Hail the First Timer!

So, I'm trying something new. I like to talk. I like feedback. You could say I'm a "communicator" however, sometimes I get a little selfish and only do it on my terms. Well, I suppose this is how I can get away with it. Let me start with the whole, "about me" nonsense so everyone can be on the same page:

"Look Up To 'Waynes'" was inspired by these facts. Several of the people I admire have something (or everything) to do with Wayne. First and foremost, my brother, Nathan Wayne: he's physically and mentally challenged and lives with a handicap called Cerebral Palsy. He suffered from severe seizures at a young age which caused more damage to his brain. Nathan has persevered through more ailments and sicknesses than any human I have ever known and if you were to ask Nate how he is doing today, he'd undoubtedly reply, "Good".

My father, Terry Wayne, (whom Nathan was named after) is the second "Wayne" on the list. Second only to such a miraculous display of Life mentioned above. 'Ol Dad is one of the most patient and hard working dudes you'll ever meet. I could probably count on two hands the number of times I've ever really heard him complain about anything.

Third, number 99-Wayne Gretzky. I'm from a hockey family. Sorry football fans, I now live in the south where a little team called the Nashville Predators play and I can say you've got some catching on to do. (I always will be a die hard Detroit Red Wings fan but that's another story and may lose me some readers here as I digress)...The Great One stands out for a reason that you could not possibly guess. A reason that earned my respect completely outside of the fact that he's one of the world's greatest athletes. A hockey card. Yup, you heard me. It was a class project in 4th grade and we all had to pick someone famous that we admired and write a letter to them. I have no idea what was going through the teacher's mind. What a horrible way to crush the hopes and dreams of a little kid. Her expectation was that later in the year, we would start to see a reply. (Well here goes nothing)...A buddy of mine picked Dan Marino, someone else picked Joe Montana, and I picked Wayne. After displaying what seemed to be a "sure fire plan", a couple other kids in my class were digging my 4th grade intellect and followed suit. I was even nice enough to bring them some of the duplicate hockey cards I had of Gretzky in addition to the one I was including in my letter for him to hopefully sign. In reality, there's absolutely no way the result should have been anything but a big donut. (That's a zero, nothing, nada)...What I and 2 other kids ended up doing was sending a hand written letter with the card enclosed to the arena where the Los Angeles Kings play in hopes that some kind staff member would contact Mr. Gretzky and get him to sign the card and reply. It wasn't long before people actually started getting mail back! I can't remember what it was the girls would get so excited about because all I recall is the day that mail finally came for me and my friend David, who sent off for Dan Marino's autograph. Both were pretty big Hail Mary's if you ask me. He opened his legal size manilla envelope and pulled out an 8x10 signed photo of Marino! We were stoked! Well, everyone was really clambering around me as I opened my mail which was just in a normal envelope. (David was so excited he later stole the envelope because he thought Wayne Gretzky had addressed it himself). I peered in to find the hockey card I sent sitting safely inside. I half expected to pull it out only to find disappointment, but instead held between my fingers, a hand signed, Wayne Gretzky trading card formerly worth about $.75!! We were going nuts. And the funny thing is I was the only one who got anything back from him! I believe he saw through the malarkey...

All that to say, I intend to share stories, random thoughts, photos, videos, and music with anyone who is interested. The real "about me" isn't that exciting I don't suppose. I'm married and loving it. I went to college to learn the recording arts. I have a day job which I also enjoy even through the amount of stress that manifests from it. I play and write music which is my passion. And I'm a ginormous hockey fan which is my hobby and first love. I will end here. So much more to come!