Silly Old Bear

I have never been a huge fan of Reggae music. To be honest, though, I’ve never really given it much of a chance.

I was eating lunch with my good friend Zach yesterday, and the conversation turned to music. Zach is a big fan of Reggae music, and Bob Marley is his favorite artist in the genre. So I asked Zach what his favorite song is, and he quickly replied, “Three Little Birds”. I told Zach I was going to go home and find that song on the Internet and listen to it.

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What would you do if you were born without eyes, and with a tightening of the joints that prevented you from being able to straighten your arms and legs? Would you feel sorry for yourself? Would you consider yourself “disabled”? Life would certainly come with a greater level of difficulty.

I can’t even imagine being unable to see or walk. Yet, that’s exactly the situation in which Patrick Henry Hughes has found himself since the day he was born. However, when asked, “How would you describe your disabilities?”, Patrick just smiles really big and responds, “Not disabilities at all; more abilities.”

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In 1998, Walt Disney Pictures released a movie called “Mighty Joe Young”. The movie was about a huge gorilla named Joe living in the jungles of Africa. Joe is brought to the United States to save him from being killed by poachers, and he eventually ends up back in Africa on a wildlife refuge created especially for him.

It was a pretty good movie. But the best thing about the movie was an enchanting lullaby that kept appearing in the soundtrack throughout the entire movie. The song is entitled “Windsong”, and it was written and sung in the Swahili language.

Listen to “Windsong”.

I was captivated by this incredibly beautiful, soul-stirring composition the first time I heard it. But not knowing Swahili, I had no idea what the song was saying. So I did some research.

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About four months after Ashley died, Susan and Justin and I took a trip from our home in Texas to visit some friends in Tennessee and then spend a few days in the Great Smoky Mountains. Driving late at night, somewhere between Memphis and Nashville, the idea for a song began growing in my head. It was a tribute to the remarkable life of my Ashley, her profound impact on our lives as her family, and the deep emptiness left in our hearts by her death. But even amidst the palpable sadness of our grief, I found my thoughts, and the emerging song, focusing on the hope that is inherent in my faith — the promise that, one day, we will see her and hold her once again.

The more we drove, the more the song grew and began to organize itself into verses and a chorus. I asked Susan to find some paper and a pen and start writing down the words so that I wouldn’t forget them. I drove and Susan wrote, and by the time we reached Nashville, “Until Then” was a song.

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A few months after my daughter Ashley died, I called a friend and asked him to meet me for lunch. Andy Moya is one of those creative types who seems to be good at everything he does. He is a graphics artist/designer by trade, and a very talented musician by avocation. I was captivated by his CD of Christmas favorites played on piano.

Andy is also just an all-around great guy. I came to know him through a mutual friend, and have always enjoyed any opportunity to visit with him. He is deeply spiritual and loves the Lord with all his heart. I have a great respect for him in that regard.

I invited Andy to lunch because I had a favor to ask of him. I wanted to have a beautiful instrumental song written especially in Ashley’s memory. Knowing Andy’s creativity, musicianship, and heart, I felt like he would be the perfect person for such an undertaking, if he was interested.

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The Spirit of Aggieland

Some may boast of prowess bold
Of the school they think so grand
But there’s a spirit can ne’er be told
It’s the Spirit of Aggieland.

The Spirit of Aggieland. From the outside looking in, you can’t understand it. From the inside looking out, you can’t explain it.

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[PART 3 OF 3]

In my first Danny Boy post …

• I shared with you the fascinating history surrounding the tune to which the words of “Danny Boy” were set, back in the early 1900′s;
• I explored the possibility that this song may have played an important role in my own family’s history ;
• I shared my long-held desire to someday record a four-part harmony version of the song with my four brothers, in honor of my sweet Dad.

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I do not have an iPod.

My son Justin has a really nice iPod that we bought for him as a Christmas gift a few years back. But I don’t have an iPod.

(He also has a better car than me, a better cell phone than me, etc., etc., etc. The things we do for our kids!)

However, in spite of this complete lack of equity in the quality of my few paltry possessions compared to his, there is one area in which the inequity leans completely in my favor.

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One night, a year ago or so, I was talking to my brother Mark on the phone. Mark and I both love music, and the conversation that evening turned to music. Mark told me about a group that he had discovered recently, a group with a beautifully unique sound and a simple name, “Hem”.

Even if you have never heard of the group, you have probably heard at least one of their songs without even realizing it. In 2006, Liberty Mutual insurance company aired a commercial that created a lot of buzz. Here’s how the company describes it on their website.

“It all began with a single commercial that gave voice to an entire movement. It prompted thousands of people to start thinking and talking about responsibility, to celebrate the positive things in their lives and the world around them. And it captured the essence of Liberty Mutual’s core belief that responsibility matters, and doing the right thing is everything.”
(http://www.whatsyourpolicy.com/videos/index/9)

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From time to time I will post information about software that I use and find useful. Today’s post features a program that does one thing, and does it remarkably well. Piston Software’s “Direct MIDI to MP3 Converter” allows you to convert a MIDI file to an audio file in any of the following formats: MP3 , WAV , WMA , or OGG Vorbis .

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