Too Aware to Play Along

Describe something you learned in high school.

There are a lot of people I know
who say high school was a waste of time…

—and I get it.

For some…
especially artists and musicians…
it never felt like a place
that knew what to do
with a fire inside—

more about obedience…
than imagination…

But for me—
it was different.

Those four years gave me something real…

I had free chorus… music classes…
adding even more
to the years I already lived in—

that’s where it happened—
I discovered my love
for writing…
for literature.

English—
that was probably my favorite…

History came close—
science right behind it…

Math…?

I could do it… sure—
but I never felt it.

I understood it—
just never connected to it.

Sports gave me another kind of education—
one built on sweat…
pressure…
timing…
and skill you had to prove…

The social side though…
I could’ve done without that.

It was the usual divide…
the cool kids…
then everyone else…

—and me…

somewhere in between…
too aware to play along—

But the teachers—
they mattered.

I had real connections there…

My building construction teacher…
he was one of the guys…

Sometimes we’d sneak behind the shed—
smoke a cigarette…
talk about life…

Other days—
we’d all jump him…
wrestle him to the ground…
leave him covered in dirt…
shirt torn up…

He’d walk into the teacher’s lounge
looking like he survived a tornado…

trying to explain what happened…

Man… we loved that guy.

But my English teacher—

she changed everything.

She introduced me to Julius Caesar…
my first taste of Shakespeare…

Lighting a path to more great literature…

And then there was music class—

where I learned something
I still tote today…

The power… of the rest.

Silence—

In music…
what isn’t played…
can speak louder
than what is.

Same with writing… 😎

So yeah…

I gained a lot from that place.

Funny thing—

earlier today…
before I even saw this prompt…

I was listening to the John Mayer Trio…
reading interviews with John…

—and in one of them he said…

“I knew school never did anything for me…
it never made sense…
I knew at 13 what I wanted—
to be a musician.”

And yeah…
I get that too.

But thinking about it…

school did do something for him.

it showed him
what he refused to let go of.

And that’s the lesson— 😎

They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines.

But something’s better
On the other side.

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

Outlaw Roots — The Hank Jr. Legacy (Week 14)

Old Habits 🎵 Man Of Steel

So I’ve evolved… musically…
since I first started spinnin’ round this world…

My earliest memories—
with my mom and dad—
were The Beach Boys…
and Eagles…

Then around 8… 9 years old—
it was Michael Jackson…
Van Halen…
whatever was lightin’ up the radio back then…

Then came my early teens—
and that’s when Hank Williams Jr. hit me…

And after that…
I just exploded…

Rock…
Folk…
Punk…
Blues…
Rap…
RnB…
Christian…

A little bit of everything—
and somehow… all of it stuck.

But to me…
you can never forget where you came from…

So here’s two excellent ones from my early days—

Allow me to hike up my dress a little for you… so you can see… what im workin’ with… what my roots look like.

Old Habits 🎵
Habits Old and New (1980)

Man Of Steel 🎵
Man of Steel (1983)

and ima bout to listen with you… if you don’t mind. 😎

Featured image credit… Rick Diamond and Getty Images

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson | All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

OutKasted — Then Gone With The Wind — Atlanta Nights

There was a bar on the Southside of Atlanta—
named after Scarlett O’Hara.

A name that still means something—here.

The owner was a big fan of the movie—
you could feel it in the name… the vibe… the whole place.

A fiery, drunken piece of history.

Like it had been there longer than it hadn’t.

Margaret Mitchell still lived in the bones of that place.
Her city.
Her story.
Her shadow.

And in the mid 90’s.

O’Hara’s was the spot.

Packed most nights—
the kind of place that had its own pull.

Lights low
Laughs loud
Song and dance soaked in whiskey—
beer… and sweet drinks of every color.

A place where stories were made—
not told.
This one included.

Me and two of my good buddies—
grew up together…
went to school together—
now doing grown man stuff together.

We spent most weekends here.

But there was this guy…
his mind was set—
he wanted trouble with my boy…
and he just wasn’t gonna quit.

All night—
on us…
pressing…
running his mouth.

Alright though…
was just words.

We left it alone…
stayed cool…
tried to anyway.

I even tried to squash it—
real calm… real respectful.

To him… that was weak.

And some… they read silence wrong.

On our way to the car…
it wasn’t looking good…

dude right behind us.

Words turned into steps—
steps about to turn to hands.

I knew what was coming…

and yep… he did it—
put his hands on my friend.

I was hoping—for him—he’d choose bigger.

That was all I needed.

I locked on him—

threw him over the hood—

let my hands go.

Fast.
Clean.
Final.

And just like that—
it was done.

He slid off the hood…
out cold.

I didn’t leave him—
I don’t roll like that.

We picked him up—
got him off the pavement…
laid him in the grass—
made sure he was alright.

Checked his breathing…
made sure he was with us.

Then we went back in—
let the people working there know what happened.

Stayed put till he came to.

But just between you and me…

frankly…

back then…

I just didn’t give a damn.

Then…
we were gone—

with the wind.

The Original Eminem… Atlantas Own… Margaret Mitchell
Rear view of the MM house from Crescent Avenue

You can plan a pretty picnic…

but you can’t predict the weather.

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

War — A Poem (From Bethlehem)

A video poem by Paul Calvert…

Hey yall…

This is from my friend Paul—
a Christian radio journalist…
Middle East commentator…
and a really good poet—
living in Bethlehem, Israel.

Lived stuff…

He’s also got books available on Amazon.

Check him out… I love his poems

It’s a video poem 👇 of him speaking it

https://rumble.com/v788nxi-war-a-poem.html

Also here’s a link to Paul’s books on Amazon 👇

© 2026 bryanforchrist. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

Hidden Gems from the B-Side — ⛽️ FUEL (Week 22)

Falls On Me 🎵 Sunburn

Hey yall… thanks for joining me again…

So before Fuel was even Fuel…
they moved through a couple early names like…
“ReelTooReal”…
and “Small the Joy”…
before everything finally settled into place.

And right at the center of it all—

was Carl Bell.

Lead guitarist…
but more than that—the architect.

The one writing the songs…
lyrics… music… structure…
building the sound from the ground up…

and even producing along the way.

Because Fuel…
was never just a band…

it was Carl Bell’s vision—
brought to life through the voice of Brett Scallions.

Today—I’ve got two good ones for you 🎧🔥

🎵 Falls On Me — Natural Selection (2003)
🎵 Sunburn — Sunburn (1998)

I’ll be here a while with these guys…
hope yall enjoy 🔥

Carl Bell… the mastermind

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

✦ Shakespeare & Me & Zach Bryan (Week 23)

The Winter’s Tale

Willy `•.

“There is a fire in mine ears.”

Zach Bryan :::

“So let me go down the line…
Let me feel it all…
Joy, Pain, and Sky.”

Me `’.,°~

Mine.
Hers.
PyroHearts.

Jeremiah 20:9 (NIV)
“But if I say, ‘I will not mention His Word
or speak anymore in His name,’
His Word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

Hidden Gems from the B-Side — Matthew West (Week 21)

Only Grace 🎶 Next Thing You Know

Happy Resurrection Day! ✝️

So today I’m starting a new one on Matthew West… I’m a huge fan—especially his earlier stuff. So many songs just put together right… lyrically and musically. His first 3–4 albums are that good.

I saw him live back around 2o08 or ’o9—not exactly sure. It was a wild setup… out in the middle of nowhere… big open field on what felt like someone’s farm in Brooksville, Florida. But man—it was a sweet performance. He’s great live. There were other artists too… might’ve been a 3-day thing—I only went one day… memory’s a little foggy there 😁

Also Matthew is supposedly a super nice dude from what I hear… really loves people and his fans…

Anyway—these two songs are from his second album History (2o05)… super good. Check it out sometime…

🎵 Only Grace — History (2o05)
🎵 Next Thing You Know — History (2o05)

🎥 Also—check this out… i included a great bonus video of Matthew surprising people at Waffle House with a little live performance… awesome moment.

Live Waffle House surprise performance 👇 supercool! 💯

Matthew 28:6
“He is not here… for He is risen… as He said…” ✝️

© 2026 bryanforchrist. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

bryanforchrist on YouTube

Lish Victory 🎼 Menuchah מְנוּחָה

https://youtube.com/shorts/p00qAvy9oRs?si=AYSlTDQGCk0blN2J 👈 the song short

Click on thumbnail inside text for full song… and if you enjoy Lish Victory Music then SUBSCRIBE to her channel…

LISHVICTORY ON YOUTUBE

“He tends his flock like a shepherd…
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart…”
— Isaiah 40:11 ✝️

© 2026 bryanforchrist. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

Going for Gold

What Olympic sports do you enjoy watching the most?

Poo diving.

Gold goes to…
this guy 🏅

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

One Pull Away…

*** DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF ***

The 90’s for me…
were just… were just… hmm…
still lookin’ for the word(s)…

For now…
fire and ice.

The middle of the decade—
Burned hottest…
Froze bone…

I was dealin’ with heartbreak…
tryin’ to fix it with drugs… alcohol…
music.

I was strugglin’

So this memory came back to me today…
I just sat there like—
geeees man… what was I thinkin’?

Apparently… I wasn’t.

Back then… I had a few handguns…
used to go to the firin’ range pretty often…
had a couple of 9mm’s…

and this one…

a small .22 revolver—
pearl handle…
looked almost harmless in the hand.

But I noticed somethin’ about it…

You could load just one round…
and if you looked closely—
you could barely see it sittin’ there in the chamber.

So… as you pulled the trigger…
if you paid attention…
you could track it… tell when it was one pull away.

And yeah…

I’d mess with my buddies sometimes…

I would play Russian Roulette with it.

Even though I knew I was “safe”…
keepin’ an eye on the bullet…

it was still—
an unreal feelin’.

hard to explain it.

I never let anyone else handle the gun loaded…
and I absolutely would not let anyone else participate…
and I never shared my secret.

I can’t believe I did it.

My friends thought I was somethin’ else…
and yeah…
I built quite a reputation off that.

But lookin’ back now…

ugg…

what a thing to do.

So grateful God never let go…

*** DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF ***

Job 33:18
“He keeps them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.”

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~