Blog with a purpose – DEBRA

Did you miss me ?! I mean I’ve been gone a really really long time … Did you even notice I was gone?! ….. I’ve packed a lot into those months but that will have to wait for another post. Late last year as I pondered the existence of this blog, for lack of a better word (diary might be a better fit), I realized if I’m not going to use this thing as my “creative outlet” like originally intended (and I’m still holding out hope that I might) I’ll use it to spotlight organizations and groups that I’ve discovered over the years that are making a huge difference in this world and could use a boost. Not saying a blog posting by me here would boost anything, but at least I can say I gave it some spotlight if only for a small moment in time and with the tiniest bulb out there. What they do with it after that … well that’s on them!

The first one can be found here  .. Blog with a purpose “Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation” which exists to help families financially, who have had loved ones that have been in traumatic accidents that have left them either paralyzed or severely impaired. They support the family unit through biblical principles from the initial impact of tragedy or illness to the ongoing circumstances faced in the years to come. Thanks to Bryan White for putting them on my radar. Loyal readers know how I feel about him. IYKYK

This one is also one I found through my love of someone else but is still a really great thing they are doing with their star power. I love Tom Holland as Peter Parker …. He’s exactly who I pictured in my head as I read the comics all those years ago. The super not confident when walking but super confident flying through the air quality of how he portrays that character is something special. I will admit tho my favorite Tom Holland outing to date has been Cherry …. But the Crowded Room is a very close 2^nd best at this moment (tho if you log into Apple TV+ for Peter Parker... well just don't). I’ve watched those 3 episodes about 3 times each already and each time I watch I catch something I missed before. The more I learn about this man the more I like about him. 

However, this blog isn’t really about Tom Holland but it kind of is. See his family started The Brother’s Trust as a way to use his "star" power to do some good. They support charities that are doing great work but don’t get a lot of love. They are helping the every day person and doing the best they can and the Brother’s Trust exists to boost them up, give them a platform like no other to allow them to continue to do good works in the world. One such organization is DEBRA a registered UK charity that supports people affected by Epidermolysis Bullosa Also known as EB.

The Brother’s Trust also works with Epidermolysis Bullosa ResearchPartnership which is a USA Based non-profit organization dedicated to funding research to treat and ultimately cure EB. What is EB you may be asking yourself ? Cause that’s what I asked myself the first time I heard about it. It’s basically where the skin doesn’t function as skin. It tears and rips at the slightest touch and often results in large gaping, painful wounds all over the body. This of course also affects the inside that the skin is supposed to protect. It's a pretty debilitating disease and pictures i'm sure don't do it justice but they are also very graphic. Look them up to see but just know that while it's hard to look at, imagine living with it. Especially  when you realize there is no cure for this life limiting and often fatal condition.

However today the focus is going to be on DEBRA, which was established in 1978 by Phyllis Hilton whose daughter, Debra, who suffered from EB. DEBRA is a support group for people living with EB supporting patients, family members, healthcare professionals and researchers as they work to live and fight EB.

Just before The Crowded Room press tour started a fundraiser was established in which Graeme Souness, famous UK football star (soccer for those of us on this side of the pond) is swimming a 21-mile stretch known as the English Channel to raise awareness about EB, raise money for DEBRA, and support those living and fighting EB daily. Tom has mentioned it in several of his interviews and that's how it ended up on my radar. They are over halfway to their goal of over 1,100,000 raised in support of this swim (his jersey number was 11). The more I learn about this charity and EB I can support anyone who is supporting any effort to make the effects of this disease less painful for those living with it and supporting thos watching people living with it.

So I encourage you to learn more about it … donate to the swim if you can and support this effort links are below.

Donate directly to Graeme Souness and Andy Grist swim of the EnglishChannel

Media coverage of the swim     

I hope you like these ..... I am enjoying writing them up cause I always learn something new about the organization I am highlighting so they will continue even if you don't enjoy them. If you know of an organization I should spotlight drop it in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter @beaslma 

If you haven't watched The Crowded Room yet on Apple TV what are you waiting for !? Get on that now. Next episode comes out next Friday! 

Thank you,

Marcy

Random Thoughts

Over the years I’ve had thoughts for various blogs but nothing worthy of a “full blog” in my opinion so I held them back until they pilled up into a ball of randomness that would equal what I call a “full blog” posting. I’ve called these posts a variety of things …. “Time for a catch up” ...  “Jumping onto my soap box”  …  “venting” … “Random Thoughts”  …   “What Grinds my Gears”  but most have their own problems. They all basically allow me to talk about randomness that really doesn’t connect together and get them out of my head. Time for a catch up implies that you know the background of what I’m talking about, sometimes you will sometimes you won’t if you’v been paying attention. Jumping on my soap box, venting and what grinds my gears implies that what I’m talking about has passion about a particular subject usually things that annoy me or frankly piss me off. However in this particular instance that is not the case. I have decided however to go with “Random Thoughts” from here on out… so here we go.

Birthday … A week ago dear readers I turned well …. Yeah I’m gonna say it …. 44  and let me tell you lately I’ve been feeling all of those years. More on that in a moment. It was a good birthday. Pretty low key, which is how I like em. The day before my work peeps took me to lunch. On my actual birthday the boss and my department took me to lunch (It was a Friday and many of my work peeps are doing the 10 hour days so they can have Friday’s off thing to save “gas”) So I was treated to lunch on two days and it was very nice. I didn’t necessarily have “time” for it but it was nice to get out of the office and enjoy some fellowship, comradery, and good food and a break from the insanity that was a Friday at work. That night my parents and brother and Sister in Law took me to dinner. All I really wanted for my birthday was a nice Steak. I got it and enjoyed the haties out of it.  Don’t get me wrong I enjoy celebrating my birthday I just as I’m getting older don’t want the attention. Not because of the number but because … well…. I don’t give the same energy back to my friends on theirs and that makes me feel really shitty. I want to give that energy but I’m just exhausted from giving my energy to so many things. Yes I am well aware of how lame that sounds …. Just give it to me ok.  

Doctors/Kidney Stone … Around Thanksgiving my back started bothering me really bad. During “Covid” my General Practice doctor left his practice and started a practice for 65 and older crowd focused on I guess Medicare/Medicaid ? AKA I was out cause as I stated previously, I am well under that number. I wasn’t “needing” a doctor and didn’t want to venture into the places where the sick people might be mingling so I didn’t do anything about it. A few times I masked up and went to an urgent care for a steroid shot or an antibiotic and went on with my life. So when I called the old place that I used to go to with my old GP and was like “I have done something to my back” the nice lady on the phone basically said go fuck yourself. With people out with the Flu and vacations being scheduled for holidays the earliest I could get in would be January. I was like are you kidding me right now? She said no. I said bye. I suffered through it taking an anti-inflammatory pills that I had from when I had hurt my knee and some “over the counter” pain relievers to help me sleep but every morning it was like I’d get out of bed and someone would shank me in the lower part of my back in the exact same place every single day. At one point I even thought I had Sciatica and would try to do the “exercises” I found online for it. FIRST OFF WHY DOES EVERY BACK REMEDY START WITH GET YOUR ARSE ON THE FLOOR. If I could get off said floor that would be different but cheese and rice man I can’t do that. I’d try and I’d fail every time. There were a few times that I almost threw up from the pain and several other times that I let the pain get the best of me and had to clean up the results of that. I’ll spare you those details.

                                               

Needless to say I finally had enough and right around Christmas/New Years drug myself to the Urgent Care cause there was no way this was “just a strained back” anymore. I started having dreams about the pain I was in. Like full on technicolor dreams about going to the doctor getting an x-ray only to discover a broken hip, or a broken back, or that I was in the middle of a heart attack and the nightmare that followed. I had been resting it and babying it and lathering up in the muscle spasm creams and sprays just to be able to walk across a room. Jokes on me it was January before I could see anyone anyway. Well played nurse … well played.

The Urgent care discovered that I had a UTI and also took an x-ray that upon review revealed that I also had what appeared to be a LARGE Kidney Stone. They sent me to a Urologist. The first thing he did was take a urine sample then send me for a CT where I had to lie on my back perfectly still for like 10 minutes. When I went to get up I almost passed out the tech did too. She said I got super pale and made me immediately sit back down. I was glad it was angry so that they could really see it in all it’s pissed off glory. Then…. I went back to work.

Two days later he called, during my staff meeting, to say I had a 7mm kidney stone at the base of my kidney. It seemed logged in there and then he said the thing that scared me more than anything else … I don’t know that this is going to solve your back problem, but it needs to be dealt with. I almost burst into tears but regrouped and said ok so now what. He was going to schedule my surgery to have Non-Invasive Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) cause he didn’t believe I’d be able to pass it. That long ass word is basically the use of sound waves to crush the kidney stone into smaller pieces so that they can more easily pass through the bladder.

The immediate unknown hit me hard and frankly scared the shit out of me. However, it got scheduled and I prepared myself for my first ever surgery just after my 44^th birthday (that’s right it would be on Feb 1^st … so we are now 4 months into this process). Sure, I had had my wisdom teeth removed and done a colonoscopy before but nothing like this. It was going to be an outpatient surgery at the hospital with IVs, a medical bracelet with my name on it, and wires and stuff and I was to be put to sleep for it. I had a male work friend who was trying to walk me through all of it cause apparently, he does this like every 3-6 months. I told him I hope that will not be me.  The day of the surgery came the first thing they did was a scan of my kidneys and lower abdomen I guess to make sure nothing had moved. Then I told my father goodby and  was taken to the back, and they did a pregnancy test, which was Negative of course. Then … I waited and watched some TV, that is to say I flipped the channels. I made the mistake of leaving my phone at home (one more thing to deal with I told myself) I missed it so during that hour and a half or so.

                                                      

Next thing I know we are waiting on the anesthesiologist who eventually showed up and spent about 10 minutes telling me how small my mouth/throat was and that he couldn’t believe I don’t have Sleep Apnea and suggested I see a doctor about it. I was like um… ok can we focus on the task at hand please. Next thing I know they wheel me down the hall, I transition from the bed to this table thing, I shift into position….  and then…. I woke up in recovery. Like I have zero recollection of anything in between. Which I guess is a good thing. I woke up in the middle of my colonoscopy and I threw up on my dentist during my wisdom teeth removal.

My small throat was killing me …. The nurse lady kept asking if I needed or wanted ice chips and I thought are you crazy my throat doesn’t work. I could barely swallow. I asked if it worked, she said sure honey it did. I didn’t believe her. I just wanted to go home. I stayed there a little while longer while the nurses talked about Rihanna and if she had ever performed at the Super Bowl before. One of the nurses was sure she had and the others were like nah she hadn’t. Then they talked about last years Super Bowl halftime show naming all the hip hop stars, and they couldn’t remember Mary J or Eminem. They kept saying you know it had Snoop and Dr. Dre and those other people and when I yelled out Mary J they were shocked I was even sitting there. Ice lady came over to see if I was ok but one of the other nurses said she’s right Mary J was there and proceeded to round out the guest list. Then the nurse that was sure Rihanna had went to the all mighty google to confirm she was right only to lean she was thinking of the Grammys and played Disturbia at near high volume for much longer than I feel she should have.

That was my cue to leave. No offense to Rihanna but yeah it was time. I got dressed and was wheeled out of the hospital to my dad’s car. He stopped to pick up medicine at Wallgreens (that was not mine – he’d have to go back later for that) and we finally made it home. Mom had asked earlier in the week what I might want to eat and I requested plain white rice with a little butter. I promptly thew that up and went to bed. I slept for the next 9 hours. Got up, ate some saltines and took the only pain pill I’ve taken so far and then went back to bed where I slept in 2 hour intervals that night. The next day was more of the same. I’d wake up be groggy as hell, sit there for 15-20 minutes and pass out for about 2 hours and start the cycle again. I guess around 6:30 that night I finally got up and ate something real and stayed up the rest of the night in hopes of a better night’s sleep that night. I was proud to report that my back pain was nearly nonexistent unless I had a full bladder then it was more of the same. However, I was considering it a win.  In all of this I only missed 2 days of work. The day for the surgery and the day after. I’m not sure if I’m proud of that or not to be honest. I have spent the last few days trying to pass these things so I can move on with my life to hopefully never do this again.

Rest…. I suck at rest. When I’m resting I’m thinking about all the thousands of things I should be doing while resting which means 1. I’m not enjoying the rest … 2. I’m not really resting at all and 3. I’m also not accomplishing the thousands of things I'm thinking about which amps me up even more. Even on typical weekends I know there are things I should be doing but I don’t do them and instead watch mind numbing TV or play games or scroll on my phone kicking myself for not doing all the things instead of “wasting time” when “wasting time” is what my body is telling my brain I need to be doing but then my brain isn’t letting me enjoy it. Golden was quite proud I took 2 days for my surgery she wanted me to take more but I think also understood my need to make sure things at work were handled. I did at least work from home (more cause I had to than by my choice) so it wasn’t quite as grueling but still. That being said on Monday I’m going to sell back 40 hours of Vacation to my work. I’m not going to use it and I might as well get paid for it instead of losing it. So what I am saying is I’m still learning what “rest” is and how to use it.

Music/Convert Tickets…. Buy the freaking concert tickets or don’t. Just stop with the bitching. Is it stupid expensive to go to a “concert” yes …. Are these acts jumping through more hoops than ever to make shows even happen, also yes. It’s not ticketmaster, it’s not scalpers, it’s the fact that when they put an insane price on a pair of tickets (and we aren’t even talking a decent pair of seats at this point) people are still buying them. Taylor Swift fans weren’t bitching about the price they were bitching that they sold out before they could get in to buy them at that stupid price. Beyonce fans were the same way, bitching about the price as well as how quickly they sell out. Get the tickets or don’t. Honestly I don’t care but be pissed off about the right thing. Complain to the right people. The idea that Congress is going to possibly take this up is just blowing my mind. Congress hasn’t and can’t solve a damn thing but yeah let’s focus on this. Let a Beyonce tour not sell a ticket, let an Ed Sherran sell out half a stadium, let Taylor not fill the seats and see if those prices don’t come down but that’s not going to happen. There is always going to be someone perfectly happy to pay the insane price for your seat. When I saw Ed a few years ago in TN I admit I overpaid for my seats. When I got there, I was damn proud to have done so. Am I lining back up to see him on his new tour, frankly no. It’s a stadium tour, outside, in the south, during the summer. So many things to factor in…the weather, the heat, the uncomfortableness of the day. I love the new album and I still love the man but I’ve seen him do his thing in really great seats and now I’ll just watch youtube clips. Let someone else have my seat. However, if I did decide to jump back in the ring I’d pay the extra money for the decent seats. You will too. Sop acting all high and mighty as you pull the credit card out of your wallet. 

Now if we are talking about Bryan White just take the wallet do what you need to do and return it afterwards cause I'd pay anything the man asks me to pay and I'd even buy the boy a burger for his troubles. Have I told you guys how much I love that man ?! If not I should do that. 

                                                 

 

Lent is coming ……. Which means giving things up …….. which for me typically means social media and soda. Last year I did caffeine in general which also took out tea and with my recent Kidney stone issues I think I’m going to do that again. However Lent 2023 starts Feb. 22^nd and ends April 8^th. My nephew is getting married the first week of March so I’m not planning to give up social media but I also don’t plan to be on it as much either. I frankly look forward to this “break” and Lent is a good excuse for it. However in the lead up to and the aftermath of the wedding I want to see the messages, the pictures that are shared the fun surrounding it all and to do that I need to be on all the social sites. Maybe I’ll find something else to give up along with Caffeine but that’s another post.

                                   

Well there you have it …. random conversations from me about very random things I needed to get out of my head. Hope you enjoyed that. There were several other things I'm dying to talk about but those will come in another post.  

Marcy (@beaslma)

Blog with a purpose : Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation

A few weeks before Christmas I got an e-mail from someone whom I consider one of my favorite people on this planet and I started looking into the organization he was telling me about so that one day I could share it with you all. Today is that day. Let me start by saying … I was going to say friend, which I suppose he is but we don’t see one another on a consistent basis, tho I wish that were true. I’d say I am his biggest fan but his wife might tell me otherwise…. He calls me a “blessing” but he’s by far blessed me more than I have him …. so I’m going with my favorite person.

This fella, who shall be named later I assure you, is a member of an organization that is called “Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation” which exists to help families financially, who have had loved ones that have been in traumatic accidents that have left them either paralyzed or severely impaired. They support the family unit through biblical principles from the initial impact of tragedy or illness to the ongoing circumstances faced in the years to come. Often organizations are all in at the beginning and the individual comes home alone to “figure things out.” This organization, based on what I’ve learned about them, is the opposite.

The organization was born out of necessity, as most often are, when a young man of 9 named Wesley was playing with his friends and fell 20’ from a makeshift zip line breaking his neck and becoming a quadriplegic. Wesley spent 6 months in the hospital with his parents and older brother, Reggie, by his side. In the aftermath of the tragedy, they thought of all the people who helped them during this difficult time and Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation was born. They knew they had to give back and a foundation that focused not only on the injured party but on the entire family unit was the way to go. They focused not only on the physical impairments but on the emotional scars that the entire family now faced as well as financial assistance. From guilt, to anger, frustration, and down right panic about what was to come, and depression it all needed to be addressed and attended to in different ways.

Their assistance is broken down into 3 main categories:

• 1.       The initial onset of illness or injury
• 2.       Adapting to life after the illness or injury
• 3.       An escape from the stress caused by the illness or injury

That escape part is how my favorite person initially learned about this organization. Bryan White, who loyal readers to the Blog know is one of my heroes, was invited to come and play music and participate in their annual golf tournament in Conyers, Georgia several years ago and now sits on the Advisory Board and is helping raise awareness about this organization. So of course, he reached out to me, and several others around the holidays to talk about this organization. Then I looked into it and here we are.

The easiest way to help is to earnestly pray for the Care Team, who make the initial touch with the family in the aftermath of the event, the grief counselors and pastors who are trained to sit and listen and talk with family members in their time of need, the Adapt Team who helps readjust the houses for wheelchair accessibility, and of course individual families forever changed by the event. By raising awareness in the community about the foundation so that others might know of the organization and what they can provide. Most importantly is by giving to the foundation so that they can continue their efforts and provide financial support to the families as they adjust to their new normal. Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All contributions are tax deductible, but most importantly can impact a family for a lifetime.

One of the planned initiatives for the coming years is the building of an “event center” near Mansfield, Georgia (east of Atlanta). The event center, a short drive from one of the best rehabilitation centers in the Country, will serve as a retreat for those families and serve as a place to hold fundraising events, weddings with wheelchair access and eventually a concert venue to entertain guest and families in an effort to take their minds off of their troubles if only for a few hours.

If you are interested in learning more about this organization or in donating to their cause, check out the Triumph over Tragedy Foundation website (links below). From the stories on their facebook page, to what I’ve read about them they really are restoring hope by restoring families and I’m happy Bryan put them on my radar.

Links about the organization:

https://givetotriumph.org

https://www.facebook.com/TriumphOverTragedyFoundation/

https://givetotriumph.org/#donate

I've decided that this blog does not exist in a vacuum and after some soul searching decided that while it's purpose is to provide me a creative outlet when I need it it's also going to exist to lift up organizations, groups, or individuals that are doing good in the world from time to time. So, consider this the first "blog with a purpose" and it was a great one to start out with. 

Marcy

 

 

 

Thankfulness Challenge – Top 10 Christmas Songs

The other day I talked about Christmas Movies, today I finished up my Christmas Holiday TV calendar which includes specials and beloved movies that people should be on the look out for during the holiday season. When I work on my Christmas calendar I always listen to Christmas Music to get me into the right mood. It’s weird I used to LOVE Christmas music. I was that person listening to it in April. Now I can’t really start listening to it until late Nov. cause all it does is remind me of all the things I haven’t done yet, like shopping, gift wrapping, cards, etc.

However if I’m being honest, I love Christmas music. It’s all so happy and upbeat and even songs with the same title sang over and over by different artist bring something new to the song. Not saying that’s always a good thing but it keeps it interesting. I have talked about Christmas music on this blog before … here ….. but this time I thought I’d do one better…. Here’s the top 10 songs that would make my playlist if someone told me I could only have 10 songs to listen to during this season. Now this list is not about artist, if it were all 10 songs would be by Bryan White …… honestly his Christmas music makes me really happy and you should check them out …. This post however is about the songs that no matter when they come on I always listen, and yes one or two of Bryan’s made the cut. 

1. Oh Holy Night – Martina McBride – you can’t beat this version of this song. Granted any version of this song is fantastic this one beats them all. The woman is amazing. 
2. I Believe – Frank Sinatra – I love everything about this song, the message, the music, the happiness I feel when listening to it. 
3. One Bright Star – Various – this song has been sung by many including Bryan White and Vince Gill. It’s a fantastic song that has a tendency to give me chills when I really pay attention to the lyrics. 
4. Christmas In Dixie –Alabama – Honestly anything by Alabama this time of year is my favorite, from Tonight is Christmas, to A Candle in the Window, to Thistlehair the Christmas Bear, all of it makes me smile and brings up memories of me and my mom putting ornaments on our tree. Any song that is but that Christmas Shoe’s song that one makes me cry like a little girl, every.damn.time 
5. I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Pentatonix  – ok I’ll be honest a variety of people have sung this song a ka-billion times but I had to admit this version is one of my favorite ones. 
6. I Still Believe In Santa Claus –NKOTB – I love this song, I love the message of this song and I love the way these 5 men blend their voices in it. I 100% believe in Santa, in the idea of Santa and the feeling of wonderful and happiness that Santa instills in people. How could anyone not believe in something that’s sole purpose on this planet is to make people happy? 
7. Mary Did You Know –Laura Wright – This song is a different spin on the story of the birth of Christ. It twists it up from Mary’s point of view. I have heard this song by many others but since I have recently discovered the lovely voice that is Laura Wright and my ears are very happy for it. I’ve heard several versions of this song but I really like this one, it doesn’t hurt that Laura has a fantastic voice to back up the song. I’d highly recommend any album or song she has sung on being added to your playlist … STAT! 
8. Finding Christmas – Bryan White – I love this song, it’s a new one not a cover of the same songs over and over and it’s brilliantly done. It’s about a guy who rediscovers his love of Christmas through his children’s eyes and it makes me smile. I love the part where his two boys join him on the chorus the first time I heard it it was so unexpected and now it’s my favorite part of the song. It’s just so pure and innocent. 
9. Mr. Bailey – Eric Bay – this is not a typical Christmas song that’s all over the airwaves but it totally should be. Eric is a master of taking a thing and turning it into a song. He expertly puts It’s a Wonderful Life into a musical journey and I am forever grateful for him doing so.  
10. Til’ Santa’s Gone (Milk and Cookies) – Clint Black – I love the fun playfulness of this song. It never fails to put a smile on my face and a pep in my step.

So there you have it, my Christmas music top 10 list. Honestly, I could have gone to 20, 30 songs but I had to limit it or we’d be here until New Years.

Have a great week!
Marcy

Musical Adventures with Bryan White

This is a long one but an important one so stay with me guys. 

So fans of this blog know of my love for Music … all kinds. It’s been a while since I did a music post on this page but I decided to wait to tell you all about the greatest musical night of my life in a very long time. If someone were to ask me “who is your favorite musician ?” I never hesitate …. I already know. I’ve been in love with his voice since the early 90s. For my 15^th birthday I was given a membership to his fan club. He came to Mobile a couple of times and I got to see him all but once. One time he was performing at our local Junior Miss Pageant and my mom bought us tickets and when he finished his song we left. We were there for him, that was it, good luck ladies, Bryan is gone and so are we! I will never hesitate to see this man strum his guitar. Immediately Bryan White comes out of my mouth. Their response is usually “who?” then I give them a 45-minute dissertation of the man’s career from the 90’s to today. It’s funny to me most know his music but not necessarily his name. Mind blown every time it happens.

Here’s the short version of his “Marcy created bio” – yes this is the short version. 

His first album titled “Bryan White” came out in 1994 on Asylum Records and from that first strum of a guitar I was hooked. He’s an Oklahoma native and quite proud of those roots, as displayed on his album Dustbowl Dreams to come later. He’s definitely classified as a singer-songwriter writing as many hits for himself as he has for others (remind you of anyone else that I’vetalked about on this blog?). His debut album was a great introduction to an artist. Showed his range in ballads and playful songs like Eugene You Genius which never fails to put a smile on my face. Look at Me Now was his first single ever and will forever be in my top 10 of favorite Country songs. It was however Rebecca Lynn and Someone Else’s Star that rocketed him to the top of the charts and kept him there for a while. The album earned him the CMA Horizon Award (beating out LeAnn Rimes and Shania Twain) and a nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year Award narrowly missing out to George Strait twice (1996 & 1997). He was in good company tho with fellow nominees being Vince Gill, Collin Raye Alan Jackson. Good company to sit with while King George took home the trophy. 

His second album Between Now and Forever was created to build on the success of the ballads found in his Debut album and it’s fantastic because it also balances with a few fun tracks like “So Much For Pretending and Sitting on Go that keep the listener on their toes. It does tend to lean more towards ballads tho. 

The Right Place continued that formula and has several songs about love, breaking up, and staying together for ever. The Star of this album was Tree of Hearts. It makes me cry every damn time. 

When 1999 rolled around Asylum was struggling hard, and that’s a shame cause How Lucky I Am it a fantastic album that deserved far more love. On any other record label, it would have kept the needle on Bryan and Country music would have embraced it hard. The formula was still there but it was a more grown up Bryan behind the mic. He played with his vocal range, the lyrics were tighter, and the music was perfect from track 1 to the last track. It didn’t hurt that Bryan had recently found the love of his life and the album reflected that (again sounds like another artist I’ve talked about on this blog before ÷). There is not one track on this album that is skip worthy. If there is a perfect album on this planet this album is it. I’ll die on that hill if I have to. I listen to this album when I’m happy, when I’m tired, when I’m sad, when I’m having a good day or a bad one cause it’s literally that good. I give this album to friends as a wedding gift and force them to listen to The Staying upon their engagement cause at the end of the day that’s what it’s all about and they need to hear it.

When Asylum folded many think, Bryan fell off the planet. He retreated into himself and suffered a great depression which frankly was likely due to exhaustion. So, he walked away. So to most that is where his story ends but to me that’s where his story begins. He got married to Erika Page (who at the time was on One Life To Live), he took time off for the first time in years and just was a normal guy walking around New York City with the most beautiful woman on the planet and just stopped everything while he sorted it all out. In 2003 his first son was born and in 2005 his second was born. The music was still in him was still wanting to come out. 

No longer saddled with a label telling him what he could and couldn’t do or what he needed to sound like he started recording again and released Dustbowl Dreams in 2009. By far his most personal album to date he wrote a track about Erika (his wife) and how her adoption journey led her to him, sang with Steve Wariner (the man who made him want to be a musician)  and quite possibly my favorite track of all Beautiful Place. It was a wonderful Album sold through his website and I’m sure I-tunes. I’m a CD girl, I like to hold it in my hands, read the CD Jacket from page to page etc. 

Then came 2014 and he decided he wanted to release another CD, this time a 6 track EP called Shine and was going to do it with the fans help through Kickstarter. I gladly handed over my money and got guitar strings and a signed drum cover for my efforts. This 6 song EP is fantastic. If it’s not in your Music folder you need to get it ASAP!

I always say my favorite Bryan White track is his next one and he has yet to disappoint me with that notion.

In 2016 he started releasing singles instead of waiting on a full CD to develop. Finally Home a nod to his Phillippines fans who thanks to a noontime variety show got “God Gave Me You” from How Lucky I Am back in the spotlight when they started using it in their show. Bryan went to the Philippines and performed a show there and went on the show. It was a crazy ride to watch but proved that his music is stronger than time. He also released a revamped version of Never Get Around to it from his “Right Place” album, making it the way he envisioned it not the way the label created it. His latest single 2019, It Must Be Love is a tribute to Don Williams and keeps him on the radar as long as you are paying attention. I stayed up until Midnight at Golden’s house once to finally be able to listen to the track when it was released and kept it on repeat all night long while I slept.

 

In order to understand how special Thursday night was you have to hear this last encounter with Bryan. 

In 2011 I found out that Bryan was throwing a Back Yard BBQ at his house for the fans. I mentioned it to my mom thinking it was never going to be a thing. I was shocked when she bought me and Golden a ticket. Golden had no idea really who Bryan was tho living near me in College she had heard his music. She thought it was cool to be going to his house tho so she was in. Shes too cool for pictures tho. 

I picked her up and off we went. The whole day was sketchy and scary and required a LOT of trust on my part, my mom’s part and Bryan’s part too. The night before it rained hard. They sent out a message (I want to say via Twitter and maybe Facebook) telling everyone to bring a chair instead of a blanket since sitting on the ground wasn’t going to work. We stopped at a Walgreens or it could have been a Rite Aid and bought two chairs for like $10 bucks a piece and had like 3 hours to kill. We got lunch and waited for more instructions. They were watching the weather and coming up with a back up plan incase of rain. The entire day I was a basket of nerves. It felt wrong like this was all a scam. I was texting with his manager at the time the entire day. I’m sure I annoyed him but it all just … well felt sketchy. My mom’s instructions were forget the money if you get there and it feels off leave. You and Golden are smart just stay safe. We finally got the call to meet in a random Kroger parking lot at like 3. We were nearby so we went on over and got a Wendy’s shake while we waited. Several other cars pulled up around 2:30ish. 

It was bizarre we all got out of our cars and talked about how sketchy this was and how nervous we were. Golden and I had already made a pact that we were not leaving the car behind. Then someone all official showed up and gathered us up and said his driveway was really small that people would need to double up. I immediately raised my hand and said I can fit three more in my car. Anyway long story short we all pilled into cars and drove through the streets of Nashville (I won’t tell you where we went cause that was his one request not to give out his address ha!) as a long Bryan White Convoy. My car was 2^nd in the line. We stood on his  sidewalk for what seemed like hours then they let us in. We walked through his living room after being greeted at the door by the man and proceeded to the back yard to set up our chairs. He played for a few hours and then gave us a tour of the house and his studio. 

Up to that moment that night was the best night of my life. 

That’s where the history lesson ends and the post about the BEST NIGHT EVER I’ve had in a long while starts. In 2015 the Listening Room of Mobile opened in downtown Mobile. They have 3-4 shows a week with a single artist or group featured each night. I’m not going to lie if the shows didn’t start so late I might live down there but alas they do and I often only go down there when it’s someone that can get me in the seat. Vanessa Peters was one, Eric Erdman is another that can get me down there. I keep telling myself I’m going down there one day just on a whim and listen to someone I’ve never heard before and see what happens. 

One day I’m sitting in my living room watching TV and scrolling Facebook as I typically do when the owner popped up on my Facebook page one day with a note telling people Bryan White would be at the Listening Room Aug 15^th Tickets on Sale soon! I almost crapped myself. Wait what Bryan was coming here… to my back yard to my home town … to one of my favorite places in the city to listen to music!? I was in from there. I immediately put my name down on the list and started bugging Jim about when Tickets would be available to purchase. The next day I walked into the office and took the 16^th off so I could stay as late as I needed to without worry of having to get up early. I was going to this show, was going to enjoy every second of it and immediately started making plans to have people join me. I wanted to sell that room out hard. We got about halfway there when it was all said and done. That’s ok tho cause I think Bryan had a fantastic night and I understand is already talking about coming back.

So let’s set the stage. It’s a Thursday afternoon around say 6 pm my friend Christina (whom I roped into going with me to the show several months ago) had just finished dinner and are kind of just walking around downtown killing time when Christina said, oh my god is that Bryan (like they had known each other for years.) I looked up the street and OH MY GOD IT WAS. She took off. I caught up with her and said please don’t chase this boy down the street! At this point he was a block or so ahead of us. Then he passed the Listening Room. I said oh god he’s lost. So off we went, now literally chasing the man down the street. We got even with the Listening Room and I was looking to see if anyone was inside that could “officially” go get the boy instead of two crazy people that might scare him away for good. No one was there that I could see and we look up the street and Bryan takes a left down an alley between two buildings. I thought oh god he’s going to be killed (not a fantastic part of town but not the worst part either), and we take off. We walked though the alley and look right and left and he’s walking back up the street phone in his hand. I’m sure it was telling him he was there because he was right behind it but you know how phones are. So Christina yells “Bryan!!!” and he stops and turns around and I’m super embarrassed and he yells back ”yeah!?” and he’s just watching the two of us jog up the street towards him. She yells, “you are lost, you passed the listening room back that way.” She started pointing and he said “I’m following yall!” and started walking towards us. So we started walking back to the Listening Room and he says I’ve seen you before talking to me. I said yes sir and he asked when the last time I was at a show and I said the last show I saw was in your backyard. He said you were at the BBQ I was like yep, then it clicked and he said you were the one worried about the wiring in my basement! I laughed and said yes and he said you’ll be happy to know it looks better now. I said good ha!  

Yes … I took a picture of the wiring at the man's house that night 

Then we arrived at the Listening Room and he thanked us for being such tour guides. We let him in to do his sound check while we smelted in front and Christina made fun of my fangirl attitude cause she has never seen me like that before. A few minutes later a few other fans showed up for the meet and greet and the night was on. By the time they let us in there were 10 of us hanging out. When they let us in we all got settled and about 10 minutes later here he came. He told the whole room how we rescued him and it was fantastic. He mentioned it again while he was playing. Ha! He spent about 30 minutes just talking to us all about life, his music, what our favorite albums were and Mobile in general. Then he took pictures with all of us before the rest of the people showed up. I think we ended up with about half a room filled so I was happy about that. I think next time we can easily sell it out. School started in the area this week, there was another high profile show earlier in this week and it was just bad timing for many. It’s a real shame they missed a fantastic night of music, stories, and an overall good time! 

Myself, Bryan White, and Christina by far a better picture than before 

I tried to keep up with his playlist for the night (the album the song is from is also shown below)

• Sitting on Go - 1996 Between Now and Forever
• Amen - 2014 Shine - EP Kickstarter Album
• Look At Me Now - 1994 Bryan White
• Rebecca Lynn - 1994 Bryan White
• Love is the Right Place - 1997 The Right Place
• I’m Not Supposed to Love you Anymore - 1996 Between Now and Forever
• It Must Be Love – 2019 new single
• That’s Another Song - 1996 Between Now and Forever
• Get Back (Cover Beatles) – which I was really not expecting but loved!
• You’re Still Beautiful to - Me 1999 How Lucky I Am – since I told him that was my favorite album before he played it he said it was for me :D yes I might have squeeled a little bit 
• So Much For Pretending  - 1996 Between Now and Forever
• Short Are The Years (Cover Jason Crabb Unexpected) – I swear I think he said he cowrote this one for 
• Someone Else’s Star - 1994 Bryan White

It was an awesome night and he covered all the hits. For me he could have played for 3 or 4 hours and I’d have still wished for more time. I’ve been sending suggestions to him via social media for weeks and he sang a few of my suggestions. I did tell him after the show that I loved his old stuff and was grateful he sang what he sang but wished he’d give more love to his newest stuff. Was shocked he didn’t do Finally Home and some of the newer tracks. He said he didn’t think anyone would want to hear them I said they would if you played them. They are really great tracks. However, I get it when you have a fan base like his there’s certain songs you have to play to make the night worth it. Like I’d have been super bummed if he hadn’t played Someone Else’s Star. So I get it but his new stuff deserves love too not “just the hits.”

At one point he just started playing. I don’t know the song I’m sure it started out as a song then it became a riff but whatever it was made the entire night worth it. He was literally picking and grinning and I could watch him do that alone for hours.  

His stories between songs were beautiful and allowed you to really not only connect to him but to his music. Towards he end he told about his struggles with depression and expressed his reborn Christianity and I just knew he was going to play What I already know. I told him that and he said that would have been a great song to end that on and I said I know! So maybe he’ll take my comment to heart and dust off some of the other songs in his catalog the next time he comes around.  
If you are new to this artist check him out

Itunes     https://music.apple.com/us/artist/bryan-white/129986

Twitter    https://twitter.com/bryan_white

Instagram   https://www.instagram.com/bryan_white/

Facebook    https://www.facebook.com/BryanWhiteFans/ 

You Tube    https://t.co/aCzYyWc9UM?amp=1

Website   http://www.bryanwhite.com/

Anyway this is a SUPER LONG post telling you if this man comes anywhere near you and you loved COUNTRY back when it was COUNTRY MUSIC then you need to get a ticket and get to his show. I will never miss another one as a matter of fact tomorrow he’ll be in Panama City Beach and it’s everything I can do to not make that drive.

Thank you Bryan for coming to my town, thank you Jim for getting him here and thank you Erika for letting us borrow him for a few days. You really are awesome to share him with us. 

Marcy

@beaslma

Lent - 2019 Social Media Break for Lent

It’s Lent people. 

Well ok not yet, but starting Ash Wednesday, Lent will be in full effect and I'll be back at work so I'm posting this today on my day off for Mardi Gras. You guys I actually went to a parade this year … it was fun ….. the weather wasn't so great but the floats were fun …. 

Now I don’t consider myself a wholly religious person. Yes I go to church, yes I participate in various events (vacation bible school, Easter egg hunts, anything really dealing with the kiddos etc.) but this is a practice I've really gotten into for the last several years cause it allows me to shift my focus from me to the world around me. What is Lent you might be asking me . . . well not me cause I’m not there but likely the person you are with... I'll answer since that person seems preoccupied to do so ….. rude....  

Well according to dictionary.com it’s …. 

According to Wikipedia it’s ….

Lent is a solemn religious observance in the Christian Calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later, before Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, doing penance, repentance of sins, almsgiving, and self-denial. In Lent, many Christians commit to fasting, as well as giving up certain luxuries in order to replicate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ's journey into the desert for 40 days. Many Christians also add a Lenten spiritual discipline, such as reading a daily devotional or praying through a Lenten calendar, to draw themselves near to God.

However, Lent isn't only about "giving up" things you could ADD prayer to your day, ADD reading the bible, Add Meditation about what your spiritual journey means to you. I also found this list of things you can "give up" that can have a positive impact on your life and those around you …. enjoy.

Golden used to do a 40-acts Lent event ….. a British movement that uses the 40 days of Lent to focus on the religious principle of giving to others from a Christian perspective. 40 days of giving back, doing good, and living generously. 

Basically it’s 40 random acts of kindness while expecting nothing in return. That by the way is the very definition of a Golden but with extra profanity and diet coke thrown in for flavor. I don’t know if Golden still does the 40acts but I’m sure she does something similar if not. She’s the most giving person that I know and I know like enough people to count them without having to use my toes too. 

As I have done the last few years, 2018, 2017, I’m shutting down my social media for 40 days to regroup, live in the moment, and step away from the negativity that social media has become. Granted it’s not as “BAD” as it has been for me lately cause after my first year doing this, I got rid of a good chunk of negativity on my feeds. As I have said before I’m a huge believer in a block button, in the unfollow button and in the hide button. I think sometimes people have views that don’t align with yours and that’s ok but I don’t need to see it.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to shut down views that don’t align with mine. However what most on social media users fail to realize is that a CONVERSATION about different views is good, heck one of us might even learn something from that conversation. ATTACKING one another for your different views however is NOT. People are stupid brave behind a keyboard and it’s insane. I’ll never understand it. You know what I do when I see a post I don’t like, I keep scrolling. If it’s a post that’s just really unnecessarily awful or attacking I might report them to Twitter and block said person, but I don’t give it more thought than that. I especially block and report when I see someone pretending to be someone else. That’s just wrong on so many levels. Don’t try and contact me like you are Bryan White when I know the REAL Bryan White and you aint him! Trust me I've been to the man's house, I've played with his boys, he's awesome people and that guy aint him. Just saying. That’s oddly specific but a thing that happens more often than you’d guess. PS if the blue check aint there, it’s not him. Same could be said for nearly every other “celebrity” on earth but back to the task at hand.

This post is about Lent not the breakdown of social media and ways to make it better. Maybe that’s a post for another day. For Lent I have also decided to give up SODA in addition to Social Media this year. No I didn’t suddenly move North, let me explain. For those that know me …. Coke is my downfall. I LOVE a good COLD Coca Cola, a fresh coke is like my crack cocaine, a Cherry Pepsi is my meth. Last year I gave up Coke/Pepsi but allowed myself to drink “Sprite” so I’d still have that carbonated drink in my life. However, this year …. SODA in general is out. Nothing but water, sweet tea or juice for me for the next 40 days. Lord help the people I work with. 

So I’ll see you guys on the other side, cause as you know I get real involved with this blog when I can’t do much of anything else during Lent. It’s not social media if you aren’t interacting with people so hit me up in the comments and let's use this forum as it was intended ….  

Are you guys giving anything up or adding anything to your life during this Lent season?!

Marcy (@beaslma)