Summer Mega Event Coming Together!!

Start spreading the word...the Summer Mega Event is really starting to come together...make sure you have marked your calendars...Aug 6, 7, and 8th...and if you are unclear, this is simply Mt. Rushmore mega-event done without Mt. Rushmore...but WITH mission projects!  We have some really great folks in St. Louis and the IL side working on all the details...with awesome mission projects lining up for Aug 6th...where you will all be divided into teams of 10-15 drummers and parents...and with members you do NOT know so you can make even more new SR friends!  Then, on Saturday, we are going to shoot for SEVEN hours of practice...given that many have asked for a longer mega-practice...so we are going to do it!  Then, on Sunday we will do an ecumenical morning service in our host town (Troy, IL) followed by an all-community BBQ (YAY!), followed by our 1.5 hour concert...which will be an awesome end to an awesome weekend!

So, if you are still wondering about the weekend...time to mark it down and start making travel plans.  We have special rates on hotel rooms throughout the area for those who want to stay in a hotel...we have MUCHO host housing space if you want to save that cost...we have many people feeding us everyday, so no worries there, and we will drum so much your hands will bleed!  YAY!  (well, maybe not bleed!).

Start talking this up at your sites...start texting, emailing, and calling your SR friends, get the word out there...cause we want to do whatever it takes to have 100 or 150 or 200 drummers there this summer.  We know you all have a million plans in the summer of things to do, places to go, camps to attend, vacations to have, but squeeze this one in too...so our first mega Summer event can be a true success!

We have almost finished the official name of the event...it will be finalized with the help of the OH members today and tomorrow...and then, we will open up T Shirt orders, since we are going to commemorate this one with an official summer T shirt.  For sure we are calling it Gateways of Change in memory of the STL area...but we are still needing the other part of the title...something along the lines of Sheltered Reality Drums O Fire or something like that...to bring together SR, summer, and drums...we will figure it out and get this posted ASAP.

SOOOOO...be excited!!

Changing Lives and Fun Pictures!

Some fun pictures if you have not yet seen these!  First of all, Dee (from Warren, OH) TRULY brightened my day on Friday in Toledo, OH.  For whatever reason I was feeling down in the dumps all day, and was really not quite focused on doing the show that evening...see even I have down days!  We are all only human!  But, anyhow, she came to the show complete with an entire BOX of Gobbs (if you have yet to hear that story at a show, you will soon!) and they all said SR on top!  And, for whatever reason, that is all I needed that day to cheer me up.  See, when I say that every day, in every way, we can change someone's world for the better...WE CAN.  Rock on Dee!

Then, most of the members who played in Toledo (and got soaked in the downpour during the show) got together and had some fun times after drying drums off...and so, here is the picture of them enjoying Gobbs together (sadly I was not able to stay since I had a very early flight out of Cleveland the next morning and hours of driving ahead of me...but I DID get to enjoy my 2 Gobbs on the return to Cleveland)...

Then, I wanted to make sure to share with you pictures of when I got to meet both the band I Fight Dragons (who are VERY VERY good and have created a VERY unique new musical approach...mixing together guitar driven rock with Nintendo games, sounds, and controllers!  Very cool!)...as well as most of Cobra Starship the same night...so here are those pictures for you to enjoy.  I must say that Victoria, from Cobra, is VERY nice and down to earth...and Ryland, from Cobra, loved my shoes that night and told me!  However, I Fight Dragons members, who are new to the touring scene, were incredibly nice to talk with, and reminded me again that for the most part we are all the same in life...with God given talents that can be put to Great use.  I say MOST PART because sadly, at the same concert, I had to not only suffer through 3-oh-3 who were very offensive...beyond anything I have ever experienced in a rock band before, but also had the RUDEST FANS I have ever been crushed, stomped, hit, pushed, shoved, and cussed at by...and most of them were 12 year old girls doing the crushing, stomping, hitting, pushing, shoving, and cussing...thank goodness they all left before Cobra took to the stage, letting those of us who were normal fans enjoy the actual headlining act that night. 

Enjoy these too...and more soon!  And, sorry for my stupid smile in the I Fight Dragons picture...I was tired and sore and ready to head home :)

Summer Almost Here!

I truly enjoyed reading all of your comments from my Going In Circles post...so here we go again...just another one to write about in between all of my travels (like my 11 hour drive to Eau Claire from Rapid City tomorrow to do a school-show followup...then 2 more hours to Madison tomorrow night before calling it a day...that will be a LOT of bird watching from the interstate for sure!).

So, for this post, I want to know what you want to do on your first day out of school.  That is always such a special time of year...for both kids and teachers...that awesome feeling of those days ahead of you...on your time...being able to do what you want relatively stress-free...at least I hope your summer days will be stress free!  SO...what do you want to do on your first day off?

Then, so we don't leave out the working adults who are not teachers...what is your favorite memory from childhood of your first day off of school in some particular summer?  I will respond to that one...because for some reason, every year, I have the same nostalgic memory as I start to hear our youth-drummers talking about summer being almost here...and being excited about being out of school...I have two VERY fond memories of summer...one that makes sense, and one that is kind of geeky, but oh well :)

My favorite summer pastime was always riding my bike...and I always looked forward to that first day out of school when I was able to ride all day, all over town (West Burlington, IA, my home town) and having no schedule to follow.  There is something awesome about any day that is simply ours...to do what we want, when we want, on our own schedule, with no deadlines, no time commitments, and no place we HAVE to be at any certain time.  Savor those moments in your life...whether summer as a kid or vacation as an adult...(or your weekend for that matter, for those that have normal weekends!!)...

My other favorite summer memory, perhaps my all-time favorite one, is the geeky one...but most of you who know me well know that I love flying, love airplanes, and still want to get my pilot's license someday.  Anyhow, when I was in junior high, I got a telescope, and although I did use it for astronomy at night...my FAVE thing to use it for was to identify jets going over my house, at very high altitudes, all day long...keeping a logbook of the jet type and airline...I have NO idea why this was always so enjoyable for me...but I got to be outside, got a great tan, and at the same time learned to ID a passenger jet by its contrail (the "cloud" that forms behind jet engines at high altitudes)...and to this day, I can still do this ID...geeky, but oh well, it is a memory that still brings back feelings of freedom, warmth, peace, and taking time to slowly enjoy the days I had to myself.

SO...your turn...everyone share.

And, Kelli, Alex, Renee, Brenda, and Jordan...have your fangs ready...Cobra is on Sunday!!

Going In Circles

Well, I have decided it is that time of year...or at least one of those times of years.  I know that as May gets going, we all tend to find ourselves in a whirlwind of end of the school year things (tests for you guys, graduation if appropriate, etc) and for me...wrapping up of school shows before summer begins.  It always seems that many things get lost in the shuffle this time of year...and communication on the Blog has been one of them...I have had very little posting time, and you guys have had very little commenting time.  It is understandable on both ends, but for those who have heard the Gob Story by now...the point of that story truly is not putting off until tomorrow what should be done today, and that even goes for something that we all love to do...simply talking to each other!  It is one of the best parts of connecting with others...simply sharing something in your life...and laughing about it, or even crying about it.  SO...here is what we are going to do in this particular blog...each person who comments needs to describe the most FUN thing they did in the past 7-10 days that is NOT NOT NOT related to anything about SR, drums, or even mission...because sometimes we just need to take a break from what we love the most...and in this case...I want everyone to do the following in this order.

1.  Sit down, in case you are reading this standing up!

2.  Take a deep breath and relax.

3.  Think of the most fun thing you have done that you want to share on here.

4.  Post your comment....then read and comment on other posts.

5.  Finally, give thanks to God for this moment of peace and tranquiity amongst the business of life...and then, take more of these moments for yourself...because even when the point of the Gob story is about not putting off until tomorrow what you could/should do today...it includes...taking a moment for yourself...to be thankful for all in your life...and to take a deep breath and just slowly let it out...savoring the moment.  I think we no longer have enough  moments in life like this!

For all of you...my most fun non-SR thing in the past 7-10 days was dinner/movie night out with my friend Nancy this past Thursday evening...the one day a month that I am always home to be able to do that.  Nancy is a teacher and has had a very rough year, as many teachers have had, and she needed a night just to laugh...and we spent a very fun-filled dinner laughing about nothing really...just stupid things we had done in the last week...talking about past memories we have shared...relieving old TV shows we love (like my current old favorite, the Dick Van Dyke show...boy did those folks KNOW how to act and how to make a person laugh!)...and then, following dinner, we put on the 3-D glasses to learn how to train our pet dragon...which by the way...I have always wanted a pet dragon, and wished they truly existed.

So, there is my moment for you all to think about...and I am smiling reliving it...

And, now that I have had my moment to take a deep breath, and savor it, and be thankful for not only Nancy, and laughter, but all the people that I care about in my life...I have to RUN out the door to get to practice on time...so, here we go again :)