Billy Powell, Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist dies

(Piano solo starts around 2:40 mark)

Perhaps my all time favorite rock song is "Mr. Breeze", by Lynyrd Skynyrd,
due largely to the piano solos of Billy Powell in the middle.

I used to bug my brother and make a fuss about how awesome Billy Powell was
whenever I'd hear "Mr. Breeze". One night, shortly after Kirk was married, my
family had gathered at Scampy's after dinner for a few beers. Kirk's wife, Beth was there,
and at one point, "Mr. Breeze" came on the jukebox. Just as the piano solo kicked in, Beth
leaned across the table, and said, "Hey Jay; isn't this Billy Powell playing piano? Isn't he great?"
I was beside myself, that she not only knew the name of my piano hero, but had picked him out, and liked the song. We high-fived, and I started telling her more obscure Billy trivia, until I spotted my brother falling all over himself in laughter.

That's when I knew he had used his wife to set me up. And I had completely fallen for it.

But that's ok. R.I.P. Billy...you're awesome!!!

best man

(click below)
Bill Cunningham's Inaugural take

I pulled the link above from one of my favorite blogs Kottke.org .

It got me to thinking.

I'm not an overly political guy, so I haven't been
overly passionate about our recent presidential election.
At one point, I expressed all-important FaceBook
"political view" as "are these our only choices?"

I must admit that, leading up to the inauguration,
I was thinking that the whole thing was way over-hyped,
because, I was thinking of it simply as a Democrat taking
office over my Republican guys.
Not that I really liked my team's guy very much.

Watching the event, I realized that, even if I was thinking of
Obama as just a Democrat, much of the country needed to see
him as the first African-American president, and be consumed
in the victory of that accomplishment, so that the moment could
be appropriately celebrated and marked. And I can appreciate that.
So I now am appreciating Obama, and the moment much more,
for the historical impact.

Two years ago, the Super Bowl was special because, for the first time ever,
there was not just one, but two African-American coaches in the Big Game,
and one would be the first black coach to lead his team to the championship.
In 2009, I will be rooting for Mike Tomlin to coach
his Pittsburgh Steelers to a Super Bowl victory, because I like his team,
and I like him as a coach and a person. But I'm not hearing nearly as
much this year in the press about him being an African-American coach.

I see that as progress.

Hopefully, in the future, the country will have healed and
developed to a point where we no longer have to celebrate the
"first African-American...",or even the"first woman", but rather,
we celebrate that the best person got the job.

Which I believe happened on January 20th.

jay

cell phone of the future?

thanks Jill!!

my life theme song

hard times

I was thumbing through a stack of Christmas cards today, and this one caught my eye.
The sender seemed to be telling the receiver that times are tough, and a gift will have
to wait until things get better.

Certainly relevant at this moment in America, but this card was not sent for Christmas 2008.
I found it in a shoebox of old black and white photos from my Grandma's house.
This Christmas card was sent to my Great-Grandmother Lizzie in 1908.

Some things can be vintage, AND relevant.

Trouble on Wall Street today

Trouble on Wall Street (1920)

(thanks to one of my favorite blog sites here )

(thanks to kottke.org...)

Bono on Sinatra

Bono is is currently writing a series of guest op-ed pieces for the New York Times,
and my favorite blogger, Kottke, shared this piece, with Bono talking about moments
in life with Frank Sinatra, and what it means for our new year...and stuff.

happy birthday, Debra Jo!!!

happy birthday to the love of my life, and my soon to be wife.....

Great-Grandma Dora

I just found this old picture of my Great-Grandma Dora, my dad's grandma.
She was born in 1877, and died in 1962, according to her headstone in Southern Indiana.
I'll have to tell Aunt Rosemary I found the picture. She wasn't sure of the dates.

Aunt Rosemary is the one who corrected the myth in my head that Dora had
married a Native-American Indian farmer in Southern Indiana in 1898.
Turns out Oscar was a Pharmacist.

Click on "Oscar" and Pharmacist" for the back story of Oscar and Dora.

little mom

Mom--1935

"Love You Forever"

Mom passed away peacefully at 6:50am

on this 2nd morning of a 2009 she never saw.

Dad, Kim, Kristin, and I were at her side,

and watched her draw her last breath, a

breath that came much easier than those

she struggled for the past several months.

I'm sitting alone in her hospice room with her,

where the entire Horn clan got the chance

to say our good-byes yesterday, and Dad told

her last evening that it was ok to let go.

Thank you to all who have offered thoughts

and prayers.

Go hug somebody.

jay

soon

8:20pm, New Years Day.

It is truly a vigil, at his point.

Her heart and lungs cannot keep up
with the fluid buildup. This the essence
of congestive heart failure.

There are signs that her one remaining
kidney is beginning to struggle.

We expect her to pass in the next
12-24 hours.

Yesterday, I had asked Dad if he had told
Mom that it was ok to let go. He hadn't,
and wasn't ready.

Today, shortly after the family gathered
at her bedside to take Communion with her,
the in-house Chaplain joined us, and asked if
we had given her permission to let go.
Dad was initially reluctant, because, he did
not think that Mom was coherent enough to
process the message.

But then, in an emotional, and tender moment,
Dad leaned in, told her how much he loves her,
and that he will miss her, but that it was ok to
let go. She has been suffering enough, and
he will see her soon enough.

Mom is now on a continuous IV flow of Morphine
to help with pain and breathing, and resting a
little better, but still struggling at times.

But we have said our goodbyes, and now pray
for God to take her into His merciful, loving arms.