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2002 Notes by Christopher
2001 Notes by Christopher

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June 25, 2008

This is probably the longest I've ever gone without updating the site, but when things get busy, they get busy and something has to give, right? I'm glad to be back on here, though. Things slowed down at work this week and there's not much else going on in my life at the particular moment, so I figured I could get a good update in. So, that's what I did. Hopefully I can get some more people to look at the site again- the views have come down dramatically in the time I havne't been doing anything, so that's my fault. But, I love working on the site when I get the chance. I'm doing the best that I can!

Things have happened over the past few months. Babies have been born. People have gotten married. People have graduated with their undergraduate degrees and masters degrees. People have started new jobs. Military friends have returned home from war. People have moved away and some people have moved back. Birthday have come and gone. There have been gigs, parties, celebrations, and more. I'm not going to go outlining everything- some of it is covered in my Short Takes section.

The summer is finally here and it's now hot outside. I don't like extreme heat, but I can live. The summer makes work hard since I have to most of my outdoor work in heavy dress uniforms, but that's alright. I don't know whether I like the freezing cold temps more than the heat. It's a tough call.

Work has been going well. It got really busy heading into June, but that's alright- it keeps me out of trouble. This week has been a little bit slower, and of course in my line of work, we have no control over how busy we are. But, what we're doing is great for the the community, great for our veterans, and great for their families. I'm proud to be doing it. As for the inner workings of it, there are days that are longer than others. I think we sometimes have management issues within our office and also within the organization, but none of that has really affected our operational tempo. We'll drive on for now.

Playing has slowed down a little. I do Guard gigs, some jazz gigs, and occasional filler work for rock bands. Helena Handbasket is on the rocks for now since Eddie is busy with work and his new kid and Josh is really busy with his internship. I'm not so confident at this point that HH will get off the ground, but I'm looking into the future for things to do and for new projects, and a few concepts are out there if HH doesn't work out. I would still like to do the occasional PP gig as well, but we'll see what happens.

Anyhow, overall, I can't complain about life. Things are good. Life is alright. I'm working out and practicing more while going out and spending money less, and I guess that's good. We'll see where things go from here. More soon. Be well...

April 17, 2008

Well, it's been a while, and but at least I have an excuse. The last three weeks or so of work have been some of the most busy days of my time in the military, and it was made no easier by the fact that my co-worker was away at a military course. He took off just before Easter and returned about a week ago. During those three weeks or so, my office took care of over 17 funerals, not just in Fargo, but in Oakes, Valley City, and Fullerton. During those three weeks, my office took care of four trainings in several towns. There were special events here and there that we also took care of in addition to our normal workload in the office. Of coruse, I also had some gigs and a weekend of drill in there just for good measure. Anyhow, things have cooled down, and I'm extremely happy about it. Tomorrow is Friday, and I'm excited for the weekend to finally be here. I have two things to do this weekend- play a dance band job Saturday for 3 hours and play in church on Sunday morning. Other than that, my weekend is pretty much wide open, and I'm thrilled about it.

What else have I done? Well, I went to the circus last Friday. It was the Shrine Circus and I figured I should go since I hadn't been to one in some time. I met up with Eli, DeAnn, Justen, Connor, Susan, Josh, Libby, and Christian at the Fargodome. I was surprised to see so many people there. The circus in itself was alright. It was really long. It went from 7:00 until past 10:00. I was disappointed that with the whole production- it just wasn't as exciting as I had remembered it once being. But, I guess it was entertaining for the most part.

Later that night, I got a chance to go to the Moorhead VFW and watch Fat Daddy's play. It was the old band that I was in when it was called Tripp 40. They called me up and I played and sang a song with them, and it was nice to be up there. Every time I do things like that, though, I start to miss rocking out and I start to miss my old band (Patents Pending), and it re-lights the flame to get Helena Handbasket rolling. Come this summer, we're going to get something happening, or at least I hope so. It's time to make things happen, damn it...

Last Saturday, I got to go to a Jazz Arts Group show. Because of how busy my work schedule had been over the past three weeks, I had to miss most of the rehearsals for the show, so I hired a sub and went to the show. John Fedchock is pretty much the man as far as smooth playing goes. Unfortunately, I think his playing was a little much for most of the people in the crowd, and his ideas may have been a bit over their heads. I talked to a few other people who agreed. Nonetheless, it was a great showing by one of the finest trombonists out there. I wish I could've been up there. After the show, I had some drinks at the Radisson with Eddie and Jessy. We were there with other JAG members and friends. DeAnn and Eli showed up a little later and we also caught a drink with them.

Sunday was sweet- Josh made a bunch of sushi, and it was delicious. This was his second time doing it, but you wouldn't never known that. It was really, really good- just like the pros make it at the sushi bars. If I closed my eyes and tasted the sushi, I would've thought Josh was Asian. Or something...

Things are alright overall, though. I've been getting by alright and during this week, I've managed to relax a little bit and get back into a normal rhythm. The past three weeks have been really good for me as a musician. I've gotten back into a really consistant practice habit again. I play about an hour and a half to two hours a day now, and it feels great. It's the best I've felt about playing in a while, though I'm working still to get back to where I was five years ago. It's funny how if you let it all go over that kind of time, you have to work so hard to get it all back. But, I'm alright with that. I have rediscovered my love of playing my horn, and I hope that more gigs follow.

Well, not much else to report at this time, I guess. Hopefully all is well wherever you read this from. If you're in Fargo and you want to get a beer sometime, give me a call. I'm all about hanging out and catching up...

Be well. More soon...

March 21, 2008

I have found that it's hard to type when you have a bandaid wrapped around your right hand middle finger. But, I'm managing. Most of you who have seen me over the last two months know that I cracked my finger pretty good during Annual Training in January, and a huge blood blister made its way up up my middle finger. Well, the fingernail began falling off a few weeks ago, but it was coming off from the bottom. Yesterday on the ride home from Fargo to Minot, I ripped the remainder of it off because it was annoying me. Now it hurts. I guess I deserve that. Yes, DeAnn, you told me so. I know.

So, as I just mentioned, I'm in fact in Minot for the long Easter weekend. I rode back with DeAnn yesterday and it's good to be home. I had dinner with my Mom and we hung out for a while last night, and then last night, a few of us hit the Dakota Lounge. Keira Oscarson, who now lives here in Minot, was chosen to take the place of Jessy Klimpel who could not make it home for the meeting of the "Minot Trifecta". Anyhow, we went out for a while last night, and it was fun. We will try to repeat that tonight!

I didn't do much today. I slept in, which was nice. I took a long shower and went to lunch with DeAnn and Keira and Eli. We went shopping at the mall for a little bit. I came home and practiced my horn for an hour or so. Now, here I am on the computer. I'm waiting for Mom to get home so that we can make dinner and hang out for a while before I head to the bar again.

I went in the search for a Minnesota Twins hat for my huge head and to my surprise, I found one that was too big for my head. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. The bad part, though, is that I couldn't find one that fit just right, though. There was one that was too big and about seven that were too small. And so, the search continues.

I don't have a heck of a lot more planned for the rest of the weekend. I'll spend all of Saturday and Sunday with my Mom. I plan on taking off on Sunday at about 5:00. It's just nice to be home for a few days and away from the usual mess in Fargo. By mess, I don't mean it's screwed up or out of the ordinary. It's just busy. I like to relax once in a while.

Anyhow, I guess there isn't much else to talk about right now. I think I'm going to hang out with Mom's dog, Tico. I hope all is well in your neck of the woods. If you're in Fargo, drive carefully, I head that it snowed there a handful of inches. It looks like I left at the right time!

More soon...

March 19, 2008

In keeping with my good faith promise to update more than once a month, here I am doing so. I'm sitting at work during a slow period of the morning, and I thought right now would be a good time to get at it and take care of the updating. So, here it goes...

This past weekend was a very good time as the Patents Pending cats took to the road once again for another wedding. This time it was for Kelby and Kevin's wedding in Bismarck. We took off in the late morning and made the trek to Bismarck. Upon getting there, we realized that the power situation in the place wasn't going to work out so well for us. Thankfully, we had Eddie's dad there, Dennis, who is a master electrician. He managed to make things work out and created a 220 for us so that we wouldn't blow things up in the building. Thanks to him, we were able to run a power problem-free show.

Kelby and Kevin's wedding was one of the shortest weddings I've ever been to. As a matter of fact, it took just under 22 minutes from start to finish. The joke was that they were trying to beat our old Guard Band friend Kari's wedding. Well, if the unofficial timing was correct, Kelby won!

The dance was a great time. It was nice to play and rock out with my friends on stage as always, and also, it was very cool to see a bunch of my old Guard Band friends, past and present, all in one room. Kari Sweeney made the trek from the Cities for the wedding. DeAnn came out from Milnor and Brad Reed drove out from Fargo. Former member John Noyes was also there from Bismarck, as was Cherie Frenzel. Of course, Jennifer Schwind was there serving as the bridesmaid for the wedding. We had a blast, and I'm glad we had the opportunity to play and be there for the event.

Here's a picture from Valentine's Day. I don't think I really talked to much about it, but I didn't reprise my roll as the really drunk guy passing out at the bar like I did in 2007. I did get pretty rolled up in booze that night, though. Since Lauerman's is no longer alive, a small contingent of us went over to Labby's due to the smoke-free condition there. Tanya and her friend Kayla joined up with myself, Eli, and DeAnn. Aaron Bedford (not pictured) also showed up for the fun. We drank a bunch, played Buck Hunter, and conversed about how Valentine's Day sort of sucks. It was a good night overall. I'm glad to have not spent Valentine's Day alone even if I didn't have a date.

I had a video up on YouTube of Patents Pending playing 'Brown Eyed Girl'. Well, it got taken down this week for a violation of the copyright. I wasn't entirely surprised, but it was kind of weird getting the notification.

I'm looking forward to getting home for Easter. I need some time off from work and gigs and all of that jazz. I'm riding with DeAnn back to Minot to save some bread on gas, which is cool. I'm looking forward to visiting Mom. I'll also see DeAnn and Eli some more along with visits hopefully from Jennifer Schiff and Keira Oscarson. It'll be a nice break from the normal. I'm looking forward to it, that's for sure.

I heard from Kevin Kosiak, and he has only one month or so left in country. I'm pretty excited to hear about that. I can't believe he and the members of the 164th Engineer Battalion (SECFOR) have been gone so long. Nonetheless, I look forward to seeing Kevin back safely in the United States!

Oh, just for fun, you have to download this Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. It will give you all sorts of neat information about your life- no kidding. Click here to check it out. You'll be amazed...

I talked to Matt Tompkins the other day on my way back from Bismarck. We chatted about the old days and our old friends. We tried to make guesses on what a lot of people were doing. Matt and I were able to correct each other in many cases, but it is intriguing to wonder what happened to everyone. We graduated from a class of over 450 in Minot. What happened to everyone? Thank goodness for blog sites such as MySpace and Xanga and such. Those help. Facebook is the ultimate in being able to keep up with everyone. Maybe that's why I'm so hopelessly addicted to it!

So I found myself looking through old photo albums, and I came upon a few pictures that I just felt like I had to share! The above picture was taken in 1993 when I was young and thin. What happened to me...

Here's a shot from IMC 1995- over 12 years ago. Skip Spoerke is in this picture along with me and Dawn Mosbrucker and John Fred's left eye. We made a lot of friends through music and Music Camp. That's what I love about music- it's still how I primarily meet people to this day.

This picture is from my final jazz band concert at Minot Magic City Campus High School. We had just gotten back from our trip to Florida (hence the Disney clothing for the concert) and in this picture, I had just won the Louis Armstrong Award. Along with me in the picture is Chris Marquardt, who is now a bio-chemist in Minneapolis. He was my main trombone rival from junior high all the way through high school. Ah, the memories. The more I think about being younger, the more I miss it. But, there's a lot of good things going on in the present, so I can't really complain when it comes down to it...

Anyhow, I suppose I should get back to work. To all of you out there who visit this site (and I know there aren't a lot of you anymore), have a great Easter weekend. Take care, and I'll be in touch. More soon...

March 13, 2008

I wish I could say that I had more free time to update this site more often, but after looking at the site statistics for the last few months, I don't know if it totally matters. It would seem to me that I keep this site rolling primarily to cater to people who find the site on a whim. More so, I suppose, I keep this site rolling along because it's a good way for me to be able to rememebr everything that has happened from day to day since 2001. It's crazy that I've held on to this site- a hobby for so long. But, it's a good thing, I guess. I've gotten in trouble through this site with friends, acquaintances, professors, colleagues, and family alike. I've stirred rumors. I've even confirmed them! I've done a lot of stuff on here, and I guess in the end, even with the mistakes that I've made, I feel alright with the site. It's a place that I can come to and put down my thoughts as raw or honest as I want to. And for that, I love it.

Things have been busy for me since I last updated, but nothing has been out of the ordinary. I have played a number of gigs and done a number of Guard performances. I have went to work most days and I have done a lot of funeral honors in that time. I have managed to find time to hang out with my friends. My weekends have been busy with company and activities. My weeks have been riddled with rehearsals and work. I wish I could point out something really interesting right now, but I really can't seem to come up with anything.

Everything is alright overall, though. March marks the one-year anniversary since my Dad passed away, and that's been kind of weird. It's strange how fast time flies by. It's been one year since it all happened. My Mom and I got together in Bismarck and visited his gravesite. It was incredibly difficult to be there once again. It's never easy for me. My Mom did very well just as she has done during the past year. I'm always pretty good except for on those milestone days or when I go to visit him. I cried and felt the pain that I had felt a year ago once again. I guess I was hoping that it would get easier for me, but I'm finding that it's not. I don't think that's a bad thing, though. I think it's my way of knowing that I haven't stopped loving my father any more than I did when he was alive. I just miss him quite a bit, especially when times are tricky. He was such a simple man, and I want to be more like that. I spent a good portion of the first half of my life making things complicated, and he never seemed to do that. I don't know why it took his passing for me to really truly realize that I've been doing it wrong. He never forgot a thing that happened in his life, but he always learned something from it no matter if he was wronged or he wronged someone else. He tried to keep things as simple as possible, and I think that's how he made it through everything from two wars, a failing farm, a business destroyed by fire, and more. He never stopped keeping things simple. He simply set an objective for himself and aimed his way toward it looking for the logical path and steering toward it. I miss Dad and now that I've paid more attention to all of those characteristics of him, I miss him more. But, the days go by, and his memory is still fresh with me, and that makes me feel alright. Though it does sound a little cliche, I really do want to his ways to live on through me, his only son. I'm working towards it. I just have to get used to trying to simplify my life. I guess we'll see what happens.

Alright, time to call it a day. More soon...

February 14, 2008

Now I think I'm going down to the well tonight and I'm going to drink till I get my fill.
And I hope when I get old I don't sit around thinking about it, but I probably will.
Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture a little of the glory of, well time slips away
and leaves you with nothing mister but boring stories of glory days…

Glory Days
Bruce Springsteen

I love that song. It’s slowly becoming my story, and I’m totally fine with it.

It’s been a pretty eventful last month or so since I last had a chance to update. A few weeks ago, we all experienced a bit of a scare as DeAnn landed in the hospital and had some surgery to fix a thing or two. A handful of us visited her several times in the hospital as she recovered from her ordeal, which lasted about five days or so. I’m glad to report that she’s doing better now and she’s back on her feet at work and with the Guard Band.

NDSU Jazz Festival came and went a few weeks ago, and I was able to get out to the concert. The band played well overall. It’s a young band, and it has a lot of promise and with some experience, it’s going to be a very good group in the future. They just have to put that air through the horn and make it really happen attitude-wise. Energy is what makes a band a great big band. I always reference Stan Kenton and Buddy Rich when I think about bands with attitude. I love a band that knocks my socks off from start to finish no matter what the chart. Intensity is what it’s all about, and I think this band will be learn more and more as time goes by. From what I understand, no one is graduating from that group this year, so we can look forward to an even better showing as time goes on. Anyhow, good work to the NDSU Jazz Ensemble and Dr. Mack. I miss playing in that group. I had a lot of good times there and made a lot of good friends and colleagues while in the band. A special shout out should go to the trombone section, which I thought was the spectacle of the night. Led by my boy Dan Hinman, they played the hell out of the trombone-rich arrangement of ‘My One and Only Love’. You made me proud, boys and girl. Keep up the good work.

The Super Bowl went down a week and a half ago, and it was one of the finest ever in my opinion. The only two that beat that for me personally were the two in a row for my boys, the Broncos. Though my Broncos didn’t even get close to getting to the big game this year, the game was incredible as I cheered on the New York Giants as they ruined the perfect season for the New England Patriots. DeAnn had just gotten out of the hospital that day, so Eli and she came over and we watched the game in all of its HD glory on Russ’s TV. (Russ went to the bar for the record…) It was an action filled game with one of the coolest fourth quarters I’ve ever watched on TV. Anyhow, I was glad for the result, and I look forward already to the new season. I’m counting down the days…

Last Tuesday, I had a Dixieland Band playing at Monty’s for Fat Tuesday. Al, Russ, Jeff, Eddie, and Jesse joined me in playing three hours of very fun Dixieland music. We only do this once a year at the most, and it was cool to get the group together to play. I always look forward to playing jazz and its cousins anytime I get the chance, and despite the small performance space that Monty’s offers us, I’m still happy to take the opportunity to play there.

This past weekend, I played a wedding dance for Annika Berg’s sister, Sara. She and her new husband got married the last weekend of December out on the farmstead in the cold winter weather. They saved the big party for this past weekend, where they hosted a dance some of the old boys from the former Patents Pending five-piece version group. Al rejoined us on stage with Josh, Eddie, Russ, and I. We played a bunch of our old stuff along with a few newer country tunes and had a really good time. It was nice to play with Al again, and it was good to play another dance. People seemed to enjoy the show especially the last third of the show, and the dance was a success. Thanks to Al and Annika for lining up that show for us.

Things have been alright aside from those things. Work has been very busy. We’re experiencing one of the busiest streaks in our young ten-month existence as we have performed honors for over 25 funerals to date. A good majority of those details have been conducted outdoors, so that’s been interesting as it’s been so damned cold this month. Nonetheless, we’re thrilled to be able to provide these important honors to veterans and their families. Every veteran, war time or peace time with an honorable discharge is entitled to what we do, and we’re glad to be able to be there whenever we are called upon. After nine months on the job with Military Funeral Honors, I am proud of what we do on a daily basis, and I hope to keep doing it for some time.

I’m only going to put this little section in because a number of people have asked about my discontent of today’s “holiday” and they want to know why I reserve this night as one of the only nights I ever proclaim that I’m going to drink to forget. So, here’s my quick quip regarding Valentine’s Day. I don’t necessarily hate the “holiday” for the fact that it’s a holiday that celebrates sweethearts and all of that stuff. I don’t necessarily hate the “holiday” because it’s flower shops and Hallmark’s way of making a ton of bread over a one-week period. The reason I personally don’t care much for it is because of some of the past memories I’ve had on this particular holiday and the subsequent timeline that followed. The holiday for some reason seems to serve as a reminder of several good things that I once had in my life during this fateful day that were ended shortly thereafter for different reasons under different circumstances. There are two ways that it really gets to me. The reminder of personal mistakes that I made and opportunities I missed because of those prolonged mistakes come to mind. Secondly, the reminder of what others have selfishly done to contribute to these downfalls comes to mind. It’s not that I haven’t forgiven those people or let those moments go- I have. It’s just that at during this “holiday”, I am reminded of the principle of these situations and further reminded when I see those very people that I forgave unaffected to this day in their own situations, if not, doing exponentially better. But, that’s just life, and I’m not mad at them for how things turned out. I live a life of symbolism, and this little “holiday” plays into it in a harsh way from year to year. I can do just fine most other days, but this is one those days that bring back a host of skeletons that I rediscover from year to year. February 15th will be just fine once again with the exception of the massive hangover that I will suffer as a consequence for Valentine’s Day evening. And then it will be business as usual until next February. No need to worry about me, though- aside from this one particular day that I have self-sentenced myself to this sort of punishment, life is very good and I am content with the paths that have brought me to where I am today. So there you have it. I hope it makes sense.

Well, with that deep stuff off my mind, I can report overall that life keeps coming and going, and I’m feeling alright about things these days. For me, it’s still about work, the Guard Band, a few gigs here and there, and hanging with the friends when I have the time. As I get older, I find the rhythm of my life to be comfortable, and I guess I can’t ask for more at this time. I hope all is well in your world. More to come soon…

January 23, 2008

It's ridiculously slow here in the office today, so I'm updating the site. It's not joke- I've spent the last two and a half hours updating the site. I normally wouldn't admit to possible waste, fraud, and abuse, but- I'm guilty as charged. Apparently we have hit that point in the winter where families are starting to put off burials due to the extreme cold weather. This means that when the ground thaws, it gets warmer, and the spring hits, we'll be very, very busy here in the honors department. I'm sure you'll hear around it when it happens.

Not a lot is going on as of late. I broke my car again, and it goes into the shop one more time. I've decided that this is it- if it breaks again, it goes to the damned dump! I've been saving bread to buy something newer and better in August of this year. My plan was to keep this car rolling until August and perhaps sell it for a few hundred dollars to some kid who wants their first car. Well, I guess we'll see how the New Yorker does. It better survive!

This past weekend, I played at the 191st MP Company Send Off Ceremony. I know several people in the company. The headed off to Fort Dix, New Jersey for their mobilization training, and should be in Iraq in less than two months supporting OIF. Over 180 troops left with the company. That's a pretty sizable group of soldiers leaving the state. Everyone should keep them in their thoughts and prayers for a safe tour in a dangerous area. I know that the violence has calmed a bit over there, but you never know when danger will resurge.

The upcoming weekend is going to be a busy one. Wayne Bergeron comes to town to perform with the Fargo-Moorhead Jazz Arts Group. The music is difficult and the show is going to be a workout, but I think we're going to do alright in the end. I have two solos on the show along with two combo tunes that I'll be playing with Wayne. I'm excited to play with him after performing with his friend Andy Martin last year. It's going to be a good time and something that I won't forget for some time.

Finally, I wish I could be out on the west side of the state for Brent's funeral, but I just don't have the leave time to get out there, and besides, I don't have my car right now, anyhow. Again, everyone should be thinking about Brent's family and closest friends as they travel through rough waters.

Well, I should close this entry for the time being. What I really should do is try to find something to do here at work so that I don't feel so worthless! More soon...

January 16, 2008

I wish that I could put together my first entry of 2008 with some happier words, but it's been simply a rather rough week. On Thursday, January 10th, trumpet player, Jazz Arts Group member, and Fargo music educator Shawn Brekke suffered what appeared to be a stroke at the time. Since then, it has been determined that he had a blood clot in his brain. Sucessful surgery was performed, and Shawn has since returned home. Last word is that he is doing well and recovering at home.

Word came down on Sunday night that my Uncle in Denver, Colorado, Jim Maupin, had passed away from terminal brain cancer. He had been slowly deteriorating for the past two years, but over the last few months, he had taken a turn for the worst. He is survived by his former wife, Linda and their son (my cousin), Stacy. The funeral was yesterday, and the family is doing better.

Finally, just last night, I received word that a dear friend of many from the NDSU Music Department had passed away over the past few days. Brent Alexenko, who studied piano, voice, and choral conducting at NDSU over the past decade, passed away in his home where he was teaching in Wisconsin. He had been on staff for one semester, and from what I had heard, things were going very well and he well received by his students. While no word on the cause of death has come down, the news has shocked many of his former students, friends, and colleagues here in Fargo and beyond. I've known Brent for some time, and while we were not incredibly close friends, we have worked together on many musical projects to include musicals and the Jass Festival (in which he served as Music Director for the Vocal Jazz Group for two summers), and we have shared beers at the old Lauerman's on many occasions. Brent was an incredibly talented musician (as a vocalist, a pianist, and a bassist) and he dedicated himself to making music. He will be missed by many. Please keep his family and friends in your prayers during this difficult time. I have heard that a funeral service may happen as soon as this coming weekend or early next week.

Beyond all of the tragic events that have been happening, some good things have also been happening. I saw New Year's in by playing an incredible show at the American Legion with Patents Pending and Helena Handbasket. It felt good to end the year with the signs of success for the double-edged group after the unexpected falling apart of Patents Pending in February. Despite the unexpected changes, we have forged ahead and have done a lot of good work to make things go on. I have a feeling that 2008 will be a good year for Helena Handbasket as it continues to transform from it's Patents Pending days. Keep your eyes open- I think very cool things are just over the hill.

Directly after New Year's, the first phase of Annual Training began with the 188th Army Band. During the eight-day assembly, the band conducted another 'Music in Schools Tour', sending several groups all over the place to play in North Dakota high schools. I had the pleasure of playing with the Brass Quintet at Fargo South, the Concert Band at Moorhead High and West Fargo High, the Jazz Band at New Rockford Public School and Jamestown Middle School, and Blues in Green at Edgeley Public School, Oakes Public School, Zeeland Public School, and Napoleon Public School. The tour went well and we played for a lot of kids. The Blues in Green portion was the most rewarding for me personally as we put on an impressive showing at each school complete with lights, smoke, and a rocking show that most high school kids don't get a chance to see- at least not at school, anyhow! It was a great run of shows, and I hope that we can do it one more time next January.

Well, there's not much else to really speak of at the moment. Things are a little cloudy right now with all of the sad news that has shaken us all up over the last few days. But, we keep going and doing what we have to do to make the world continue to go around and around. Hang in there, everyone...