Long-Term Friendships: One of Life’s Priceless Treasures

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Brad

17458240_10208765236148442_6273871062508348761_nHotel room. Check. Fuel for vehicle. Check. Meals along the way. Check. Two days with college friends. Priceless. There are some things money can’t buy, For everything else there’s MasterCard.

Last month two of Linda’s sorority sisters Jean and Debi, came to visit. Husbands Don and John came too.  They drove one entire day to get here from Kansas City. It took them two days to get back. We shared memories, told stories and laughed a lot. We men learned that our spouses are not quite as angelic as they would like us to believe.

One week earlier my friend and fraternity brother Steve and his wife Jana came to visit. Steve and I went to a sports bar to watch March Madness games. Linda and Jana hosted a wedding shower. The bride? The soon to be daughter-in-law of another fraternity brother Marty.

Linda and I are both blessed to have sorority sisters and fraternity brothers with whom we still keep in contact. There is something very special about a friendship that has lasted decades.

You’ve Got a Friend In Me

You’ve Got a Friend in Me is a song written and first recorded by Randy Newman. Originally written as the theme song for the 1995 Disney/Pixar animated film Toy Story, it has since become the theme song for its sequels, Toy Story 2 (1999) and Toy Story 3 (2010) as well as a musical leitmotif throughout the whole Toy Story franchise. The song was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, but lost both to “Colors of the Wind” from Disney’s Pocahontas

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Were you there?

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Brad

392052Today’s post is a another “From the Vault”. It was my post from Easter Sunday 2015.

We are now well into Lent and I think about the gift of music God has given us. Kurt Vonnegut, author of Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five once said “If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD WAS MUSIC” 

We owe a great deal to the African slaves of our country’s early existence. Before there was gospel music they gave us Negro Spirituals.  From the website Black history: the origins of the spirituals we get a little understanding into the significance of this music in their lives.

For a time, the slaves simply by-passed the New Testament, especially since their white taskmasters used it to justify slavery. But there was something about the man Jesus, hanging there upon the hard, wooden cross. Here was a man who was beaten like they were. He was spit upon. He was falsely accused. He was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Finally, he was hung on a tree, a method of execution familiar to the slaves. Through all of these indignities, Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

“How was he able to forgive?” they questioned. “What was it that enabled him to love those who were unlovable?” Was he in pain? They were in pain. Did he have to drink the cup of suffering? They had to drink theirs, too. Yes, their cross was one with his cross. Jesus died for the sins of all men, of every color. He had to be who he said he was. How else could he have done what he did? In time, they embraced Jesus as their Savior, and they experienced His peace, His grace and forgiveness, and His hope for the future.”
From this relationship they were able to sing:

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, to tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

This Negro spiritual became a staple in the hymnals of white congregations in the 1940s and is traditionally sung this time of year. Here is a version I particularly enjoy. I hope you will too.

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March Madness Moves Into April

Posted on April 1, 2017 by Brad

2017_NCAA_Men's_Final_Four_logo.svgAnd then there were four. All that madness has led us here: the final weekend of the NCAA tournament. Saturday’s Final Four will whittle the field to two, and Monday night, we will have a national champion. Will it be tournament darling South Carolina? Gritty Gonzaga? The persistent Oregon Ducks? Or reliable North Carolina?

Gonzaga (-6.5) vs. South Carolina

Time: 6:09 p.m.

In 2009, the last time NCAA tournament games were played at cavernous University of Phoenix Stadium, the teams combined to shoot just 27 percent (25 of 92) on three-pointers over three West Region semifinal and final games. Fast-forward eight years, and Gonzaga and South Carolina have been two of the stingiest teams in the country when it comes to allowing three-pointers. The Bulldogs rank fourth nationally in three-point defense at 29.3 percent while the Gamecocks rank eighth at 30.1 percent. In other words, it could be a long night from long range for both teams, neither of whom are known to be particularly strong three-point artists. Another reason to think points might be in short supply: Gonzaga ranks first nationally in Ken Pomeroy’s defensive efficiency metric, allowing 86 points per 100 possessions, while South Carolina ranks second (87.8).

I am rooting for the underdog Gamecocks. From his album “Charleston,  SC 1966” here is an inspiring piece by native son Darius Rucker.

North Carolina (-5) vs. Oregon

Time: Approx. 8:49 p.m.

Three-pointers also could come into play in Saturday’s second national semifinal: Of the four teams remaining, Oregon has both taken the most three-pointers in the NCAA tournament (81) and made the highest percentage of them (43.2 percent, up from their regular season average of 39.2). North Carolina, meanwhile, has seen the biggest drop in three-point percentage out of the four remaining teams: The Tar Heels are shooting just 32.1 percent from three-point range in the tournament, down from 36.6 percent in the regular season (they made just 3 of 15 attempts in their Elite Eight win over Kentucky). Oregon’s opponents are shooting just 31.1 percent from three-point range this season (16th nationally). North Carolina holds the obvious edge in big-game experience, as the Tar Heels played for the national title last season and it’s the ninth Final Four for Coach Roy Williams, but don’t discount an Oregon program that’s played in 15 NCAA tournament games over the past five seasons.

I usually like to root for the underdog. However North Carolina is one of my favorite teams. I would love to see an NCAA final with two Carolina teams. When I think of musicians from North Carolina JT is the obvious choice.

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