Monday, January 21, 2013

Giving Thanks...In January!

Though we are in the latter part of January, it definitely feels like there is a lot going on right now. The Super Bowl is all set, with Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh. Personally, I am hoping for a Ravens victory. That doesn’t always set well with many Titans fans around here, but my allegiance to them ended when they parted ways with Jeff Fisher. And, some will always look down upon Ray Lewis, but I am cheering him on for his final game. It would have been good to see a team from Arlington there, but that’s going to be awhile, I think.

The weather has been very cold at times this winter. Thank God for this electric heater my father and his wife gave me a couple of months ago. It keeps things warm during this time of the year. Still, when you don’t have central, you kind of hope that winter isn’t quite as long.

Sometimes, I’ve often said these blogs tend to write themselves. This week is no exception. The past couple weeks have been about the busiest I have ever been in my career. I give thanks for that blessing. There have been some great career opportunities that have come my way, and a few that could be around the corner. I say that in no way boasting, because God has blessed me to be able to do the only thing I know to do. I truly love getting to interview artists about their music and getting to communicate that love of their art is something I am very humbled and honored to do. Since I was twelve years old, and my father, brother, and I were killing time walking at the Opryland Hotel before a Hank Williams, Jr. concert, I knew what I wanted to do. It was that night I first saw the WSM Studios at the Magnoila Lobby there.

Since then, I was hooked. I don’t know how well I would do with any other vocation besides music – or something connected with it. Maybe I could have, but I know my knowledge about other things is quite limited. Or, that’s the way it has always seemed to me. I told someone at Church recently that I could mess up the art of hammer and nails. I was somewhat exaggerating, but at the same time, not really.

So, hopefully 2013 is going to be a good year. The past couple have seen some incredibile career moments. I hope that continues this year. It seems like it is. I would love to travel a little bit this year, should there be a work reason for it. I have always wanted to go to Kansas City, Minneapolis, and places such as that. And, I would love to knock a few artists off my interview bucket list. I look at the list of people I have been granted the privilege of interviewing, and that list has thinned a lot over the past year or so. There are a couple of Okies I would love to talk to – one from Yukon, and one from Stringtown. (Do your research!), and there’s this guy from Texas who is one of the greatest straight-country singers of all time (I know, very subtle, huh?)...so we will see where the year takes us!

It’s not all about career, however. I am trying to grow in my spiritual walk and faith in a stronger manner. I am in a better place than I have ever been, but I need to be better. I am trying. There are times that I still hold the past against me – but I am getting better. And, I would like to fall in love again....notice I said “fall,” and not “find.” What I mean by that is I spent so many years where the quest for that special relationship defined me as a person. While I want it – as much as ever – I’m not at Walmart every night, hoping that she will come around the frozen food or CD aisle. I’m not perfect, but for the right person, I think I could be good, even though it didn’t work out the first time. I’m just not spending every second thinking it’s coming today. Let it surprise me. But, I do have a pair of tickets to Alan Jackson’s March 20 show at the Ryman. If you’re interes....Nope, LOL...not gonna do that...yet!

I say all of that to say that 2013 has the potential to be a great year – not just for me, but for us all....That’s my wish...for all of us!