Beat and the Heat

Today is one hot example of a day to follow, but guess what, it is supposed to get more hot as the next few days pass. I am going to have to install a grease catch on my ankles to catch all the grease being cooked out of me every day. I could make diesel out of it. Bleh..... The best part is the humidity. You'd think 100 degree temps would cook a piece of bread so it become dry and brittle but that is not how it is here. Anything left open with any sort of crispy food inside turns into a sort of dehumidifier. Everything turns soggy and mushy just like you will if you sit outside for a while. If you do anything more than sitting you will become drenched in your own sweat. There are pros and cons to living in the southern cooker just like everywhere else. I'll keep calling this area home.

Speaking of home I sure love coming home to the wife and kids. You could say there are pros and cons to that too but it's so lopsided I not sure there are cons when the considerations are completed.

It was always a dream for me to become someone in music and especially to learn the piano. I learned at an early age that different folks have to learn differently. My style would be to learn music I wanted to learn and master a song at a time. I was never afforded that style from any musicians. As I have become "older" I have revisited my desire to learn music and have been slowly picking out Moonlight Sonata but progress is slow and the piano needs a couple hundred dollars worth of work. I got this 12yr old girl that is really gaining ground on the piano. She is running ahead of me learning Beethoven and is actually having to show me how to play it! How do ya like that?? She'll be a good teacher. My 14yr old is gaining ground on the guitar too. He is learning guitar the way I should have learned. He takes one song at a time and learns it. Now he has a bit of a play list and is learning cord progression and classic ques from his own perspective not that of a boxed in teacher. It's pretty awesome from where I stand.

In the meantime I am learning more tricks on the drums. I have played for years and had opportunities to follow my old friends to the big time. God has other plans though and I'll stick with that. My latest little learning episode happened as a result of watching this kid that plays and amazing drum solo on youtube. The one handed drum roll has evaded my scope for years. I had sort of chalked it up to not even being in the same realm of talent as these other "cats". I had even forgotten about it. This all due to my old friend, who tours with Shania Twain and many other greats, telling me he could not do that either. I suppose he might be able to now but I don't know him anymore. In the meantime this kid reminded me of the cool chops and I began looking around for how to guides. This age of the internet produced the good and in ten or so minutes I was doing the very one handed drum roll I never thought I could!

Here I sit in the air conditioning appreciating the fact I am stuffed inside where I might find something to do like learn I can climb this mountain. My family along the way giving me the lift I need to finally make my dreams come true.