I spend a fair amount of my free time making birdhouses with my dear wife of 32 years, Noreen. You could say it's a bit of a hobby. They make for wonderful gifts around the holidays, so we make sure that everyone in the family gets at least one more every Christmas and birthday. Here's one that we made last week that we're especially proud of:
I also spend a lot of time with my friends and family. In particular I enjoy spending quality time with my eldest grandson, Gerry, who's since come from California to live with us. His mother is continuing her ongoing battle with prescription medication, so in the meantime we're doing our part to help raise him. It's quite a challenge, as I'm sure you can imagine. He's quite a firecracker, let me tell you! Some of you may recognize young Gerry. Apparently he had quite a following on this very internet site until he was most unceremoniously dumped by the persons in charge.
Really, I love the boy. I just wish his mother had made some sort of previous attempt at actually disciplining the young fellow, because he's often completely out of our control. Why, just last month he ran up a $287 phone bill with one of those foul-mouted "adults-only" telephone chat lines. That was very very disappointing.
As I'm sure you might have guessed, I also give a great deal of my time to the First United Methodist Church of Peoria. Of course, I'm a member of the choir. I also share bi-monthly usher duties with my good friends Steve and Lindsay Bartholemey and their lovely family.
Of course, I also owe a great debt to my dear friend and mentor, Reva Unsicker, who became my first vocal coach, thereby helping me to discover the great voice that I've got inside me. To her I owe a world of debt.
I'd like to meet:
I enjoy meeting people who enjoy good singing. By that of course I mean proper vocal talents who are able to use their vocal training to their advantages. I have to say I don't much care for a lot of the really offensive music that I hear the younger people of today listening to, so if you're like me and you have a yearning for great vocal music, then I would be most honored to be your friend.
What Is Your Battle Cry?
Z ang! Who is that, rampaging out of the wasteland! It is John Daker, hands clutching buzzsaw hand extensions! And with a low howl, his voice cometh:
"I'm going to bludgeon you so hard, the Earth will spin twice as fast!!"
Find out!
Enter username:
Are you a girl, or a guy ?
created by beatings : powered by monkeys
"Zang," indeed!
Music:
I have to say that I don't completely find any redeeming quality in most of the music of today. Just today I heard a song by this group of young fellows who call themselves "The Dickies." I must say that I was not impressed.
The music that really stirs my soul is more often than not the music of an earlier age. Folks like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, Neil Diamond, Bobby Darin, Barbara Steisand, to name a few. Now that, my friend, is music.
Movies:
I don't watch many movies anymore. I once attended an early screening of a film starring Mr. Harrison Ford called "Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom." I found it unnecessarily violent and vulgar, and I haven't seen too many movies since then.
Television:
I truly miss "Murder She Wrote." I really thought that that was a fine, fine show.
Books:
I read The Bible from front to back twice a year. I also enjoy a fair amount of true crime novels. Incredibly disturbing material, but fascinating nonetheless. By that I mean the true crime novels, of course. The Bible is, of course, fascinating, but rarely is it disturbing.
Heroes:
Miss Reva Unsicker remains one of my greatest inspirations. Unfortunately, she went to be with the Lord back in 1995, but her heavenly piano playing remains stuck in my head to this fine day.
