No gift is sufficient

Today, March 1, is my wife's birthday. I won't tell you how old she is, nor will I tell you what I got her. I'm just not very good at picking out gifts.

We have sort of an agreement. At least I call it that.
Since I am fashionably-challenged – how is that for a politically correct word – I tell her to please never expect me to buy her a gift of clothing as it will most likely be a) wrong color, b) wrong size, c) wrong fashion or d) all of the above.

The real answer is that I could never, ever give her anything close to what she is worth.

Just recently, I put together a special section in my work at The Anderson News. The occasion was Anderson County High School basketball coach Glen Drury reaching 500 wins in his career. That, in itself, is a huge accomplishment at the high school level, where seasons are much shorter than the colleges and pros. The fact that he did it all in one place is almost unheard of. But because it was such a big deal, it was decided to give that 500^th win some special treatment.

I contacted several former players and coaches in the area for comment. One constant that kept coming up was the importance of a great family that understands the time demands and unique characteristics of the job.

And it made me think of my own life of long trips to some small town in the middle of nowhere, too much fast food and too many late nights to get the job done. Without a special person, it wouldn't happen.

Saying that Stephanie is special is a major league understatement. There are many times when I ask myself what she saw in me.

But I am glad she saw what she did.

We are both old school to varying degrees, but we met online. Really, we did.

Both of us had been divorced and we had some of the same fears of our relationship but soon realized we were usually on the same page.

We had numerous mutual friends and one of them, my high school basketball coach, Wayne King, had a part in our wedding.

Over the years, we have become a team. Instead of staying at home when I have game nights, Stephanie decided to come along with me. She's been invaluable.
One winter, I developed a blood clot in my leg after a surgical procedure. That was a problem in my work as I am usually standing and taking photos at ball games. Hiring a photographer would not have been economically feasible, although I used a free lancer on occasion. The answer was I taught Stephanie how to use a camera.

She eventually became proficient enough to have one of her photos published on the worldwide Little League website.

And because of the fact that I am hearing impaired, she often listens in to interviews, especially those taped in places with much background noise.

I really don't know what I would do without her.

My work can be fun. When I have branched out from sports writing, Stephanie has been there with me as I interviewed Country Music Hall of Famers Duane Allen and Joe Bonsall of The Oak Ridge Boys, TV personality and comedian Tim Lovelace and she's opened our home to rising country singer J.D. Shelburne. Through my work we got to meet one of our favorite musicians, Paul Martin, and his delightful family, the Martin Family Circus.

But something tells me she would be just as happy attending a high school softball game as she would sitting on press row at Rupp Arena or sitting backstage before a concert.

Happy Birthday, Steph. It's been a crazy and incredible 10 years together. I can't wait to see what is in store for the future.

And I hope you like your birthday present, even though it can't come close to saying what I want. So this will have to suffice.
You really are the best.

A ministry on the sports page

(Recently, I was asked by my undergraduate alma mater, Mid-Atlantic Christian University -- formerly Roanoke Bible College --  to write a short column for their newsletter. It was to be about my work as a writer in a series, "Ministry in the Marketplace." Enjoy!)

When I packed my car for that drive to Elizabeth City, N.C. in August of 1977, I really wasn't sure where my life was headed, but making a living sitting in a press box or walking the sidelines of a high school football field was certainly not on the map.

I was heading to Roanoke Bible College for a year to be better grounded in my faith, but thought I would eventually be playing cowboy, managing a farm somewhere. Working as a sports writer was not likely.

Newspaper work means mult-tasking today.

Admittedly, I had always been drawn to the media. Even as a kid, I read the local papers and watched the TV news every day.

But by the time I arrived in Elizabeth City, I had just become a smack-talking sports fan extolling the virtues of the Kentucky Wildcats to anyone who would – or would not – listen.

My life changed. I served several churches in North Carolina and Kentucky, eventually landing back in my hometown of Lawrenceburg, Ky., where I started attending high school basketball games for the first time since I had graduated nine years before.

On a whim, I paid a visit to The Anderson News, the same weekly newspaper I had written for as a high school student. I simply asked the editor for a chance to write again.

Admittedly, I was thinking more about a way to get into games free and maybe make a little money doing so. To my surprise, I left the office that day with some reporter's notebooks and a press pass for the big game Saturday night.

Over more than 30 years, that paid hobby evolved into a full-time job. Much has changed in the newspaper business. My bulky old Smith-Corona typewriter bit the dust years ago. Today, I sometimes file stories from my smart phone and provide in-game updates on Twitter.

And over that time, I began to see one of those lessons I learned in college come to fruition: Almost anything can be a ministry.

Even sports writing.

With former Clemson football coach Tommy Bowden.

I never went back to school for specialized journalistic training. In retrospect, that might have hindered professional advancement, but it is also a blessing in that I developed my own style, based on who I am and how my faith drives me. Undoubtedly, the foundation I built at RBC has played a major role.

I simply read.

I devoured every kind of writing imaginable, from weekly papers to the Washington Post to Christianity Today. And while my writing appears in a secular publication, it has a distinct Christian flavor.

It is just who I am.

Several years ago, I was riding around the golf course with a local minister. I shared that I sometimes miss the pulpit, but he replied, “I think you are where you need to be. I am convinced you reach more people through your writing.”

That’s debatable.

What I do know is that having the freedom to tell Christian stories in a secular publication is priceless. I have told the story of a high school softball star that had not missed Sunday School from the day she was born. I offered a Christian viewpoint when the high school football coach was told he should not pray with his team. When another softball player hit a home run to send her team to the state tournament, I made sure a picture of her showing the “John 3:16” written on her eye-black was prominent in the paper.

Oak Ridge Boy Joe Bonsall shared his faith in our interview.

And my writing has expanded to non-sports work and I have been able to share the faith of some major country music stars who were going to be in the area.

There are times that eating too much fast food, driving too many miles and working too late makes me wonder if it is worth it.

But recently, a young man contacted me to see if I would be interested in sharing his parents' story of leaving Kentucky for the mission field.

“We wanted you to be the one to tell their story,” he said.

I was deeply touched and humbled.

That's because God really can use any profession to share His story.

Even a sports editor. 

Celebrating, tearfully

Steve and Vickie Haddix will be taking their dogs, but not much else, to Haiti.

(Not long before Christmas, 2015, it was my privilege to sit down with Steve and Vickie Haddix, who have answered a call to work at Alex's House Orphanage in Haiti. This is their incredible story, which appeared in the Dec. 23, 2015 edition of The Anderson News.)

The celebration will be much different when Steve and Vickie Haddix entertain their family Christmas night.

Much, much different.

Steve's parents will be there. So will Steve and Vickie's two sons, their wives and the four grandchildren. They will gather at a house that has been virtually stripped of its furnishings. There are a few folding chairs and a borrowed table in the house.

There will likely be tears. Lots of tears. “Most definitely,” says the Haddix's son, Jonathan.

Most of all there will be love. It's a love of family superseded only by a love for God.

“We told Kate, our oldest grandchild, in the middle of November,” Steve says. “She is seven and she was sitting in my lap. When I told her we were going to Haiti, she put her hands over her ears and said, 'I'm not going to let you tell me any more to make me cry.'”

Steve's voice breaks. To his right, Vickie has tears streaming down her cheeks.

Steve sighs, then smiles, “You talk about tearing your heart out.”

After living in Lawrenceburg for 25 years, Steve and Vickie Haddix are on their way to Haiti. Steve will be serving as the Director of Missions for Alex's House Orphanage, a decision that was bathed in prayer.

The Haddixs know it is the right move. They know the events that led to Steve applying for a position he would never have envisioned just a few years ago. Steve and Vickie have seen everything that has happened since accepting the position two months ago.

Everything has lined up. Everything.

Some would call it coincidence. To the Haddixs, there's not a chance of that. It's the God they love answering prayers in a mighty way.

Steve, who currently serves as children's pastor at Hope Community Church, will say good-bye to his church family on Jan. 3. Steve and Vickie board the plane for Port-au-Prince two days later. All they will be taking are a couple of suitcases and their two dogs.

Difficult decision?

The Haddixs learned of Alex's House through Hope Church several years ago.

The mission's founder is Bill Howard, who had been serving as pastor of a church in South Carolina. “God had laid it on his heart to start an orphanage in Haiti,” Steve says. “He had to find Haiti on a map.”

According to Steve, Mr. Howard went to Port-au-Prince where he met three young men, including one named Alex.

“Alex had a vision to get kids off the streets of Port-au-Prince,” Steve says.

On Jan. 12, 2010, about two weeks after Howard returned to South Carolina, the devastating earthquake rocked Haiti. Official estimates put the death toll at 316,000 people.

One of them was Alex.

The orphanage bearing his name soon opened.

Steve visited Haiti with a group from Hope Church in 2013. It was eight years after Vickie and their youngest son, Jonathan, took a 10-day mission trip to the country.

“My first trip, it smelled like a garbage dump,” Vickie says. “That was when I was coming out of the airport and getting on a bus.”

But something stronger than the smell lingered in Vickie's mind.

“She came home and said, 'You've got to go to Haiti,'” Steve recalls.

He was not about to budge. Driving a bus for the Anderson County school system and working with kids at Hope, Steve felt he was doing just fine in Lawrenceburg. He smiles, “I said, 'No, this is my mission field.'”

Steve finally broke down in February, 2013, joining some church friends for a mission trip. “After going, I wanted to stay another week,” Steve says.

While that was impossible, he did manage to head back to Haiti in March. “I wanted to finish the work of the month before,” he says. “We knew we wanted to do more. We just didn't know what it would be.”

The conviction came to fruition when Howard offered Steve a position at the orphanage.

“Someone asked if it was difficult to make the decision to move to Haiti,” Steve says. “We didn't make the decision to move there. We made the decision to be obedient.”

The Haddix family is living the teachings of Jesus, found in Matthew 10:37, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

They are also living the teaching of Matthew 25:35-36, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Once he visited Haiti, Steve was convicted of those words of Christ. “I don't see how anyone can go there and not have a life-changing experience,” he says.

Real life change

Steve and Vickie are not looking for accolades. They simply want to continue a walk that started with Steve sitting in his recliner back in 1998.

While he and Vickie had been raised in the church in their native Breathitt County, they'd drifted away. “Vickie said we needed to find a church for the boys,” Steve remembers.

“Steve was just working and surviving. His focus was on the family,” Vickie says.

At the time, the oldest son, James Michael, was 14 and Jonathan was 8.

“We weren't going to church anywhere but I watched Jeff Eaton on TV on First Baptist every Sunday. I made the statement, 'If he ever starts a church, I am going to try it out.' About two weeks later, Jeff announced he was starting Hope Church.”

Even after making the vow, Steve balked. “I didn't go. I was still making excuses,” he smile.

Eventually, Steve followed Vickie to the church. They got plugged in and began working with children.

“I started going to Hope because of Jeff Eaton,” Steve says. “I stayed because of the Jesus Christ I found.”

New step of faith

That relationship has taken a new step of faith with Alex's House. As Director of Missions, Steve will be responsible for coordinating work for more than 30 churches that travel from the United States to work in the field.

“We will have the whole week planned out,” Steve says.

The orphanage obviously has children, but, as Vickie says, “They are not up for adoption. They will get an education there at the orphanage.”

Steve explains that the orphanage's desire is to instill a love of the home country and making a difference there. “The need in Haiti is dire,” Vickie says.

“It is hard to explain unless you have been there,” Steve says, “but there is a growing desire and a hunger for God's word.”

Yet the poverty is gripping.

“In the U.S., we pray over our food before we eat,” Steve says. “In Haiti, they pray for their next meal.”

Vickie actually got the new venture rolling. She had seen an e-mail from Howard, the Alex's House founder, advertising an opening for the Director of Missions. She mentioned it to Steve.

“We were sitting in at Wendy's when I read the e-mail that Vickie had mentioned,” Steve says. “I texted Bill about it. He got back with me and said he was traveling but we talked about the position on the phone the next day.”

Steve sent his resume and soon after he was making plans to move to a Third World country on a gigantic step of faith. Most simply can't understand leaving the security of a home with family close by for a country steeped in poverty.

“We were having a yard sale here in Lawrenceburg,” Steve says of their effort to dispose of some of the family possessions. “A man who was a Haitian native came by. I told him we were moving to Haiti. His only question was, 'Why?'”

Vickie adds, “It makes no sense what we are doing.”

Or maybe it really does.

“If God hadn't taken care of it, we are not going.”

Steve and Vickie Haddix believe if God wanted them in Haiti, He would take care of everything.

The family had a Chevy Malabu to sell. “We took the car to a dealer in Nicholasville but couldn't agree on the price,” Steve says with a laugh. “He asked about our truck and bought it.”

It was the truck that Steve had planned on keeping around a bit longer.

The Malabu wasn't advertised for sale, but at the yard sale in early November, a neighbor inquired if there was a prayer request. “I told them to pray we could sell our car,” Steve smiles. “They asked, 'What kind of car? Can I take a look?' They ended up buying the car.”

But there was still the issue of getting around town for two more months.

No problem. A church friend loaned Steve a truck while Vickie is driving Steve's dad's car, a 1986 Chrysler LeBaron convertible. It gets her where she is going.

The only glitch was their house. The Haddixes have called Lawrenceburg home for 25 years and wanted to keep some ties to the town, meaning they did not want to sell.

“We asked at church for people to pray that we could rent our house,” Steve said of that October day. “Someone told me, 'I ran into someone in Frankfort. They have been praying for somewhere to move in Lawrenceburg, but they have kids and don't want to move until January.'”

It should come as no surprise who will be living in the Haddix house while they are in Haiti.

“There is just no way someone can say this was not God working,” Steve says.

Vickie adds, “As for renting our house and selling our cars, if God hadn't taken care of it, we aren't going.”

Steve and Vickie Haddix know some question their decision.

“We have been told we are crazy for leaving our salaries and our grandchildren,” Steve says. “We even had someone tell us we were selfish.”

Steve chuckles.

“Jeff Eaton said, 'Crazy people follow Jesus,'” he says.

But they also know things will get difficult.

“When Bill Howard talked with us, he wanted to make sure we were on the same page,” Vickie says. “He did not want someone dragging me to Haiti. We have been shoulder-to-shoulder through all of this.”

Their family is in Kentucky.

“Selfishly, I could say I wish they weren't moving but they are a picture of selflessness. They are an inspiration to me and I fully support them,” says Jonathan Haddix, their youngest son.

“I think what confuses people is they think we chose to do this,” Steve says. “We chose to be obedient and this is the door that opened. We have a desire to stay here. We love our family, we love our jobs. We love Lawrenceburg. But we have a greater desired to be obedient to what God wants.

“It is hard to leave the kids and grandkids. We will not see the grandkids at every ball game or cheer competition or dance recital. God told me it is not about what I am not going to see them do. It is about what they will see God do through us.”

Typical 10-year-old, extraordinary voice

Recently, I was privileged to meet 10-year-old Mikaya Taylor and her mom, Traci. What an incredible story of her improbable start in music!  Mikaya is already getting noticed in the business but she's a normal girl with a powerful voice.  This appeared in the Dec. 2 edition of The Anderson News.


In many ways, it would seem that Mikaya Taylor is your typical 10-year-old girl.

“Do you want to ask me some questions about my dog,” the fifth-grader from Robert B. Turner Elementary School asks.

She proceeds to go into detail about Zoe, her 7-month-old Doberman Pinscher, who hops on the couch to get some hugs and return the love. “She has a big nose,” Mikaya says, “but she’s a good dog.”

Mikaya has a passion for Chinese food and loves to talk about sports, too. “My favorite colors are the ones for the Florida Gators,” she says. But her love is for the Kentucky Wildcats, which should be no surprise since her grandfather, Mickey Gibson, played in 17 games for Adolph Rupp’s top-ranked basketball Wildcats in 1963-64.

Mikaya Taylor and her dog, Zoe.

Mikaya loves to talk. When asked if she ever gets in trouble at school for talking too much, she giggles and covers her face in embarrassment. “They say she is a social butterfly,” laughs Mikaya’s mother, Traci Taylor.

She just looks like a typical fifth-grader.

Until she starts singing, that is.
There is nothing ordinary when Mikaya belts out a few lines of a country classic.

I am a poor wayfaring stranger
While traveling through this world of woe ...

The chilling voice almost makes one forget this is a 10-year-old.

I’m going there to my mother
She said she’d meet me when I come ...

Make that a 10-year-old who got her first taste of performing publicly in May but in just over six months, has done more than turn heads. She’s performed on a world-wide radio show, been booked for one of the world’s biggest bluegrass festivals in 2016 and has been invited to sing in Nashville in February.

But it’s been that kind of a year for a child who wants a four-wheeler for Christmas and whose start came when her mom would stop what she was doing around the house when Mikaya started singing.

“She was always singing in her bedroom,” Traci says. “I am her mother, but I thought she had a beautiful singing voice.”

The music would be anything from pop – Mikaya claims to know the words to all of Taylor Swift’s songs – to country or bluegrass.

Mikaya Taylor sings "Wayfaring Stranger" with Kevin Chilton.

And the break came in May when long-time friend Kevin Chilton and his band, Custom Made Bluegrass, were playing at the Woodland Arts Festival in Lexington. Chilton asked Mikaya to the stage where she let go with a rousing version of “When You Say Nothing At All,” a song recorded by both Allison Krauss and the late Keith Whitley.

Nervous?

“I would have to say, ‘Yeah,’” Mikaya says.

It apparently did not show as representatives of the Festival of the Bluegrass were in attendance and booked Mikaya for one of the 2016 gathering at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Since then, Taylor has been wowing country and bluegrass fans around central Kentucky. Her songs include a cover of Dolly Parton’s mega-hit, “Jolene,” in addition to classics from Emmy Lou Harris and Loretta Lynn.

That’s something for a kid who counts the pop group “One Direction” as her favorite group.
It begs the question, “Why bluegrass?”

“That is what Michael Johnathon asked me,” Mikaya giggles.

Johnathon, a Kentucky-based folk singer, is the creator and host of the popular “WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour” which is broadcast on public radio and television. It originates at the Lyric Theatre in Lexington and is beamed worldwide on the Armed Forces Radio Network. His motto is, “You don’t have to be famous to be on WoodSongs, you just have to be very good.”
About five months after Chilton called Mikaya to the stage at Woodland, she was singing on WoodSongs on Oct. 19.

Mikaya and Michael Johnathon at Woodsongs

“Ruth McLain Smith of the McLain Family Band recommended her to me,” Johnathon said in an email. “WoodSongs is used in schools nationwide, complete with lesson plans, and for the past couple years I’ve been featuring children performers. They don’t win anything, they are not judged, but they get a chance to be on a national broadcast with seasons, touring performers. In that light, we look for WoodSongs Kids who sound like themselves, who smile a lot, who love music and their place in it. Mikaya fit all those things to me."

And, true to Johnathon’s signature phrase, Mikaya was very good.

“She was flat out adorable and a mighty fine singer. The audience loved her,” Johnathon recalls.
And the WoodSongs appearance provided the simple answer to why Mikaya is singing bluegrass these days. “It just seems that is where the doors are opening for her,” her mother says.

Chilton, an Anderson County resident known throughout central Kentucky for picking his banjo, was impressed, not just with Mikaya’s talent, but her stage presence. “She’s 10 years old but she is very professional,” he says. “When she gets up there, she takes over and does her job.”

That was apparent the weekend before Thanksgiving when Chilton’s group was opening for the renowned bluegrass group, The Grascals, in Clay City. He called Mikaya to the stage, where she wowed an audience that included several of the Grascals.

Mikaya Taylor singing with The Grascals in Nov. 2015.

Mikaya only knew the group from what her mom had told her, but quickly became acquainted as The Grascals also called the young lady to the stage. Despite never practicing together and being unfamiliar with each other, the stars and the 10-year-old delivered a crisp rendition of “I’ll Fly Away.”

Here is a link to the performance.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uSadSxvToA

It has all happened very quickly for a young girl who says, “I was surprised people wanted me to sing for them. I was just singing and mom listened,” Mikaya says.

Chilton initially got Mikaya on-stage. Smith gave her a recommendation. Johnathon and the Grascals have given her a break, but if things work out, some more of the big names in bluegrass and country music might hear Mikaya. She’s been named one of Tomorrow’s Bluegrass Stars and is one of 126 kids, age 18-and-under, from across the nation to participate in the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America’s gathering in Nashville from Feb. 4-7.

Whether any of her her favorite singers will be around isn’t known but Mikaya says bluegrass legend Rhonda Vincent is her favorite artist of the genre. If she met Vincent, Krauss or Harris?

“I would freak out!” Mikaya says.

It is just what a visitor needs to be reminded again that despite her success, Mikaya Taylor is still in elementary school.

Traci Taylor says she has no worries about her daughter being overwhelmed by her whirlwind rise. Traci says her daughter is very active in church and is well grounded. Plus, Traci is trying to make sure things stay in perspective.

“I have had a lot of festivals contact me, but I am not going to let her go all summer,” Traci says. She is working on a demo CD and is taking bookings for 2016.

For now at least, the big time will have to remain in Mikaya’s dreams.

She wants a bus for travel, but also wants to give to others.

“When I get my bus,” Mikaya says, “I want to go to Florida at Christmas and give a lot of kids presents. Kids that don’t have much.”

Chances are they will talk about Mikaya’s dog.

And undoubtedly, they will sing.


Hearing Mikaya Taylor
Mikaya Taylor is off to a fast start in the music business and will be featured on the television version of WoodSongs Old-Time Radio sometime during the coming season. The show is available on KET.
The radio version of Mikaya singing at WoodSongs will broadcast on WEKU – FM, 88.9, or WUKY-FM 91.3 on Dec. 19.
Her mother, Traci Taylor, has taken to social media to get the word out. Traci runs a Twitter account, kysingingangel and has a Facebook fan page, Mikaya Taylor.
Traci has also posted videos on YouTube on the channel “Mikaya Taylor Musician Band.” She also has a website, mikayataylor.weebly.com.
For more information, email kentuckysingingangel@gmail.com.

Looking for Nashville, looking for a band
Traci Taylor says her daughter is looking for a sponsor to help defray the costs of what promises to be an expensive, but worth it, trip to Nashville for Tomorrow’s Bluegrasss Stars.
Taylor also says she is looking for musicians to form a band to perform with her daughter. Young musicians looking for some experience are encouraged to contact Traci at kentuckysingingangel@gmail.com.

A Blessing I Won't Take for Granted

The ads for Black Friday have been going strong for several days now. They've been telling us all we really cant live without something we have done without for all these years.

Or as a friend tells me, Black Friday is when people buy a $300 tent to wait in line to save $50 on a television. Or it is the day that thankful people get up to push and shove to spend money they don't have on items they don't need.

At least that is what I expect of Black Friday.

Sometimes, though, we just need to sit back and think about some of the simple things in life. We say it often, but do we really understand it? I think I do now.

Something that happened in my life that really taught this old boy, at age 57, that the things we take for granted every day really do matter most.

A couple of months ago, I was checking my Facebook account when I saw where Paul Martin, who had been a member of Marty Stuart's band, The Fabulous Superlatives, had posted a YouTube video that caught my attention.

It was Kathy Mattea, Suzy Bogguss and Allison Krauss, three of the sweetest voices this side of heaven, singing the classic “Teach Your Children” at the White House in 1995. Legendary guitarist Chet Atkins was in the video while Martin was playing the pedal steel guitar. I had known of Paul for many years, dating to his time as a member of another of my favorite groups, Exile.

But I had no idea about this gig, in which he was actually a last-minute replacement for someone who had an appendicitis attack. If you have never seen it, check it out here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g795h7HaZsw

What really got me about the video, though, was the song itself. I had not known about this version of the great Crosby, Stills and Nash song. Apparently, it had been very popular 20 years ago, but I never knew that three of my favorite singers had this version of one of my favorite songs.

Those who know me know that I have cochlear implants. Since undergoing the surgeries to stimulate my cochlea, I've had the world of music reopened. From about 1992 or so until having the second cochlear device implanted in 2010, I rarely listened to music. Usually, it just sounded like jumbled noise.

Dr. Kari Mobley, then my audiologist at the University of Kentucky, introduced me to Pandora and encouraged me to listen to as much music as possible.

But I had not thought about “Teach Your Children,” which I actually heard first performed by The Imperials, a gospel group, back when I was in high school.

The video Paul posted might have been some good entertainment for many people. To me, however, it was another link to those days before my hearing deteriorated to the point of giving up something I love.

After watching the video, I immediately got out the inexpensive guitar I purchased last year. I started strumming that “D” chord, the key in which I had played “Teach Your Children” more than 30 years ago. Then “G,” “A” and so on. Admittedly, it was a bit rough and my fingers did not perform some of the runs I had been able to perform when I had played a 12-string guitar years ago.

To many, this might seem silly. After all, it was just a song.

But it is the very point I was profoundly reminded of when Paul posted that link. Just a song, regardless of its magnitude on the charts, can be something more profound to others.

I heard it. And yes, I could still play it, rough as it might be.

THAT, is a blessing.

It's so easy to overlook even the smallest things in life, even simply listening to a song or strumming a few chords on a guitar.

But they, too, are blessings. I will never take them for granted again.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17.

Winner didn't surprise but margin did. Some thoughts on the Kentucky election

 I don't think very many of us saw this one coming.

Privately, I had told a very few close friends that I thought Matt Bevin was going to be the next governor of Kentucky, but that we might not know until the early hours of Nov. 4, the day after we had the opportunity to go to the polls.

A statewide margin of less than 10,000 votes either way would not have been a surprise and the lingering question would have been the effect of a third-party candidate.

While the effect of Drew Curtis on election dialogue could be open to debate, there is little doubt that Bevin's performance with voters was very strong, regardless of sensational Internet stories claiming the election was rigged or stolen.

I'm no political expert and believe election shenanigans do go on, but I find it very hard to believe a margin of 85,000 votes, or better than 9 percent of those cast, could be influenced by voting machine hanky-panky.

That being said, I am an interested observer. Elections affect all of us, including sports editors. How we perceive they affect us is obviously different, but, yep, they are significant exercises of our citizenship.

Over the last week, I have tried to figure out how Matt Bevin fooled the pollsters to pull off the most one-sided Republican gubernatorial win – in terms of his percentage margin – in my lifetime. Here are some thoughts, in no particular order.

1.Jack Conway might have run the weakest campaign by a major party candidate the state has ever seen.

Back in May, after Bevin won the Republican primary by 83 votes, the general consensus was the GOP had given the Governor's Mansion to the Democrats for four more years.

While that was premature, the race was probably Conway's to lose.

I can't say anything about how much either candidate was out shaking hands and kissing babies, but do know that the advertisements from Conway simply had the message, “Bevin is the Bogeyman.”

We knew little of what Conway wanted to accomplish other than the “better jobs and better schools” mantra that nearly every candidate since Isaac Shelby has espoused.

That was it. Precious little other than “Keep the Bevin the Bogeyman out of Frankfort.”

Even if attack ads work – pundits say they do – somewhere along the line, people want to know why they should vote for anyone.

Conway gave them little reason to do so.

2.Bevin's campaign was much stronger than given credit for.

That was evident in the primary when he ran that memorable commercial depicting rivals Hal Heiner and James Comer in a food fight. It was about that same time I told my wife, “Bevin is letting them pick each other off and will slip through in the primary and win this fall.”

Full disclosure: I am a registered Republican, but did not vote for Bevin in the primary.

In the fall, most of the Bevin ads I saw showed him as a smiling businessman with his wife and nine children. It was very effective.

It would be unfair to say there were no attack ads on Conway, but, for the most part, they came from political action committees who successfully tied him – rightly or wrongly – to President Obama, who is not exactly a favorite in Kentucky.

Bevin was unorthodox, but the perceived gaffes, such as walking into Democratic headquarters during the campaign might have actually solidified some support in a climate where the a large portion of the electorate would like to give career politicians of both major parties a piece of its mind.

And agree or disagree with him, you knew a vote for Bevin was a vote for dismantling Kynect and for smaller government, among other things.

3.Bevin's win was a landslide among those who voted, but it was far from a mandate.

Bevin got 53 percent of the vote 938,715 who voted. Many of them are passionate in the call for a smaller government that Bevin rode to victory.

But over 2 million registered voters did not vote. About 70 percent of the so-called “responsible adults” did not take a few minutes to go to the polls on a beautiful day.

That's not just sad. It's pathetic.

Some pundits lamented that neither Conway nor Bevin excited the masses, but to that I say, “So what?” If the masses have to be prodded to go to the polls, it is much more of an indictment on the people than the candidates.

Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, there are few excuses for someone not voting. When Americans have one of the greatest freedoms of all and don't exercise that freedom, we are all losers.

Over the years, I've had some great political discussions that invariably devolve into “The politicians don't listen to me.”

Au contraire. They listen very carefully.

And when 70 percent of an electorate stays home, the message is, “We don't care.”

And we wonder why our country is in the mess it is in.

Martin Family Circus gives surprise performance at Hall of Fame induction

My wife and I were privileged to meet Paul and Jamie Martin and their four children earlier this year and we were simply blown away not just by their musical ability but most of all by their genuine faith in Jesus Christ.   I had known of Paul since his days performing with Exile and continued to enjoy his music with Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives. I also knew of Jamie, as I had seen her on several country music shows. I was even aware of the Martin Family Circus and was already a fan. However, getting to know them a bit gave me even more appreciation for what they are doing.

The Martin Family Circus was honored to sing Elvira at The Oak Ridge Boys' Medallion Ceremony for their induction in the Country Music Hall of Fame. I received this press release at work and have copied and pasted here. Hope you enjoy!

The Martin Family Circus sings Elvira at The Oak Ridge Boys' Medallion Ceremony inducting the Oaks into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Oct. 25. The performance was a surprise for the Oaks.  From left are Texas, Tallant, Jamie, March, Kell and Paul Martin. (Photo courtesy The Brokaw Company.)

Martin Family Circus Surprises The Oak Ridge Boys,
Including Father and Grandfather Duane Allen,
At the 2015 Country Music Hall of Fame Medallion Ceremony
Press release from The Brokaw Company

The Martin Family Circus achieved their goal of a grand surprise performance of the massive hit “Elvira” as a tribute to their father and grandfather, Oak Ridge Boys’ Duane Allen, and the other members of the group at the Country Music Hall of Fame Medallion induction ceremony last night in Nashville, TN. The Martin Family Circus – consisting of Duane Allen’s daughter Jamie, son-in-law Grammy-winning Paul Martin, and grandchildren, March (17), Kell (14), Texas (10), and Tallant (8) – were considered the perfect choice of performers. It was a thrill for all involved.

The performance was a surprise long in the making. The Martin Family Circus was initially invited to perform in May of this year by Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.. The Martins were then asked to keep it a secret for the last five-plus months, which was a feat in itself.

“We were completely blown away to be asked to perform. What a tremendous honor!” said Jamie Martin. “We never envisioned that we would be the ones to get to sing to The Oak Ridge Boys the very song that changed the course of their careers and lives forever, on the night that they received the highest honor possible in country music. We knew we had to give it our all. The toughest part about this was knowing for so long and having to make sure we didn’t let it slip.”

The entire Martin Family is proud of The Oak Ridge Boys and feel that there is no one more deserving of the high honor of induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Martin adds, “They have given our family the greatest example of hard work and determination. There aren’t very many country acts that have been around as long as they have and who are still performing to packed houses over 150 nights a year. That is an incredible achievement. They are our inspiration, and we’re so happy that they are being recognized for their career full of great songs, hitting musical milestones and crossing into multiple genres, supporting lots of charitable organizations—especially our US Troops, selling over 41 million records and still going strong!”

Jamie and Paul Martin have been singing together with their four children as the Martin Family Circus since 2010. Representing four generations of musical heritage, they are a self-contained band, focusing on tight harmony-driven music of many genres that delivers a room full of fun. They were originally dubbed the Martin Family Circus by Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill.

So where did it all begin? Grammy-winning artist Paul Martin, lead singer/guitarist of country-pop group Exile, met and married Jamie Allen, daughter of Duane Allen of The Oak Ridge Boys and Norah Lee Allen of the Grand Ole Opry’s own background vocalists, the Opry Singers. They began raising a family that was exposed to a rich musical heritage from birth. Each of the four children showed God-given musical talents early on, along with the same insatiable passion for music as their parents and grandparents had. All are accomplished musicians as well as singers.

Practice soon led to performances around the region and a successful web-based unscripted podcast-series called “The Martin Family Circus.” They have made appearances on The Oak Ridge Boys’ nationally televised Christmas special for the American Legion and episodes of television shows such as “The Marty Stuart Show” and “Larry’s Country Diner.”

Their first CD project, titled In Training, represented their rich musical roots, as it paid tribute to many of their favorite artists. Now, in 2015, they are recording their second project, Past, Present, Future, which includes classic hits, current favorites, and some brand-new self-penned material.

Jamie Martin sums it up for the family, “We were honored, humbled and elated to be asked to sing “Elvira” for The Oak Ridge Boys on this incredible night. The privilege of singing to Hall of Fame members and music industry friends—it was a night we will never forget. It has given us irreplaceable memories that we have made with our kids, our parents and our grandparents. These memories will last forever.”

As for the surprised father and grandfather, Duane Allen, he proudly commented, “I already knew that Jamie and Paul are great singers, but I am consistently blown away with the kids! I can't believe they were able to pull this off without a word. They made a very special evening even more special.”