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I am 55 years old, and live in Seattle, WA, with my wife JoAnne, and my two sons at home; Joel age 12, and Kyle age 7 (going on 14!) Kyle has the exact personality and sense of humor as his dad, which can at some times drive Mom kinda crazy!!I have loved to sing as long as I can remember, it is even written in my baby book; yes they had baby books in the dark ages!!I was never really encouraged to sing as a child or young adult, and was a bit shy about I guess. Those that know me will question my ability to be shy about anything, but nonetheless it was true.I worked as a lighting designer in the 70's and early 80's working for many local Seattle bands, and such rock luminaries as Three Dog Night, Firefall, Little River Band, Rick Springfield, The Police (that's a story in itself filed under "My biggest mistake" to be told at a later date!), Tower of Power, Heart, and ending my career as a production manager in 1979 for Styx on the "Main Event" tour in support of Pieces of Eight.All of this time, I spent honing my craft behind speakers, at the lighting console, under the stage during concerts, all of the most logical places for an aspiring vocalist. The pipes were starting to develop, but the confidence just wasn't there.I discovered Karaoke in 1990, started my own company that same year, and discovered that people really enjoyed my singing!! Imagine that. I met JoAnne at a gig in 1993, and we married later that year.With the coming of the two little ones,(my oldes son, Sean at this time was a young adult), I had more excuses not to follow my dream. You can't go on the road or perform every weekend with babies!! So there I was. I still sang some karaoke, but not a lot. I was content in my place as a daddy.In the spring of 2006, a local television announced audition for their talent show "Seattles Stars" Now I had attended the auditions a couple of years previously, and really didn't feel like it again. I talked it over with my kids, and Jo, and we decided that this was kind of my last chance to see if I could really do it. I attended the audition with Joel, and received a call back for the next round. In a couple of weeks, I got the call, and was on the show. Yippee!!! I was the oldest contestant, and I was thrilled. We received some stage and vocal training, and that was all fun, but somewhere in the 10 week process from callback to final show taping, something interesting happened.I GAVE MYSELF PERMISSION TO BE A SIGNER!!!!Gone were the butterflies as with previous competitions, gone were the aggravating weeks before the show where I would usually drive Jo crazy (well almost gone!!) I had a BLAST! I had a great time , was not at all nervous, and had the time of my life.I ended up making the final show, but not advancing to the final round. But that really didn't matter. What mattered was the joy I found in doing what I really love to do, and the newfound respect from friends and family members (who probably believed in me all the time).I had the great good fortune to see my old friend Pamela Moore sing with Queensryche at the Grand Sierra Hotel in Reno, and competed and actuall won a singing contest the next night on the very same stage. The applause and screaming will stay in my heart and head for a long time.Where do I go from here? I really don't know, but you can be sure that I'm thinking about it.Thanks all of you who support me in this quest.