Cool stuff I learned in Missouri

1) Vicki and I are unsinkable... we've survived both the traveling Titanic exhibit that was in Chicago some years back, and we both survived the Titanic Museum in Branson. (short backstory: they give you a boarding pass when you come in, and at the end you can see if you "lived." Both times, we both lived.)

2) I really wish we had a Sonic drive-in in W. Michigan - GOOD STUFF!

3) Vicki and I like sorghum. Especially on a big ol' warm dinner roll that was thrown at you from across the room. (a restaurant called Lambert's, "the home of Throwed Rolls")

4) I could get used to Missouri. Pretty place - mountains when ya want 'em, flat places too, nice folks... Vicki and I will be back there -soon. :-D

5) Branson is a crazy place - crazy cool, crazy weird, and crazy crazy. I like it.

6) Seeing the arch in St. Louis at night was an amazing experience. Wish we could have stopped for pictures, but that'll have to wait for the next time we go through.

7) The Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Springfield makes Cabella's look like an empty parking lot. Whoa!!!

8) Sometimes you find the coolest stuff in the most unlikely places... Bought a CD called "Illuminate" at the aforementioned Bass Pro Shop,and I love it. It's Gregorian Chant with some cool nature sounds and instrumental backgrounds. Beautiful!

9) I really liked the Hollywood Wax Museum in Branson, but the displays took a weird theme change near the end...

And the last thing I learned in Missouri?

10) If you turn someone down who offers you "healing and the Words of Life," it confuses the HECK out of them. :-D Ask one of us about this in person - telling it here just wouldn't do the story justice.

Thank you, Andrew & Shantel - we had a GREAT time, and can't wait to come back!!!

Blogus Maximus

Fair warning - there's going be a whole lot of blog posts in a row...

Of course, this warning will be buried by the time the others get here, so it's a moot point, but it's the thought that counts.

Wow.

I'm not a "pass it on" kind of guy. When someone sends me an email that says "pass this on," I generally don't. I figure my inbox is overstuffed, so I'd rather not fill up someone else's.

However, every once in a while, something comes along that needs to be shared. My friend Suzie posted this on her blog, and I was very moved by it. So, I'll pass it along. Besides, I've never tried embedding a video before. :-D Thanks, Suzie!

A moment of perfect beauty...

Very brief music lesson here...

Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings is one of the most haunting pieces on the planet. If you've never experienced it, run (don't walk) to the library, the store, iTunes, wherever you get your tunes and listen to it. I'll wait...........

Cool, eh? I thought you'd like it.

What you may not know is that Barber also scored a vocal version of this piece, "Agnus Dei." Gorgeous, and tremendously hard, considering the voices are doing the work of the strings, but strings don't have to breathe. I've heard a few renditions of this work, and it's equally as chilling as the string version.

But the one I listened to tonight took my breath away. Found it on iTunes, by Richard Marlow and the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge from the album Allegri: Miserere. Slower than any vocal version I've heard, with massive chords and amazing voices. The climax of the piece (starting about 6:20 and on) left me speechless, especially the almost dead silent chord following the big one. Whoa...

A moment of perfect beauty indeed. :-D

Is it REALLY worth it???

Lovely vacation, off to Missouri and then to Tennessee. Caught up with family & friends, and listened to a really great book in the car.

Then the homecoming:

1)Our furnace is not working, but we knew that when we left. Came home to a COLD house.

2) Dog gate broken - very old, so no biggie there.

3) Dehumidifier broken, also already known.

BUT>>>>

4) Hot water heater failed, resulting in much water in basement and no hot water for a much-needed shower upon getting home. And it's Saturday, so who the HECK do we call to get it fixed. And we now have a LOT of wet stuff to clean out of the basement. And hopefully we didn't end up with a colony of mold to live with.

So, I ask you - was vacation worth it?... :-/