I wrote my first song at age 13. I didn't realize what I was doing on that rainy day after coming home from school. It was a bad day: I had been locked out of the house (because the lock on the front door had broken), and it was storming. I made my way around to the back gate, which was a real bear to open, and worked until it opened. I couldn't get it closed properly, and I remember worrying/praying that the dog wouldn't get out. I tromped through the mud and went inside through the back door.
But as bad as all this was, it was only the end of the school day. Bigger things were on my mind. I was 12 years old and had been experiencing dramatic mood swings and having difficulties communicating with my parents. One of my reading assignments that day had caused me to think deeply about some hurtful things I had said to my mother; but because I was in school and the assignment was strictly an academic assignment, I pushed my reactions aside. One of the reasons the locked doors and trek through the mud upset me was that I had been waiting eagerly to get home and spend a couple of hours alone, where I could let out my negative emotions without worrying about what anyone would think of me.
I sat down at the piano (my regular after-school activity) and began to play--except the song was unfamiliar to me. I just kept playing and thinking of the story and my reactions. I began to pray and, through tears, I occasionally sang the words of my prayer.
For several years, I have offered free downloads of several of my songs on this page. The recordings have improved in quality over the years, and I am pleased to be in the final stages of preparation of a CD which will be available for sale on this site. The CD will include most of the songs which were previously available for download. Please click on the titles to hear samples of the songs.
If you would like to be notified when the CD is released or keep track of other related news, please join my Yahoo group by sending mail to i-believe-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.