Hey Gang,
Well, this is my first blog ever.  Being part of the baby-boomer generation I'm not young enough for this to be part of my "dna," and not too old to learn how to do this.

It's not that writing is a challenge for me.  I've already written several textbooks, so I'm certainly comfortable with the written word.  It's just a little strange to be sharing personal thoughts with and "unidentified audience."  None-the-less, here goes.

After finishing a career as a music educator I'm finally going back to performance after a 20-year absence from the stages of nightclubs and bars.  It's absolutely great to be out performing again.  What makes it especially so is the fact that, with some exceptions, I'm performing an entirely original show. The opportunity to share songs I've written with an audience eager to hear them is just wonderful.

It's also true that this music has special meaning to me since I think of it as "Wisdom Music."  Not that I'm all that "wise."  Rather, this is music written from a part of life when you have been through so many stages: looking back at the dumb things you did as a teenager; reflecting on what you thought as a young adult; the challenges of raising a family; staying with a career because your family needed for you to do so.  And now, writing from the perspective of someone who has the time and at least some of the resources to pursue some things left behind along the way.  The last tune I've written sort of sums that up. It's called "Dustin' Off Dreams"

Sally was born with an eye for the colors that brighten the earth and the sky
She could capture in lines, pictures of livin', a bird that was learnin' to fly
Then came the kids and the dinners and laundry
On top of a job that she did
Now that they're gone, she's surrounded by brushes and paint in an old mayonaise lid
She's dustin' of dreams that have waited a life time, dreams that it's time to fulfill

Johnny was born out in Western Kentucky, the city was 10 miles away
At 14 for fun he was bouncin' down dirt roads, drivin' an old Chevrolet
Then came a job and a family, a mortgage, years that he just had to give
Now afternoons find him lyin' under that Chevy, all coverd with grease like a kid
He's dustin' of dreams that have waited a life time, dreams that it's time to fulfill

All of our lives we have chosen to be the ones they could all count upon
We gladly have given the things that they need, but now that it's time to move on

I'm up on this stage tellin' my stories, like the ones about Silas and Ben
I watch as you smile and you nod while you listen, I'm makin' my music again
And all of the years I was solid and certain, providing a home for my kids
I'll never regret all the things that were not done, and all of the things that I did
But now I'm dustin' of dreams that have waited a life time, dreams that it's time to fulfill
                      (C) 2008 Blair/Brooke Music, BMI

Thanks so much to all the great folks who made last Friday's show such a success. We'll talk about the "role of the audience" in my next blog.

Thanks for being part of the show -  The Good Doctor