The Gospel-Filled Wallet

One of my internet buddies has written a book.  And had it published.

It's called "The Gospel-Filled Wallet," and the author is Jeff Weddle.  Read more about it here.

Jeff says you won't like his book, though.  He thinks it will hurt your delicate sensibilities.  I say buy it and find out....that's what I did. 

Plus, I used a coupon from this page, the one entitled "LULUMAIL305" and got free shipping.

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Call Your Name - Gateway Worship

One of the best worship songs in the last couple of years. I was blessed to be in the congregation the night this was recorded.

Sing along...it will surprise you.



Gateway Church The singer/songwriter is Zach Neese. Here is a link to more of Gateway's worship music.

High School Reunion - NHS Class of 1978

This past weekend, while in Texas on business, I also attended my high school reunion. It was a modest celebration at the local Knights of Columbus hall on Saturday night. There was barbecue, classic rock, and, fortunately, name tags. Other than the observation that all of those people have somehow gotten old, I am pretty much at a loss for any particularly “deep thoughts” with respect to the Chester W. Nimitz High School class of 1978. I had a very nice time. Simply, it was fun to see some of my old friends again and swap a story or two. Most of them I had not seen since our graduation, although I have had some sporadic correspondence with a few in the intervening years. I even enjoyed good conversation with people to whom, even in high school, I had not been especially close to.

Turns out, it is very hard to convey in one 15-minute conversation all of the life that you have seen in the past 30 years, even to someone who is genuinely interested. And, even when you are interested in hearing what their life is all about, you realize as you listen that you are only getting the AM radio version of a 60-second trailer to an epic movie that was itself an adaptation of a richly written ten-volume historical novel series transcribed from a language you dimly remember but no longer actually speak. (How’s that for a torturous metaphor?) That’s not to say that what is said is not meaningful or appreciated, because it is. But it is inadequate, incomplete. And it must ever be.

For example, one of the things that happens is that everyone stands around and wonders aloud about the people who aren’t there. “Whatever happened to James? And what was his sister’s name?” That’s kind of an interesting thread but it, too, either leads to a dead end or to a place that just kind of trails off into the hills, uncertain and unknowable.

I was saddened to hear about those who had died, grieved to hear of the stories of broken marriages, disappointing careers, ill health, poor choices, and difficult trials. But I was also glad, genuinely happy, to hear of the long, happy marriages and the stories of success and fulfillment, of going back to college for a new career, of surviving the death of a spouse, and of building a rich family life on a bedrock of faith and unflagging love.

It is likely I’ll never see most of those people again, I suppose. Some I will undoubtedly see on the other side and I look forward to that, too.

More than anything else, I came away with a greater sense of appreciation for my own family and a deep, strong affirmation that God is in control of it all.

A Miraculous Healing

A friend of mine, Barry Garrett, whom some of you prayed for a few days ago, has had an astounding recovery from a very serious and debilitating medical emergency. He was admitted to the hospital last weekend with a terrific headache, nausea, and vision problems. It turns out there was a tumor surrounding his pituitary gland that was compressing the optic nerve and spinal column. There's much more to the story, but go to his blog to read about it.

And here is a picture of the pituitary gland, for those of you who, like me, need some help with your glandular geography:

Have a nice day!

Hot rod guitars and old friends.

I could write and talk about guitars all day, to be honest. So, if you came here hoping for a new travelogue post about what to do in Rome, you’ll want to come back tomorrow. Today our topic is again the details and minutiae of my hot new guitar rig and the joys of reconnecting with old friends.

This past weekend I played the new amp rig and my recently-modified Stratocaster in our worship services. Overall, it went really well and I am very pleased with the new sound. Most of the songs this week were guitar-driven, blues-rock infused styles and I was especially happy with the big, crunchy sound that the little amp delivered. I still need to tweak and refine some of the clean, sparkly, textural sounds that I often use as those seemed harder to get to and control. This involves some rather extensive reprogramming of my aforementioned Boss GT-6. But I must say that when I needed the bark and growl (and who doesn’t need that in worship?), it was right there at my fingertips and loads of fun. When we we hit the chorus of The Newsboys’ version of “Amazing Love”, I had this humongous, warm, rich, textured heavy-rock rhythm sound that was just...inspiring. Amen.

I am just as excited about the new Tex-Tone pickup that I installed in the bridge last week as I am about the new amp. It has a completely different, and far more nuanced, sound than the stock pickup. The output level is not noticeably different than the still stock middle and neck pickups, but it definitely has a nicer tone. One of the best things about it is the way it seems to respond to the tone control knob. Like most Strat players, for years the bridge tone control has been largely superfluous, left wide open (on 10!) nearly all the time. But with the Tex-Tone, I actually found that it was useful for rolling of some of the highs when I wanted to have the characteristic bite, but perhaps not quite as much razor-pointy edge as this pickup is capable of. That kind of flexibility is a surprising and unique benefit.

I had one annoying problem that cropped up at the end of the Saturday night service, an audible 60-cycle hum. It wasn’t terrible and in fact, was unnoticeable on the overdriven sounds, but it did prevent me from using it on clean rhythm sounds. Interestingly, tube amps often have some hum and my Valve Jr. is astonishingly quiet as tube amps go. It was immediately obvious to me that it was my guitar that had the problem. But I have modified a fair number of guitars through the years and, from experience, that sound is virtually always due to a cold solder joint or flaky ground wire. So I will do a little remedial troubleshooting this week and it will be fine.

Ultimately, I may want a somewhat hotter pickup on the bridge, moving this one into the middle or neck position since a little extra output on the back never hurts, but for now I’m satisfied to leave it as it is for a few weeks to see what happens.

I am also waiting for a set of new Fender locking tuners to put on this guitar which will help stabilize the tuning and increase the functionality of the whammy bar.   The high-E string tuner has been busted since New Years Eve, actually, and I have just been procrastinating.  I also did a minor cut-down modification on the plastic backplate to facilitate access and speed up restringing.  That one I've been meaning to do for a couple of years. 

To the uninitiated, I realize this all sounds pretty esoteric.  Like listening to the guys at the hot-rod swap meets talk about customizing their collector cars.  It is like that, only much cheaper.

Tex-Tone Pickups are handmade by a good friend in Texas, David Allmon. He and I reconnected a couple of weeks ago after having lost touch for at least fifteen years. Without the Internet, that might have never happened.  The coolest thing was that, once we started talking, it was like no time had passed.  I love that...and it almost never happens.  David is a blessing and always has been. He is married to a wonderful girl, Kimala, and they have a teenage son. 

But back in the late 80's, he wasn't hand winding precision-engineered, custom-designed electric guitar components.  Nope, he was rocking like a hurricane as you can clearly see in this picture:

Heh. David is the one on the right.  With the mane.  

And, from the sound of things, my friend is still rocking it.  While I've never been genetically capable of growing hair like that, to be fair, I don't look the same as I did in the late 80's, either.  And Lord knows I'm not going to post a picture of me from that era on my website, so here is a recent one of me about to enjoy a nice antipasto in Rome:

MBPYNHO: "It's For You He Came" by Mark Bovee

Music By People You've Never Heard Of - Christmas edition.

For several years now, one of my favorite Christmas albums has been "It's For You He Came" by my friend Mark Bovee. Mark is an excellent pianist as well as a prolific and accomplished orchestrator and arranger, as well. He has an impressive discography, but he is kind of a behind the scenes guy. Alot of his best work has been making someone else sound great. He is a very humble and gifted artist. His wife, Christi, is an outstanding singer, too.

There is a wide array of styles on this album, but it is decidedly jazzy in character, overall. One of my favorites is his Latin-jazz arrangement of "What Child Is This." At our church we perform this one pretty much every year, usually featuring my wife, Nancy, on the solo vocal. Silky smooth and slow-burning, like the orange embers in your fireplace on a cold winter's night.

You can listen to excerpts from this album and buy a copy here. They make excellent Christmas presents.

pensieri nel passare...

...which means "thoughts in passing", in Italian. I don't really speak much Italian, mostly just musical terms. But I hope to go there soon, probably Rome. We want to celebrate our 25th anniversary (next year) in Italy. Because we think that would be really cool. What follow is a stream-of-consciousness spiel:

This seminar thing that I'm attending, which I mentioned previously, is alternatively interesting and then sometimes not-so-much. Which reflects not in the slightest on the presenters and their program so much as it reflects on my perceptions of how applicable it is to my vocation. The quality and content of the teaching is quite commendable. At the end of it, Lord willing, be a Certified Church Consultant. We had reasonably engaging sessions today on demographics and marketing. And one guy, Bob Adams, conducted a very interesting overview of contemporary myths and trends relating to megachurches, emerging and missional type churches, multiple site and multiple venue churches... Okay, I know that may all sound very boring, but it wasn't. Bob is a really smart guy who has compiled a lot of bonafide research about such things and he presents it very well. I was pleasantly surprised that some of my personal notions about these things were actually at odds with the facts. Who knew!?!? Learning is good even though my brain is now tired.

I have eaten twice now at my favorite Mexican restaurant en todo el mundo. Danal's Mexican Restaurant is on O'Connor Road, a couple of miles south of Hwy 183, down the street from Irving High School (from whence Nancy graduated) in Irving. I took a picture but can't get it online at the moment. When you are in the D/FW area, you must eat there. We always do. Once, after driving all night straight through from Indiana on the way to my in-laws house in Hillsboro, we stopped at Danal's in the early morning and waited in the parking lot until they opened. I hope to go at least one more time before I leave on Saturday. It is not fancy, but it is just the best Mexican food anywhere. The tortillas are made fresh on-site daily and the warm salsa is like none other. Everything they make is great, but I recommend any of the enchilada dishes.

After attending Gateway Church's 10:30 AM service on Sunday morning, I went straight to the big gun show. My brother-in-law, Steve Hockett, is an antique firearms dealer and one of the best gun shows in Texas is the semi-annual one at Market Hall in downtown Dallas. It was a lot of fun, hanging out with Steve and his friend, One-armed John. There were some amazing guns for sale and show, both old and modern, of every size and description. There were a couple of interesting museum-type displays, too, including an impressive collection of large calibre antique machine guns. Another booth had a terrific display of some 2 dozen vintage Kalashnikov AK-47's, modified, in various versions, and collected from all over the world. And there were some gorgeous, authentic, old Cowboy gun collections. It was great. Guns are cool. I am going to have to go shooting more when I get home.

Last Friday, I visited one of my friends here, Buzzy Murphy, of Murphy's Music. Buzzy has a great music store. He is a customer of mine, I've known him for years, I graduated from high school with his big sister, and his family has had a music store in Irving since just after Texas declared independence from Mexico, I think. Any way, business-wise, I take care of him and he takes care of me. I had brought one of my guitars with me on this trip to practice, but when I got here I decided I wanted some type of small, personal headphone practice amp device. So I called Buzzy and then stopped by so that he could make me a crazy deal on a Boss Micro-BR digital recorder. It's a tiny little thing, but the Micro-BR makes the perfect personal practice tool, with it's built-in drum machine, excellent guitar tone, and (really basic) 4-track recorder built in. It also plays and records mp3's, and will even do "time-stretching", which means you can load in, say, Stevie Ray's version of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" and slow the playback speed way down so you can play along with it and learn the tune. It was cheap, it sounds great, it is smaller than a Louis L'Amour paperback, and it is very shiny. I am pleased.

That is all...I've got to get to bed. Today was long, tomorrow will be longer.

Chris Joyce

I lost a friend this weekend. His name was Chris Joyce, he was 31 years old, and he was an extraordinarily gifted and kind-hearted young man. It was a privilege to be his friend and I look forward to seeing him again one day.

Willow Creek Arts Conference-Glimpses #1

One of the very first blessings to manifest at the Willow Creek Church Worship Arts Conference I attended a couple of weeks ago occurred in the first general meeting session that took place in the main auditorium. All attendees were invited to stand up and meet-and-greet other people around us. There were roughly 5000 people in the auditorium, from all over the globe.

Sitting to my immediate right was a worship pastor from Waxahachie, Texas. It turns out that he and I know people in common, including one of the best friends I've ever had, Christopher Cole. Chris, his wife Lysette, and their family also live in Waxahachie where he runs a couple of successful businesses, as well as writes and records music and leads worship in their church from time to time.

While I was talking to this guy, I become aware that Nancy is tugging urgently on my arm. I turn around and find that she is talking to a woman in the row behind us who happens to be Amy Riley, a good friend from some 10 years ago when we lived in Texas. She, her husband Ricky, and their family have been living in Austin, Minnesota for a number of years now and she is a volunteer worship leader at their church. We really liked them. Interestingly, barely a month before, Nancy and I had been remembering them, discussing an especially powerful ministry story that had occurred around the Riley's at the time we knew them in Texas. It was really encouraging catching up on their lives and seeing that they were doing well.

What are the odds? It is a small world, after all.

For me, one of the most arresting truths about eternal life is that, from 10 years ago to now, and through forever, there will never be a time when we don't know Amy and Ricky. They will never be strangers to us even though, and it is likely, we may never see them again in this life. Believers in Jesus Christ ultimately spend eternity together, regardless of what temporary separations occur here on earth. It is a mysterious and remarkable feature of life in Heaven that we will have the freedom to know and enjoy the rest of God's children, all of the other inhabitants of His Kingdom, who come in droves, and yet one at a time, from the annals of history from Adam until the end.

Evangelism: Standing next to a burning man

Recently, one of my virtual friends, who happens to not be a Christian, made an astute observation about how the quality of his relationships with people who are professing Christians bears a direct relationship to the degree of evangelistic fervor with which they comport themselves when he is around them. He generally gets along fine with Christians who don’t try to “save” him, as it were, and proportionately less so with Christians who are, in his words, of the “vehement gung-ho evangelical variety.” I like that description and I’ve certainly known people who bear it.

I think my friend is describing a very common type of relationship among Christians and non-Christians and it is worth examining as it reveals some interesting ideas about the competing worldviews that both parties hold.

(Parenthetic aside: For the record, I have an abiding dislike of the term “worldview”. Partly because it is just so…1990’s, and I’m no longer sure it means all that it used to mean. Regardless, it bugs me and I intend to use it sparingly.)

There are a number of good reasons why a non-believer might find it difficult to get along with a Christian, and vice versa, but one of the easiest to appreciate is that nobody likes being around someone who is obsessed with changing them into someone else against their will.

No one, Christian or non-Christian, wants to be a part of a relationship which seems, at its basis, to rest on a premise that one person is “better” than the other in some way because of some special knowledge or a specific set of beliefs (or…worldview). In point of fact, this premise is an utter fallacy.

As a Christ-follower, I am compelled to assert that believers in Christ who are completely non-evangelical by intent and design are people who lack an understanding of some of the most elemental teachings of Christ himself. I say that not judgmentally, but as a point of fact. It is not a question of intellect or intelligence, but of spiritual maturity, as described in the New Testament, particularly in the writings of Paul. Christians who don’t tell other people about Christ either don’t care, or they don’t really know what is at stake. They are either fundamentally ignorant of their Bible, or they simply don’t believe what it says. I think a lot of nominal Christians fail in one or both of those two areas.

Conversely, considering my friend’s comments about the difficulty of maintaining a cordial friendship with someone who is always trying to evangelize them, motivation is again the key and spiritual maturity a factor, as well. People who are earnest and insistent evangelizers seem to fall into one of two extreme camps. There are the legalistic, spiritually opportunistic, televangelist-types who are trying to add you to their list of donors while, in their mind, adding notches to their own spiritual scorecard. At some level, many of these people may well be genuinely concerned about the spiritual welfare and the ultimate fate of the people to whom they make their appeal, but the mass-marketing approach undermines the message in most cases.

Much more commonly, people who are insistent about their witness to friends and family do so out of genuine love and concern. They despair at the thought that people they value might wind up in the literal hell that Jesus speaks of so directly in Luke 16:19-31. These people want and hope the best for people that they know and care about. They want every unbeliever that they know to be able to experience the benefits of a relationship with Christ now, as well as to ensure their eternal future in Heaven. This motivation is admirable and ultimately selfless, although it’s methods often make life difficult and relationships strained for all involved. This type of Christ-witness, though, sees relational dissonance as a short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain that is of incalculable value.

The part that spiritual maturity plays in evangelizing is interesting and worthy of a separate, more detailed post. The Gospel is, in many ways, very, very simple and easy to understand. It is also infinitely deep. New believers are often more effective at presenting the core truths in a persuasive, effective way than someone who has been an active Christian for many decades. One aspect of the genius of God is that the power of His message in no way depends on the qualifications of the human messenger. It requires no arcane knowledge, years of study, oaths of allegiance, multilingual skills, or advanced degrees in theology to communicate God’s love and plan for His creation. Spiritual maturity in a Christian reflects a deep understanding that it is not the effort or eloquence of the messenger that saves anyone, but rather a complete dependence on the Spirit of God within the believer that makes the difference. This understanding, this connection to the Holy Spirit that resides within each believer, is what imparts wisdom to the Christian so that he might know not only what to say and do, but also when, where, how and to whom.

The essence of the disconnect between Christian and non-Christian lies in that the unbeliever, because of either his ignorance or his denial of the benefits of eternal salvation and the exclusivity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to effect it, finds it difficult to see the worth in or the desirability of maintaining a relationship with the Christian when it is irritating or unpleasant.

But spiritual upheaval and emotional discomfort is absolutely what the Gospel is all about. Through the Bible, God reveals to us our intrinsic predisposition to failure, the inevitability of death, and the abject futility of life without Him. Amazingly, though, He also tells us exactly what it is that He has done for us to save us, to rescue us from ourselves.

Heather's Meme

Technically, it may not be Heather's meme, I can't say for sure, but she is to blame for me knowing about it and perpetuating its viral propagation. Just don't get stuck on the second question...push on through.

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1. Who was your best friend? There was a plurality: David Reinhard, Craig Dalton, Lee Davis. Also Jean Liebensberger and Beth Leadabrand were very special friends. Lord, bless them all.

3. What kind of car did you drive? I didn’t get a car until I graduated, actually, so I drove my parents’ cars. After graduation, though, I got a bright red 1978 Honda Civic Hatchback from my grandparents. Sweet ride.

4. It’s Friday night, where were you? In the marching band, during football season. Off-season, hanging out with friends.
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5. Were you a party animal? No.

6. Were you considered a flirt? In my dreams. In reality, I was a teenage serial monogomist.

7. Ever skip school? Not that I recall.

8. Were you a nerd? Yep. Band geek.

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? No.

10. Can you sing the fight song? No, but if I still had my trumpet chops, I bet I could play it.

11. Who was your Favorite teacher? Jim Sitton, Physics I & II. The second year was one of the hardest classes I’ve ever taken. Ever. Nearly killed me, but it was fascinating. He was a great teacher, though. Fortunately, I had good lab partners. David Reinhard and Russ Carpman, both of whom grew up to become actual, bona fide rocket scientists.

12. Favorite class? Band, then English

13. What was your school’s full name? Nimitz High School

14. School mascot? Vikings

15. Did you go to Prom? Yes

16. If you could go back and do it over, would you? No. I mean, it wasn’t so bad, but…no.

17. What do you remember most about graduation? Ours was a pretty big school and I remember the ceremony took forever, it seemed. I remember having a very enjoyable time talking to Kathy Pietens who sat next to me. Until that day, we really had never taken the time to get to know one another, even though we had been alphabetically adjacent for years. I wonder how she is after all these years.

18. Who was your high school sweetheart? Jennifer, mostly, but definitely Jean, too.

19. Where were you on senior skip day? I don’t think we had one. If we did, I missed it.

20. Did you have a job your Senior year? Yes. I worked at a dry-cleaners. I was like the assistant assistant manager. It was a decent gig, really...I got me some stories.

21. Where did you go most often for lunch? The school cafeteria.

22. Have you gained weight since then? Oh yeah.

23. What did you do after graduation? University of North Texas, School of Music

24. When did you graduate? 1978

25. Who was your Senior prom date? Jennifer.

26. Are you going to your 10yr class reunion? Been there, done that, and enjoyed it. A long time ago. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to make it to any subsequent reunions.

27. Who was your homeroom teacher? Varied from year-to-year, I think. Most often, Mr. Haberkamp, the band director.

28. Who will repost this after you? Probably nobody…

Travelogue

This week has has been persistently hectic, mostly due to professional obligations, hence the dearth of blogging. Today was a lot of fun, though, and definitely out of my routine. I headed to Indianapolis this morning to visit a couple of clients there, one of whom is also a close friend.

Randy Adams of Adamsound is one of the most respected recording engineers in the business and over the years he has carved for himself quite a remarkable niche in the music industry. He is responsible for numerous gold and platinum albums and has a closet full of other awards. His specialty is recording large-scale live praise and worship events and he travels all of the world. Many of his projects simultaneously involve large rhythm sections, orchestras, massive choirs, famous solo performers, with all of the formidable challenges that comprise remote location recording. Plus, he is at home in many of the top-tier tracking and mastering studios around the world. Check out his website info to see all the stuff he has done...he is amazing.

Every couple of years or so, he comes to Indy to record an album for a client we share, Calvary Tabernacle, a big church here closely affiliated with Indiana Bible College. That is the reason for his visit this week.


As usual, Randy and I ate at Shapiro's Deli, an exceptional restaurant and one of the most celebrated eateries in downtown Indianapolis. As usual, I struggled with the choice between the lox and bagel plate and their incredible Reuben Sandwich. The lox won out this time. And, of course, I carted home a big sack of their fresh bagels and some espresso brownies. Yum.

Before coming home, I stopped at Arthur’s Music Store to drop off my acoustic guitar, a Larrivee D-03E, for some repair work. It has developed a grounding problem in the electronics that I have been unable to locate and fix myself. The last time I performed with it, I had to take my shoes off to defeat the 60-cycle hum. We’re casual, but not usually that casual, so it was past time to get it taken care of.

I had never been to Arthur’s before and taking an instrument to a new repair shop is a little bit like meeting a new pediatrician for the first time…you’ve got to look deep into their eyes, try to get a glimpse of their soul. Its got to FEEL right and you NEED to know that they have the confidence and experience to treat your baby…I mean, your instrument with the loving, tender care that it requires. I sought this place out because I could tell from my internet sleuthing that it was first and foremost a guitar store. Typically, the big mega-stores of the music industry, Sam Ash, Guitar Center, et al., do not provide good service in these areas. You really have to seek out the places where guitars are a passion and not where you have to wrestle three adolescent salesmen-du-jour just to find someone that knows what they are talking about.

I do a lot of my own guitar maintenance and, since moving to Indiana, I have not required anything that I couldn’t handle. Plus, I’m spoiled. For decades I lived in the D/FW area and used Charley’s Guitar Shop for anything serious. Charley’s is hugely famous among guitar players. This is one of the coolest places in the country, and is where Eric Johnson, the Vaughn brothers, Billy Gibbons, Johnny Winter, Steve Miller, Bugs Henderson, Smokin’ Joe Kubek and every other Texas guitar player gets work done. The guy that used to work on my guitars also worked on Carlos Santana’s, Eric Clapton’s, and SRV's…I’m not kidding. Last I heard, he was on tour with John Mayer as his guitar tech.

But, I digress. I’m here now, not there. Sean, the repair guy I spoke with at Arthur’s, clearly understood my problem and exuded ample confidence to make me feel safe about leaving the guitar. This place has an interesting history and has been in business since the 1950’s, which is exceptionally good for a mom-and-pop brick-and-mortar music store these days. It was not fancy, no headache-inducing super merchandising displays...just a nice, laid-back vibe. I spoke briefly with one of the ladies who owns the store, and she was very nice. My confidence increased as I wandered around and eavesdropped on the employees interacting with other customers. We’ll see how it all works out.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER AFTER

The Classmates.com website is tastelessly constructed, though its core idea is laudable. But, since I had paid for a three-month “Gold” pass status so that I could read my friend’s obituary (below), I decided to poke around a bit.

I came across a piece of good news that I haven't been able to shake out of my head just yet. A pair of my high school friends had posted the announcement of their engagement...some 27 years after our graduation. I know it sounds like some sappy chick-flick, but I can't help it, I think it is wonderful.

Kim and Michael dated in high school, if I recall correctly, but then evidently went their separate ways at some point. I know very little of their intervening lives, but I remember hearing that Kim had gone on to modeling school and presumably a career in that field. She married and has an 18-year old son. Michael, too, married and at some point moved to Houston and created a successful advertising career. Now, both divorced, it seems, they have found each other again.

This makes me happy for several reasons. First, because, in general, I'm a happy-ending kind of guy (not to imply that their marriage means its all over; that's not what I mean). At the end of my movies, I usually expect all the bad guys to be dead, and the hero and his girl to be riding off into the sunset. That’s not a lot to ask, is it?

Secondly, these were two really, really nice people when I knew them in school, and I'm just glad to see them blessed. Mike and I weren't especially close, but we had several classes together and I remember him as a smart, easy-going, solid guy with a good sense of humor. Kim was, and still is, extraordinarily beautiful, but she also had a warm, sweet, generous personality. She was the kind of girl that made a guy want to sit up a little straighter, watch his language, and try to behave a little more gentlemanly...just because.

My prayer for them is that they live happily ever after.

Requiem

One of my best friends from high school died last month. I found out about it serendipitously a couple of days ago. I impulsively clicked on the link in one of those Classmate.com spam-like messages that I normally delete without reading. At this website, the first thing I saw was a vaguely familiar name with an announcement referring to my friend’s obituary. He died of liver failure as a result of alcoholism. He was 48 years old and is survived by his 5-year old son, his long-time girlfriend, and numerous friends and family.

Lee was a year older than I was, but we became fast friends my freshman year and even stayed in touch regularly for the first few years post-high school, too. He was an extremely intelligent, personable guy with, even then, a rapacious appetite for life and pleasure, who held few inhibitions. Girls, and fully-grown women, loved him, although whether it was in spite of or because of his wolfish ways, I was never certain. Teachers were startled by his abilities, and he was a hilarious, bawdy companion. His home life was decidedly unconventional and largely unsupervised, although he was loved and supported by his parents. Lee was a non-conformist and an agnostic, but he was completely accepting of my own stumbling and uncertain emerging Christian faith.

Lee turned me on to Hesse’s Siddhartha, the writings of Carlos Castaneda, Kurt Vonnegut, Tolkien’s LOTR and many other literary works. Though he disdained the high school jock clique, he convinced me and several others in our merry little band to join the soccer club. At that time, in football-crazy Texas, soccer was not a normal mainstream sport like it is today and it was largely incomprehensible to most of our classmates, which, of course, made us cool. Our team was only reluctantly sanctioned by the school, our coach worked for free and barely spoke English, we had to pay for our own uniforms, and we were routinely beaten to a pulp. But we had the best time playing in front of our girlfriends and the occasional family members.

Ever a charming, silver-tongued rascal, Lee helped me talk my parents into letting me go to my very first rock concert (Genesis- the “Wind and Wuthering” tour) when I was 16 years old, an important milestone in my life. He also baked the brownies that we ate on the way, as I recall, and the less said about that, the better. Though not a musician, he always had the best taste in music, introducing me to Kansas, John McLaughlin, Ravi Shankar, Yes, Gentle Giant, Pink Floyd and many other interesting artists. He had wide-ranging interests and taste in art, music, science, and literature well in advance of his years. Even in high school, I considered him a renaissance man, and his intellectual openness to so many disparate disciplines made a lasting imprint on my own thinking. He taught me that it was okay to be interested in a lot of different things, that I could like whatever I liked, not just what I was supposed to like.

After high school, Lee went on to do a number of unusual things in exotic places. He attended my wedding in 1983. From the late 80’s on, though, we really didn’t keep up with each other much. I hadn’t spoken to Lee since the early 90’s, and then only briefly.

It makes me sad to know that he is gone.

Same As It Ever Was

Sharon has an especially thoughtful post on the trials of growing up, with some wise counsel for kids. In addition to her typically astute observations, be sure to take a look at her stunning artwork.