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Me from A to Z
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A Quote to Start Things Off
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Friday, April 25, 2025
S is for Stonehill Fan
My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me. Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.
It's time for some A to Z catch-up. , I am currently 3 posts behind. The next letter is S so let's get right to it shall we?
Randy Stonehill is one of my five favorite singers. Collectively I call these artists the Big 5. I have seen them all multiple times in concert and am more than familiar with each one's entire body of work. I have been listening to Randy since 1982 and like just about everything he puts out. Stonehill still performs and I had the opportunity to see him two times in a 6 month period bettween October of 2023 and March 2024. Here are some sights and sounds from those concerts.
Randy Stonehill , Leslie Stonehill & Phil Keaggy 10/7/23
South Holland Illinois
Concord Missouri
Randy Stonehill
Concord, Missouri 3/2/24
Randy Stonehill - This Old Face
This Old Face- Whimsical wisdom amid evocative imagery is one of the thing's I've come to expect from Uncle Rand these many years and This Old Face does not disappoint. This song could be titled turning 70 as this is something Stonehill, born in 1952, will be doing sooner than later. Featured lyrics: It's been weathered by the wind of sadness and of sin but it shines whenever Heaven's love appears
Randy did a children's album called Uncle Stonehill's Hat and Emma , Amy and I were able to se him perform as Uncle Stonehill when Emma was little. The next 3 videos are Randy performing a song form that album at the concert in March 2024
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Randy Stonehill - Stormy Winds Intro
Randy Stonehill - Stormy Winds Part I
Randy Stonehill - Stormy Winds Part II
Randy Stonehill Returning To Depart
Thursday, March 13, 2025
F O G .... E L Berg
My Daughter Lucy formerly known on this blog as both Puppy and Wolfina is now a 19 year old adult in her first year at college at the University of Illinois. She is a double major in Creative Writing and English. She continues to sing in a choir and is rehearsing for her 3rd and 4th plays of the school year. Same old busy dynamo. Lucy is one of those students who seem to excel in everything she does. When she was applying at colleges this made it difficult for her to choose a major on her applications. I think she had a different major chosen for each school got applied at. At heart though she's a theatre/music/writer/artist type of person.
I'm sorry, this post is not supposed to be about Lucy, but about Dan Fogelberg. Earlier this week a new Fogelberg song was released posthumously. Fogelberg died at the age of 56 in 1997. The song, I know a Thief, was released on streaming services like Spotify as part of the celebration surrounding the 50th anniversary reissuing of Souvenirs.
So, what does that have to do with Lucy you ask, Is she a thief? Well she did steal my heart, but that's not quite what the connection is. Fogelberg matriculaed at the University of Illinois and while there studied Theatre and Art as well as writing, performing and beginning to record his future hits.
I visited Lucy quite a bit during her first semester at school. I went so often mainly to watch football games but we hung out as well. (Mostly kidding I hope.). Speaking of football games, If you didn't understand the title of this post, (and let's face it who did?), it is an allusion to the cheer they make at home football games for every first down, touch down , field goal and extra point U of I makes. The announcer says ILL and The crowd responds INI. Still don't get it? Now you know how my family feels.
On my way around campus especially on game days I've passed by a place called the Red Herring Cafe. I've always been interested to know a little of it's history. Well that turns out to be precisely where Dan Fogelberg performed and recorded many of his early works.
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| Dan Fogelberg at The Red Herring 2003 From Dan Fogelberg Facebook page |
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| Red Herring Coffee House Poster 1972 |
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Folk Festival @ Red Herring 1969 Both Posters from Smile Politely Article |
This weeks prompt's were
- Write a post based on the word positivity.
- Write a post in exactly 9 lines (sentences).
- Got any big plans for spring (Easter) vacation? Tell us about them!
- Tell us about the most disastrous date you’ve ever been on.
- List some (1-5) podcasts you listen to.
- Daylight Saving Time — love it or hate it?
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Bob Ayala: Joy By Surprise - A Heard It For The FIrst Time Review
I know a lot about contemporary Christian music (CCM) and a pretty good amount about the history of CCM/ Jesus Music. Bob Ayala was a CCM Pioneer. While these first two sentences are correct, I just heard about Ayala today.
Friday, April 26, 2024
A to Z 2024: W is for Warmly Embrace Austalians
For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in an A to Z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
April 26th is Hug an Australian Day.
Australia is the lone continent that is also one entire country. Australia Day is celebrated each year on January 26th marking the 1788 landing of the first fleet into Sydney Harbor and the subsequent raising of the Union Flag of Great Britain. 3 months to the day later you can celebrate Australians all over again by hugging them.
Originated in 1996 in Melbourne, Hug an Australian day promotes warmth and wellness.

Wallaby,Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage, Buddhist Monastery, Brisbane, Australia www.dhammagiri.org.au
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Today's Song of the Day is We are Here by Randy Stonehill & Buck Storm
23 songs for the playlist
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To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!
Saturday, April 20, 2024
A to Z 2024: R is for R R R Very Funny. if You think I'm going to respect Lima Beans.

For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in a to z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.
April 20th is National Lima Bean Respect Day.
I do not need an entire day to respect lima beans. For me a minute would be too much time. To misquote Snoopy in Your A Good man Charlie Brown: I am a Lima Bean hater, a Lima Bean despiser and a Lima Bean loather. Or to misquote Greg Brady in the Brady Bunch episode," My sister Benedict Arnold": Lima beans are on the top of my bad vegetable list, the bottom of my bad vegetable list and every bad vegetable in-between.
I grew up in the 70's and we were all members of the clear your plate club. If my parents served it we ate it, or we hid it, or we fed it to the dog. I've always been a big fan of food, and there's hardly a food I don't enjoy. Growing up, I was not really big on most vegetables, I could eat corn or carrots but anything else was a stretch for me. But the worse of the worst was the lima bean.
I absolutely hate lima beans. I would not eat it on a bet. As I've got older I've learned to enjoy most vegetables and tolerate the ones I don't enjoy. I am actually a big fan of most beans black, pinto, kidney, garbanzo. Generally I lead the league in legumes. But I can not bring myself to eat a single lima bean. It is probably the only food I won't eat. I have strong preferences against some food like olives, but in a pinch I can eat one. Luckily my wife loves olives, so it never comes to that.
My hate for lima beans is legendary in my family. Just like my kids grew up knowing that I love The White Sox, Randy Stonehill, Libraries, and diving off the high dive, they also discovered I hate lima beans. So each Christmas for several years I could always count on that they would wrap up a can of lima beans for me.
I'm not sure why April 20th is National Lima Bean Respect Day. If it were up to me I'd ban the Holiday all together. If I can't do that I would just make it 19 day earlier. Because a day honoring lima beans has to be some sort of April Fools Joke.
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The song of the day Is Road to Zion by Petra
Here is a snippet of the song performed live ...
Here is the entire song ...
The A to Z mix tape now contains 18 songs.
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Friday, April 12, 2024
A to Z: 2024 K is for космонавт (cosmonaut)

Tuesday, March 12, 2024
72 Reasons to celebrate Randy Stonehill's 72nd birthday.
In tribute to that performance I am including every song I can find on the internet that he performed at that concert. All of the songs he perfformed on March 2nd in St. Louis are listed in Bold Letters (Just in case you don't know what Bold Letters look like, they look like this.)Many of his songs can be found on Spotify. Songs I could not find on Spotify, I found on BandCamp. Songs I could not find in either place I pulled from you-tube or Patreon.
1. Irresistable Future - Mystery Highway
2. Faithful - Until We Have Wings
3. Get Me Out of Hollywood- Get me Out of Hollywood
4. The Last Day - Not on Album Yet. Video from Randy's Patreon PageSaturday, October 21, 2023
Randy stonehill Keith Green story
Sunday, March 12, 2023
Happy Birthday Randy Stonehill! A 71 song salute.
On this Day March 12th, 1951 fellow baby boomer and my favorite singer Randy Stonehill was born in California. He turns 71 today and to celebrate I will link 71 of my favorite songs (and yes, I have that many) of his here on this very happy birthday post. Many of these songs can be found on Spotify. All of these songs are available for purchase at Bandcamp. Note: Songs are listed from the album they originally appeared. The song is not always being played from that album.
1. Never Can Repay - Born Twice
2. Faithful - Until We Have Wings
3. Get Me Out of Hollywood- Get me Out of Hollywood
4. Starlings - Return To Paradise 5. Christmas Song For All Year 'Round - Welcome To ParadiseSnow Kidding!
These "kids" now range from 19 to 25
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