's really going to happen for us. I contacted our Congress Representative about performing for some of our recovering war veterans. She was most helpful in supplying me with several numbers to call and arrange something. I called Walter Reed Army Medical and got a performance scheduled there for next month. The Walter Reed folks were very helpful and excited about the gig. We're going to play a concert in their dining facility during the lunch hour. They told me that is where the biggest gathering of soldiers and their families will be. I hope we are able to bring a little joy into a very difficult situation for the soldiers. There are many, many wounded who are coming home only to deal with the most difficult situation they have ever faced. I'm also going to contact Bethesda Naval Hospital and see if we can work out something there as well. Wish me luck!

This is Holy Week, and I wish all of you the very best as we prepare to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. I always look forward to our Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday worship services. May the Grace of Jesus Christ be with you all during this very special time of the year.