Greatest Hits...

I'm gonna be really transparent for a minute. One of the biggest battles I face in life is feeling like a failure. El Diablo loves to parade all of my past mistakes and shortcomings quite often. And, being the highly intelligent idiot that I usually am, start dwelling on them. I join the parade, waving a banner and twirling a baton directly behind the marching band. Before too long, me and satan have me convinced that I am, in fact, a colossal failure and not good for much of anything. The problem with all that wallowing in self pity is that I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God. Failure is an event, not a person. So, in an effort to combat this cycle of crazy, I have to stop the stinkin thinkin and remind myself of the blessings I have and the things I have accomplished. In my opinion, everything I have and ever will accomplish is a blessing from God. So without any glory or gratification to myself and all appreciation to God, here are a few of the things I have to remind me about:

I have checked off almost all of my Things to do Before I Turned 30 List:

1. Be married and have at least one kid.
2. Live in a house, not a trailer or apartment.
3. Own two cars that are paid for.
4. Go back to school and get smart.
5. Record and release an album of instrumental music.
6. Get said album(s) played on radio.
7. Play in a band.
8. Be completely debt free. (close. very close.)
9. Become rich and famous. (not even close.)

I am blessed with a great wife and amazing daughter.
I finally have some direction to my life.
I am part of an amazing, outreach loving church.
I get to play music with my friends often.
I'm going to the beach to bodysurf next weekend.

Life really is good, and we all have the ability to make it better every day. What do you want to accomplish or already have accomplished? Talk to me.

Valedictry Speech

A few folks who were not able to make it to the graduation wanted to read the speech I delivered. So here is a close transcript of my Valedictorian's speech, June 9, 2011

Good afternoon to our guests, Director Merkle, Dean Whatanberger, Chairs, and my fellow graduates.

I am honored to stand before you today as the class valedictorian. I am indebted to every instructor who stayed late, the classmates who helped me along, and way too many cups of Folger’s Dark Roast.

The first time I visited the campus, the admissions counselor said something that stuck out to me. She said that the next two years will come and pass whether or not you decide to get your degree. As well as being a great sales pitch, there is a lot of truth to that statement. The last two years have come and gone, just like the last ten years before that since I graduated high school.

If you have considered going back to school, I would encourage you to do so. You aren’t too old. You can find the time. You can make a difference for yourself and your family. I am glad that I decided to take the plunge. I have options and opportunities now that were not open to me before. But I know that this is only the first step in the right direction. It is up to me to keep going and pushing to make things better, to keep learning, always improving myself and the lifestyle I provide for my wife and daughter.

I have learned a lot at ITT. Some things I have learned: I learned a lot about taking a computer apart. And a little bit about putting it back together. I learned that being a mathematician is not a career I want to pursue. I learned that a lot of physics can be taught by referencing Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon cover art. I learned that the propensity of a computer to crash is directly proportional to the amount of time since you last saved the project. And apparently, consuming massive quantities of Hungry Howies pizza makes students more intellegent.

I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the incredible support I have received from my wife, family, and friends. This has been an interesting journey and they have put up with some crazy hours, a lot of stress, and finals week eight times. And they still love me.

In the words of the venerable Southern Statesman Mark Twain, There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things and people who claim to have accomplished things. And the first group is a lot less crowded. I challenge you to make the most of the momentum. Never stop learning, never stop growing, and never stop reaching. Remember, it doesn’t matter if you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better start running. May God bless each of you abundantly, thank you.

My alter ego or Thinking I'm way more talented than I really am.

Alter Egos. What a fun concept. Just like billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne turning into the caped crusader, I log into Blogger and become.... wait for it... The Polyphonicpyro! Duh-duh-duh!!! Spewing occasionally brilliant little insights on life love and the pursuit of my next plate of nachoes from Moes, with the benefits of spell check and a ready Google to look up big words that make me sound real smart. In my mind, everything I write here is as witty as Mark Twain and deep as Shakespeare. Allow me to believe my disallusions if you would be so kind. But my literary prowess is not the point of this rambling narrative. The point is me wondering if I've ever fit a stereotype. Stereotype in question being the Thinking-I-am-more-talented-than-I-really-am-guy. I'm sure I've been this guy at some point. And I've also made fun of this guy, with imitations included at no extra charge. We all know someone who fits this description, you are probably thinking of that person right now. I definitely know a few. The reason I had began to pontificate is my username here. Polyphonicpyro is, in my mind at least, a clever conjugation of the Latin words poli, phonic, and pyro, which means many sounds on fire. I came up with it back in the days of Bebo and Myspace (does ANYBODY still use those sites?) when you changed your display name on occasion to suit your fancy. Back in the early 2000's you were not considered a proper Pentecostal without a Bebo page. (I wonder how Bebo got a pass from the standard police when Myspace was deemed as evil incarnate. But I digress.) Point being, Polyphonicpyro is, in retrospect, a rather arrogant username. And email. And Twitter handle. And Blogger title. So if at any point I have worn my God given talent on my sleeve and made myself out to be more than an individual blessed with a gift for music, forgive me. I don't want to be Thinking-I-am-more-talented-than-I-really-am-guy. I just want to learn and grow and challenge myself to get better all the time. Cause I believe that is what we as Christians are called to be and do. Thanks for indulging me.

"Christian" Bands

This topic has been bouncing around the ole cranium for a couple of days. I bring it out now for the purpose of discussion and possibly enlightenment. Last Saturday at work, I mentioned to a friend that I had missed a great concert the night before. Decipher Down was in Mobile and I missed it due to school. He immediately asked if DD was a "real" rock band or a "Christian" rock band. My answer was a rock band consisting of Christians. The very next day, I learned of something that happened last summer I had not previously known. My band, Unveiled, was hired to play a show in Gulf Shores. The gig was outside, very public, and a blast to play. What I learned Sunday is that a guy that was at the show at the time listened to us soundcheck and then cornered one of the organizers and read him the riot act for hiring a "secular" band. Why were we at first branded as "secular"? In his mind we were "Too good to be 'local Christian band.'" So the facts that we were both talented and Christian were, in his mind, irreconcilable. WHY?? My mindset, and my bands have heard it 1000 times, is that what we offer as Christians should be the best thing available, in whatever we do. The Good Book is rather plain in saying "Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might." Talk to me, especially if you disagree with my concepts.

The year that was...

I wonder what it is about the end of the year that lends itself to reminiscing. Definitely no exception to the rule, I find myself looking back over last year, reading the posts from Lailah's time at St. Jude and the days that have followed since. I would have to say that last year was the best of times and the worst of times. Through it all I have learned more than I would have thought possible about grace, faith and peace in the midst of the worst time of my life. I experienced the kindness of strangers and the faithfulness of fellow believers in a whole new way. My family is blessed. My home is blessed. Our walk with the Maker is deeper and stronger than it ever was. I told God at the beginning of all we went through that I didn't understand and didn't like the fact that we were facing this storm, but now I can see that His hand was guiding us through for bigger and better things that are slowly coming to pass. Sorrow lasts for the night but joy comes in the morning. Bring on the morning.