I woke up this morning, and a newspaper article hit me like a ton of bricks. A soldier from Fort Bliss returned to the States with massive head injuries. He was being treated in San Antonio, and waiting to reunite with his wife and three kids.

They never arrived.

His wife tried to compensate for a huge gust of wind, and wound up rolling their vehicle. Their 2 & 5 year old children died at the scene, and as of this writing, the 9 year old is hanging on with brain injuries and kidney failure.

I read bad news all the time, and I always get pretty emotional about it, but this one I just couldn't shake. It's too much for one human being to take. So, I decided to write a song. I hadn't written anything new in years, but this came together in less than two hours.

I don't know if the family will hear this. I hope they do, and I hope that it can help lift just 1% of the tremendous burden they've been saddled with. I thought about those kids like they were my own when I recorded it, and I only wish some of that spirit of sadness, despair, remembrance & tranquility makes it across the wires.

There are already dozens of folks helping out with funeral arrangements, air travel, and a fund has been set up at Bank Of America.

Army Spc. John Austin Johnson, I salute you. May this message find you, and may it indeed deliver a little Peace For Bliss.

Sweet Tea In A Honky Tonk: We stopped off for lunch in Corsicana, and wound up at a restaurant called "The Other Place," which I thought was very funny. The waitresses use swarm technology, where everyone works every table. You get fantastic service that way, but you also get the same questions a lot. "Sweet or unsweet tea?" I heard that a few times, and it stuck in my head. As I was walking to the car, I started singing "I'm drinkin' sweeeeeeeet tea..." and since it sounded like a country song, I felt compelled to end it with "in a honky tonk." Rhonda threw in a few ideas while we driving home, and I finished up the lyrics a week or so later. It turns out that the reason the guy is drinking sweet tea is he has to take a test as terms of his probation. I had no idea originally, but laughed a lot when I stumbled across that bit of information.

Welcome to mynewspace! There are now more ways to contact me than there are reasons to contact me!

Web Page is kellydean.net

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That oughta get you started. I hope you're enjoying my latest entries. ¿Donde Esta Biblioteca? was inspired by a mean-looking dude at a traffic light. He had the tattoos, the piercings, the rough-lookin' convertible, and then this happy zippy tejano music going. I thought the juxtaposition was hilarious, and decided to write a tejano song. I came up with the title and first verse almost immediately, and then stalled out for a few years. I got the recording itch last week doing "Sweet Tea" and knocked out Donde during the flow of ideas.

The lyrics of Donde are based on 1st year Spanish phrasebooks. They are random lines that always stuck in my head, and I just slapped 'em together.

There are two sort of inside jokes. One is from my friend/bandmate John Calderon. He does a hilarious bit imitating Mexican radio where he rattles on in Spanish, and then finishes the sentence with "Rrrrreese's Peanut Butter Cup." I had to include that.

The other one is pan y manzana (bread & apple). We were playing a wedding reception, and the guys in the kitchen hooked us up with some food. They brought out the food, including a basket of rolls. I wandered around the kitchen asking for manzana, and just got puzzled looks. As I went to sit down, I realized I'd been asking for apples! I meant to say mantequilla (butter). I told the guys, and they fell out. It's been a running gag ever since. So, that joke's on me.

I'll tell you the background of "Sweet Tea In A Honky Tonk," "JB vs. JB," & "Inevitable" next time. Thanks for stopping by!