So I decided to start this series because I thought it would be fun to share and let yall see what I’ve been up to over the past couple of months.
I started doing these recordings about two months ago. A mix of Christian and secular. During the first month, I was just using the WhatsApp recorder, so the sound quality is pretty rough—very lo-fi—but on some of those I still managed to captured some cool moments.
About a month ago, I downloaded Lexis Audio Editor, and the sound quality is a lot better. This week I have two songs for you… Cruise by Florida Georgia Line and Your Winter by Sister Hazel, which I recorded last night. I also tried singing it in the key of D for the first time.
Anyway, I hope yall enjoy them. Thanks for listening.🎙️
When I was fourteen.. my best friend was killed in a dirt-bike accident.. I can’t begin to tell you what it did to me… Crushed is the only word I have right now.. and even that feels too small..
We were closer than brothers..
After the funeral.. I fell into my bedroom. That room became my world — my home inside my home.. I shut down.. Closed myself off.. No access allowed..
Everyone was worried about me..
It felt like I was on a camping trip in the wilderness alone.. And I stayed there for a whole year..
I needed something… but I didn’t know what..
I started borrowing CDs and cassette tapes from my uncle..
I found an old tape in a forgotten box in the attic — Bob Dylan’s Another Side of Bob Dylan… and I disappeared into it.
rock… country… blues… folk… old… new…
Hank Williams Jr… And the only Christian song I even knew back then.. Amazing Grace..
I didn’t just listen — I drank it.. And the more I drank.. the thirstier I got.. So I went swimming in it.. Something I still do..
Meanwhile.. God was walking the edges of me…
One night.. I awoke from a dream that wouldn’t let go… and there in the corner of my room was a silhouette.. shaped like a guitar..
my mother was so worried about me she didn’t know what else to do.. So she got me an acoustic guitar.. And one night.. while I was sleeping… she placed it right where I would see it.. the moment I opened my eyes..
and so I took it
I played it… and I played it… and I played it…
until my fingers bled
until it started playing me..
I learned it — taught myself — until it learned me back..
Song after song.. Day after day.. night after night… Month after month.. From the fall of 1988 into the winter of 1989..
I played it…..
until it became my heartbeat..
And finally…
after a year in the wilderness…
I emerged from my room..
ready to face my giants…
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of the 90’s…
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First song i ever learned on guitar 👇
I had many songs embedded in this story.. but it was causing it to load super slow.. so I deleted most of them…
My Friend Joey’Me`
Psalm 34:18 (NKJV)
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.. and saves those who are crushed in spirit…”
I haven’t done a Paste Studio post in a while, so I thought I would. If you’re unfamiliar, the majority of the performances are really good. Here’s a great one from Switchfoot. Enjoy.
Oh yes! Great Prompt! And I’m an expert at this sorta thing. I’ve traveled so much and I know what I’m effin’ talkin’ bout. Se se.
So the best way to explore a new city is on the back of a motorcycle being driven by a guy that looks like Arthur Fonzareli from the show Happy Days, while wearing just panties and a bra (regardless of your gender) and maybe even a cool Dolly Parton wig or something.
And just cruise around at a laid-back pace. Don’t be in a hurry. Stop by the ghettos. Go visit the landfill and see what the people are throwing away, this will tell you plenty.
Stop by all the local churches and go inside and see all the pretty people. Talk to the pastor. Introduce yourself. Let them know you’re on their team and that you went to school for this stuff. Tell them how they can get your new book. Then, as you’re leaving, give them the secret hand shake, rub the palm of their hand noticeably with your middle finger, mid-shake, and watch what happens next.
Then go to the nearest Chinese buffet and try and save as many cats as you can. Before it’s too late.
Then go have a snack and rest because you’ve earned it and worry about tomorrow tomorrow.
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Wesley Willis 1963 – 2o03, American Musician and Visual Artist
If you ever watched the old TV show Scrubs back in the day, then you may recall all the great music from it. It’s actually cited as having one of the best soundtracks of any show in history, and it was a big deal if your song was chosen and featured on an episode.
It was also a secular program, and very few Christian artists and songs ever made it on there. The song “All Of the Words” by Kutless made it on in 2oO6, exposing their music to millions. It was a huge deal for the band.
Also, if you’ve ever noticed my tagline on my blog…
“so looking to the sky ¡ will sing and from my heart to YOU ¡ bring”
…well, it’s from the lyrics of that song.
Hope yall have a great Sunday, and thank you for listening.
Oh, also… if you listen closely at the end of the second song, you can hear one of my cats, Angel, at the bathroom door meowing. She does this often. Sometimes it’s so bad I have to stop and make her go away. She’s messed up a few of my recordings over the past few months lol.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my Grandmama lately. Today is her birthday. She would have been 93.
She passed away suddenly in the spring of 2oO4, and it was really hard on my family, especially my mama, because in those last few years, the two of them had a rocky mother-daughter relationship. And they just wasted the time.
They didn’t always see eye to eye or treat each other the way they should, and my mama was holding onto things that she had a hard time letting go of.
I’ve been flooded with memories of her today. I was her first grand baby, and she thought the world of me. She was always around as I was growing up. She helped raise me.
I even lived with her at times in the early 80s because my mama was really sick and in and out of the hospital for a few years, having major surgeries and almost losing her life several times.
Then later she moved in with us, so throughout my life I spent a lot of time with her. Just memory after memory.
I remember once, I had a breakup with my girlfriend at the time, and she started dating this new guy. Well, he and two of his friends decided to show up at my house, and they were looking for a fight.
So, I walked out in the driveway and faced all three of them by myself.
Well, I thought I was by myself until I turned around and saw my Grandmama standing there in her house coat with a broom in her hand, ready to swing it. Then she says, “I GOT YOUR BACK SON!”
I couldn’t believe it.
I was like, “Grandmama, put that broom down and go in the house before you hurt yourself, I got this.” Haha.
But she didn’t. She stayed right there with me as I proceeded to whip all three of them. 😁😎
She loved for me to sit around and play my guitar and sing for her. She would make requests. Like “Take Me Home Country Roads” by John Denver and a few others.
She would clap her hands and tap her feet, and sing along. She was an old school country girl, and she had a strong Southern drawl. She sounded like Dolly Parton when she talked. 😁
She was a special lady to me. She was a Christian, but she wasn’t always.
The story I’m about to tell… you can decide on your own what to think or feel about it. I’m just going to tell you what I witnessed that day.
It was the day after she died. I was at my mama’s house. And my mama was in very bad shape inside. The guilt she was feeling was just too much for anyone to handle, and I had never seen her this way.
It was as if she died too.
She so wished that she had of done things differently. Instead of always arguing. She wished she would have said “I love you” to her mother because she did. But now she couldn’t.
Ever.
Now, suddenly, everything that was keeping her from this when her mother was alive meant absolutely nothing.
My mama cried and cried and cried non-stop.
She decided to go out and sit in her garden for a while and be alone.
She had been out there for maybe an hour. I was standing in the kitchen drinking coffee and looking out the window. I could see her off in the distance sitting on a little bench wearing her big-brimmed sunhat, surrounded by her flowers.
When suddenly, she jumps up and starts running toward the house.
I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I immediately think the worst. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her run. So I thought something was bad wrong.
As she approached the back door, I hurried to meet her as I could hear her crying out my name.
She bursts through the door out of breath and in tears. But not the kind I thought. These were tears of joy.
She’s trying to talk, but she can’t really, and I’m like, “What happened? Are you okay? What is going on?”
Then she cries out and says, “I JUST TALKED TO MY MAMA!!! I JUST TALKED TO MY MAMA!!!”
Then she says, “YOU CAN SMELL HER ALL OVER ME!!! SMELL ME!!! SMELL!!!”
Then I began to smell my Grandmama’s perfume, and her scent spread through and filled the entire kitchen.
It was one of those powerful moments in life that you dont forget.
Come to find out, she says that God allowed her to have this moment with her mother.
She says they spoke. That she heard her voice. They both apologized and said, “I love you.”
And she said my Grandmama told her, “Jackie baby, I know you love me.”
Then she said, “My Grandmama said, “It’s beautiful here.”
From that day on, my mama was okay. She put it all behind her and was able to find peace.
She got another chance.
She was able to say one last time, after the fact, what she couldn’t say in life.
A friend once told me years ago, “I don’t trust anyone that doesn’t eat meat,” and he was dead serious lol. I’ve never forgotten it, and sometimes I’ll say it jokingly, but I don’t really mean it. 😁
So my eating habits? I’m very disciplined. So much so that my friends and family are like, “How can you eat the same stuff all the time?” And it’s simple for me. I don’t live to eat, I eat to live. And to go even further with that, I eat for a purpose, and that purpose is to keep my body the way I want it.
So I have a high-protein diet, and I also mix in fruit and vegetables every day. And I eat the same things.
For breakfast most days, I’ll get my same little bowl and put a small amount of granola in it, then some plain Greek yogurt, which is 17g of protein per serving. Then I’ll cut up a banana and throw it in and add some dried cranberries. Occasionally, I’ll add different fruits, depending on what I have available.
Once in a while, instead of the yogurt, I’ll have a few eggs and maybe a piece of bread.
But as far as the yogurt goes, I only do the plain, Greek, unsweetened kind.
I can actually survive on one meal a day, and I’m hardly ever hungry in the morning or even by lunch. It’s usually late in the day before I get hungry, but I force myself to eat three meals a day because it’s better for me with my workout routine.
I work out every day except Wednesday and Sunday. Those are my rest days, and occasionally I’ll take an extra day off, usually Friday, if my body feels tired.
I’m in the best shape of my life currently. I look better today, and I’m way healthier and physically stronger than when I was younger because of how I eat and exercise.
A few hours after breakfast, I’ll do my protein shake. I do one scoop most days, which is 30g of protein, but sometimes I’ll double down on it.
Then for lunch, many times I’ll have something like cottage cheese and some fruit, maybe some nuts, or some eggs.
Later, at times, I’ll have another protein shake.
Then for dinner, it’s always between these three things: rice, baked potato, or pasta. Those are my carb choices. Then I’ll have a main protein source, which is meat, fish, or eggs. Normally, it’s chicken or turkey or tuna or eggs.
I don’t eat much red meat, although I love steak and brisket, but I only eat it every now and then. I love pork too, but I don’t eat it much either.
Then I always have a vegetable, and it’s usually broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or spinach every night haha.
Oh, and I drink mostly water. I stay away from sodas except maybe on a cheat day. I enjoy caffeine in the morning, so I usually have a cup of coffee, but lately I’ve been using pre-workout drink mix that contains caffeine, so I don’t have coffee on the days I use it.
Also I use mostly olive oil or coconut oil.
I monitor my daily calories and protein, and I watch and balance my weight. I’m 6 ft tall and 200 lbs, or 91 kg, and this is where I want to stay. So if I go over 200 by a few pounds, then I reduce my eating for a few days until I drop back down. And vice versa, if one day I weigh in and I’m around 195–197, then I increase my calories for a few days. I have a fast metabolism that allows me to easily manage this.
I don’t eat junk food or sweets, except maybe once every two weeks I’ll have like a cheat day where I’ll have some apple pie or a piece of cake or something. And sometimes I’ll order pizza or Chick-fil-A just to break the monotony of my food routine. Oh, and I do get a sweet tooth sometimes during the week, and when that happens, I’ll have a spoonful or two of peanut butter.
Don’t get me wrong, I like food, and I like to eat and cook and stuff,
but I refuse to be ruled by it or anything for that matter.
How do you write what people actually want to read?
It’s a guessing game really, and what may interest you is just not my thing and vice versa. So who cares.
Hey, how about a ghost story?
A true one, that really happened to me late one winter night in 2o15 when I was living in Florida.
Or are you chicken? bawkity bawk?
If you’re scared, just say so. It’s ok to be. I would probably be too right now if I were you.
Cmon, man up, turn the lights out, take the covers off your head. Stop calling for your mama. You can handle it. I believe in you.
Okay, without further ado, let’s get into it. Before you change your mind and scroll away.
It was around 3 a.m. and I was driving to work, and my wife at the time was with me. I was working as a commercial driver, driving an 18-wheeler on a dedicated run twice a week. I would leave Lakeland Florida, and head up to Atlanta and get loaded, then back down to Jupiter Florida, I was delivering helicopter parts to Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company, in Jupiter, where they make them, and then finally back home to Lakeland. The entire run was around 1,200 miles and took two days to finish. Then I would take a day off and do it all over again.
My truck was too big to keep at my house. There was no room for it. So I found a business down the road that had a secured, gated parking area for large vehicles, and I paid them monthly to keep it there.
So yeah, my wife and I were driving, I often took her along, she enjoyed it and it was nice for me also to have her, to help pass the miles, so we arrived at the storage place. I pulled up to the gate, punched in the code, voilà! the gate opened and I proceeded to drive to the back where I kept my big ole shiny black sexy brand new at the time Peterbilt 579 with 53-foot trailer.
So we pulled up and parked, got out and grabbed our bags and traded our little bitty Ford pickup for the big dawg Pete.
Also on a side note, after skillfully maneuvering the big boys around all the time, once you get behind the wheel of your personal vehicle, you feel like you’re driving a little go-cart or bumper car or something. No matter how big or what it is. It still feels so small in comparison.
We got in and got settled and I fired her up and started doing my pre-trip inspection and my log book and all the other paperwork, and entering everything in my onboard computer. There’s much more to it than just driving, like many think lol
It was always a ghost town around here at this time of night. No pun. No fun. Absolutely nothing or no one around, and it was an eerie place on an eerie stretch of road. Just had a noticeable feel to it. If that makes sense. Just had to be there to see for yourself.
I had been working this particular run for over a year and it was routine for me now and I was very familiar with it and my surroundings. Too familiar, actually lol.
So I got everything entered in my computer and all the freakin paperwork done, then one last look at all my dashboard gauges and air pressure and stuff, then a final nod and wink to my co-pilot and we are ready for take off.
Seemed like any other night.
The business sat right on Highway 98, and as I exited the gate and approached the road, I yielded and looked both ways and there was absolutely no other vehicles coming in either direction. We were totally alone. Or were we? So I slowly proceeded out. I crossed the two southbound lanes and made my way into the center turning area to make a left onto the two northbound lanes.
As I started the turn into the far right lane, I was going very slowly when suddenly my headlights hit the side of the road, I could not believe my eyes. WTH IS THAT!?! I slowed even more. So I could see.
She and I both saw it at the same time. She gasped loudly. Every hair on my body stood up as she said, “OH MY GOD, BRYAN, GO GO GO!”
It was right on the edge of the road, just a few steps into the grass, and it was directly in front of us, maybe 15 feet away, with my super bright headlights right on it, lighting it up like the noonday sun.
I can still see it so vividly in my mind today.
Would you like me to describe it to you?
I’ve never seen anything like it before or since.
It was a person, but yet it wasn’t.
It was wearing lighter colored semi baggy blue jeans and a red long sleeved hoodie sweatshirt.
It wasn’t transparent. It was a solid figure that you couldn’t see through at all.
About 5’8 or 5’9 and around 170 pounds if I had to guess.
And it was frozen there, looking through us. We were frozen too. We just knew at the time that it wanted us to see it.
Are you ready for the good part?
The hoodie was up and filled as if a head were inside it, but it had no face. Just thick utter darkness instead, that I can’t even describe well to you.
It had no hands. It had no feet.
And it appeared to be hovering maybe six inches or so off the ground.
It was just clothes that were filled out as if a person was wearing them.
But there was no person.
And it was staring us down, with no face or eyes.
My wife then cried out in fear again for me to “GO GO GO!”
And I did.
As I passed, I tried to look back in her passenger side mirror for another glimpse of it, but I couldn’t see anything. It was too dark and hard to tell.
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We never saw it again but every time thereafter, when I drove by that spot I would nod and wink and think to myself, “Yep, right there, right there. That’s where that thing stood. That thing we saw. That thing we saw that night.”
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I would like to hear your thoughts and comments.
Have you ever had anything like this happen to you?
What do you think we saw?
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A Cover of Overkill by Men at Work
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I’m 6’ft tall, but for some reason, I look short here idk. Maybe because the person taking the pic is up higher than me looking down. The Chocolate Hills on the island of Bohol in the Philippines 🇵🇭
