Bing Crosby-Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's An Irish Lullaby)

33 days.
That's how long Ella lived in this world.
I saw her last night.
So small and so pink, lying motionless in a tiny wooden box.
I hadn't seen or talked to John, probably since high school.
We played soccer together as kids and went to school for 3 years together.
We did a little hanging out back then, but he was better friends with Lee.
Lee's wife, Darlene, sent me a message on Tuesday to tell me about Ella.
It appears that after a week, John and his wife, Mira, noticed that something was wrong.
She had a rare disease, that just a few short weeks later, claimed her young, fragile life.
What do you say to someone that is going through that?
That's what I was asking myself as I was driving to the funeral home.
I realized that it probably doesn't really matter what I say.
Today, I also realize that I needed to go see her for myself, just as much as I needed to show love and support to John and his family.
You see, the whole way home, I tried to reason with God...that He somehow made a mistake.
That led me to question some of my foundational beliefs in God.
If God is perfect and holy and good, and God created everything, where did evil come from? The Scriptures say that nothing evil comes from God, so it wasn't making sense to me.
I couldn't let it go. I searched through different passages and commentaries until I found John McArthur's words: "When God created angels and God created humans, he gave them intelligence. He gave them reason, and he gave them choice.And there is a sequence. I put those words in that order for a purpose. Intelligence gave them the ability to understand things. Reason gave them the ability to process that understanding toward behavior. And choice gave them the freedom to determine that behavior. Intelligence, reason, and choice. Bottom line: With what they knew, and with the ability they had to process that information, they would be brought to a choice. And whether angels or men, they would have the choice either to obey God or not to obey God."
I had heard this before, but what I read next brought me back.
"Evil is not a created thing. Evil is not a substance. Evil is not an entity. Evil is not a being. Evil is not a force. Evil is not some floating spirit. Evil is a lack of moral perfection. God created absolute perfection. Wherever a lack of that exists, sin exists. And that cannot exist in the nature of God or in anything that God makes. Evil comes into existence when God's creatures fall short of the standard of moral perfection."
Thank you, Lord, for Ella's life; for her parents, John and Mira; and for her Creator.
Give them peace during this extremely difficult time.
And, thank you, for your patience with your kids.
Especially me.
Ella Marie Bynum
Born: February 14, 2011
Died: March 19, 2011

Etta James- At Last

It's finally here.
I've been waiting all year, since last year, that is.
March Madness is upon us.
There was a time in my life when I didn't give a rip about college basketball.
Then came that fateful night.
It was March 28, 1992.
I was hanging out with my boys at Hooters, minding my own business.
There was alot of people there that night yelling at the TVs.
A game was on.
It was Duke vs. Kentucky.
I wasn't paying much attention at first, but as the game went on, even a casual observer could tell that this one was going down to the wire.
Back and forth it went.
Then came overtime. Both teams wanted it.
At the end of the game, Duke trailed Kentucky 103-102 with 2.1 seconds left in the game.
I was paying attention at this point.
Duke had the ball, but had to travel the length of the court with not a lot of time.
Grant Hill threw the ball in. He tossed a pass the length of the court to Christian Laettner.
Laettner caught the ball, dribbled once, turned, and at the buzzer, sank what has been called simply "The Shot", to give the Blue Devils the win.
I remember there was a guy at Hooter's that I didn't care so much for that was a Kentucky fan. After listening to his smart remarks all night, I had decided that I was hoping Duke won.
After they won the way that they did, I was a fan.
Incidentally, Duke went on to defeat Michigan that year to win the National Championship.

Linkin Park- In The End

Back in college, my friend, Rob and I, would spend most nights at a club in midtown Atlanta called The Masquerade.
The club is actually still there.
It's kind of a dark, spooky place, where you feel like you should probably shower before and after you go in.
The club has three levels: Heaven is upstairs, where live bands played often. Purgatory was on the middle level, where there was a game room and places to sit and chat.
Hell was the bottom level, where DJ's would play the latest house, techno, industrial, and other dance music.
It definitely drew an interesting crowd.
But it was fun and that was our spot.
It also was our spot partly because another one of our boys, Tony, worked there as security.
In fact, one night, after lingering too long at the open bar, Rob wouldn't quit stage-diving and Tony threatened to throw him out.
We saw some cool bands there.
The Skatenigs. Spiritualized. The Jesus and Mary Chain.
One of my favorites was Stuck Mojo.
Stuck Mojo were pioneers in the rap/metal fusion.
Their shows were always very lively.
Because of them, groups like Rage Against The Machine, Limp Bizkit, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Linkin Park rose to popularity in the early to mid 90's.
Here's some Linkin Park mashing it up with one of their chart-toppers.

Dr. John- Iko Iko

Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, begins in a couple of days, so I thought I would give everyone a little taste of New Orleans.
The song tells of a Mardi Gras parade collision between two Mardi Gras Indian tribes.
The lyrics tell of a "spy boy" or a lookout for one tribe encountering the "flag boy" or flag carrier for another tribe. He threatens to set the flag on fire.
The original version was written in 1953 by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford in New Orleans.
It has been covered, however, by many artists such as the Neville Brothers, Cyndi Lauper, The Grateful Dead, and Dave Matthews.
It has also been featured in many films such as "K-9", "The Little Vampire", "Rain Man", and "The Hangover".
This version, from New Orleans' own, Dr. John, is featured on his "Dr. John's Gumbo" as well as the compilation, "New Orleans Party Classics".
Anyone for some gumbo and King Cake?

Tim McGraw/Gwyneth Paltrow- Me and Tennessee

Coldplay frontman wrote a song for his wife.
His wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, just happens to be the star of a recently released film, "Country Strong".
The movie is about a fallen country singer that is working toward a comeback.
In the process, romantic complications occur between Paltrow's character, her husband/manager played by Tim McGraw, a rising star played by Garrett Hedlund, and a beauty queen turned singer played by Leighton Meestor.
The soundtrack contains songs by Trace Adkins, Hank Jr., Patty Loveless, Ronnie Dunn, Faith Hill, and others, including songs by Paltrow, Hedlund, Meestor, and my favorite, this one from McGraw and Paltrow.
I recently read an old article on Tim McGraw, and it made me like him more than I already did.
He is a very humble guy that lives daily thinking that this dream will be over.
Not if he keeps making songs like this.

Rolling Stones-Jumpin' Jack Flash

The lyrics of this song make me think of somebody that's out of control, yet keeps telling themselves that it's still "alright".
Kinda like Charlie Sheen.
It appears that Mr. Sheen is on a downward spiral.
He's a very talented guy, and like many I hate to see it happen.
I pray that he gets help before his lifestyle catches up to him.
Both for his sake, and his kid's sakes.
The other Charlie, drummer Charlie Watts, appears to be out of control, too, on this clip. WOW!