THE BACKSTORY
After 19 months of dormancy, I have suddenly been stricken with a deep desire to write another post here on my blog. Well…wait… that’s not to say that I haven’t seen my share of desirable talking points. In as many months, I have seen plenty of things take place that fill my heart with such desire, yet have not had the time to devote to their stories. I hope to render this blog thing useful again, not that it ever really kicked off in the first place. So lets recap, and talk about what brings me back…
The purpose behind this blog was to illuminate my ideals as they relate to Life, Love, Spirit and Music. I’ve discussed, and will continue to discuss, my wonderful wife and [growing] family, our history, and in no real structure, all of my dealings and discoveries involving music and the industry’s important figures. However, another element of life, love and spirit has seemingly worked its way into the fabric of my being, and it has all been thanks to the two [yes, two now] ladies in my life. But first we need some background, some admitting of flaws and eating of crow.
Back in the fall of 2006, when I was attending Texas A&M University and was a junior in the school’s Corps of Cadets program, Travis Meier and I took on a wild idea that would inevitably resemble something of a pipe dream. Travis was my ol’ lady at the time [corps-speak for ‘roommate’], and upon our living in the same cinder-blocked bunker, would pick up on each other’s musical tendencies. Needless to say, Travis was a fan of the Dave Matthews Band in short order. So we came up with this plan to bring the Dave Matthews Band to the infamous home of Aggie football [and my namesake], Kyle Field.
What we thought of as a silly gaff quickly escalated into detailed planning as we would begin to develop a pitch for the president of the university, whom at this time was Dr. Robert Gates. The organization that gave life to this grand plan was something we, as fans of the band, were at least vaguely familiar with… a non-profit setup in the ‘80s by Texas music legend Willie Nelson; which Dave Matthews had now been placed squarely in the middle of as a member of the board along with Willie, John Mellencamp and Neil Young. This, of course, is Farm Aid.
At the time, I had no clue what Farm Aid was all about, much less, the issues that the organization had been fighting for some 20 years to this point. Speaking for myself of course, all I saw in Farm Aid was that it was a way of connecting a ‘liberal’ organization to something that my conservative school might stand for, and thus would bring my favorite artist to College Station with his band! Never mind the great things this charity does… my intentions were purely based on selfish desires.
Long story short, it didn’t happen. It made for a pretty neat experience though. Travis and I got to meet with Dr. Gates a few times to pitch the idea, we had even bound 10-15 page booklets outlining the purpose for such an event. It seemed to resonate with the office of the university’s president, and led to one of Gates’ underlings reaching out to the band’s management team. But the timing wasn’t right. Dave Matthews was expecting a daughter at the time and his bandmates wanted a break from their grueling summer tour schedule. On top of that, Travis and I were the last students to meet with Dr. Robert Gates, on the Thursday before the big football game against Oklahoma. I remember this because it was a heartbreaking loss, and the very next day, Gate’s announced his resignation from the university. A few weeks later he would see his title change to Secretary of Defense, under George W Bush.
There is a purpose for me telling this story, believe it or not. And now I must tell one more.
At the end of my blog post from July of 2014 titled ‘The Righteous Brothers 2.0’ [my last post… has it really been that long?] I mention two things in particular. One, that I’d love to meet ‘his Neilness’, Mr Neil Young; and two, my making sure to encourage readers to live a ‘pono’ life. This was right after the outset of my involvement with Neil Young’s company, PonoMusic. Shortly after publishing this blog post, another opportunity involving Farm Aid came about. This time, Abby and I would travel to Raleigh, NC for Farm Aid 29. Here we would meet with Neil to discuss the company, and while there, be introduced to a bevy of other musical talents (including Dave Matthews). A memorable day indeed.
The whole point of Farm Aid, though, is to educate the public on what is happening in the agriculture industry here in America, and thus the food industry as a whole. So… before utilizing our backstage passes, Abby and I sat in on a brief forum-style discussion breaking down the young farmer and his plight. Was I at all interested? Not really. Yes, it was eye-opening, but was not my reason for being in attendance that day, so the information found its way into my subconscious and remained there for quite some time.
So here are the two experiences I’ve had involving Farm Aid, each of them using the organization as a vehicle for ulterior motives that I, looking back now, am not particularly proud of. Poser, frontrunner, superficial, going along with it because it is ‘en vogue’ and seems to be the common theme of the moment… these are all things that come to mind when I think about my mentality as it related to the mission of Farm Aid in those particular moments.
But… an interesting thing happened that day, and fate stepped in to make sure that a different course was charted for all parties involved.
I know I know… So what happened? What’s the end game here?
Food. That’s it. That’s the end game. Food.
Not a lot of people know what I’m getting at, because I haven’t made my beliefs known at the time of my writing this post. In fact, I am only writing this blog post because I wanted to make some brazen Facebook post regarding this country’s dilemma, but then realized that nobody would read an entire book on that damn social media outlet… if there is a character limit for Facebook, it clearly would’ve been reached. So I decided to do this instead, and if people read it…. Ok… if not… ok. I’ll continue on in my new way of thinking.
So, back to the timing of all of this, before I get into the real meat. [which will now reside as ‘Part 2’]
In January of 2015, a few months removed from Farm Aid 29, my wife and I became pregnant after a few hardships along the way, and in October welcomed sweet Emma Gale into our lives. In those 9 months, I witnessed something that epitomizes the very notion that love is the most powerful of all things… my wife’s eating habits.
Laugh if you will… I get it, you didn’t expect to read that last bit.
You see, my wife loves tasting her way through life. Be it travelling half-way around the world or spending a night out on the town between the two of us; our plans mostly revolve around the sensuality of food and drink. This love she has for food has most definitely translated into our own kitchen, and little Emma will certainly be seeing the benefits of a culinarily-advanced mother in a few years [yeah, probably not a word, but if anyone deserves a word created in honor of their work, it’s for my wife and her cooking].
Abby completely re-arranged ‘normal’ in this time, and made sure that everything going into her body was holistic, healthy, and of natural origin from stem to stern. It was amazing. She loved this child so much, that she would not even fathom compromising nutrition for a temporary junk-food craving. When Emma finally joined us in October, the benefits of such a love were obvious, at least, in my eyes they were.
Yes… every parent thinks their kid is the best… ever. And yes, I think that about Emma. But I would think that regardless of her demeanor in baby-dom. Another word I have just made up. This kid isn’t just the best… I feel like she’s a downright anomaly. I mean, sure, we lost sleep, I guess. We battled growth spurts, and still do. All the normal things that happen in baby-dom… but there’s just something about this baby girl that is constantly telling us that she is content, and happy, and of good health; something that, without the ability to communicate, is telling us that she just feels good. I can’t help but attribute that to our faith and, you guessed it, that diet that momma was so particular about.
If anything is going to convince me of what is right and wrong with the world, it is my family. My love for them runs deeper than the roots of the Angel Oak; so when something as obvious as the way we eat directly effects their health and prosperity, it strikes home.
BOOM.
Finally… it clicked. It all made sense now, and I was able to realize the error of my ignorant ways regarding Farm Aid and its cause. The light has been firmly switched to the ‘on’ position, and suddenly, as I type now, another massive convergence is taking shape between Life, Love, Spirit and Music; and it all stems around food.
[Looks at open lunchbox in the passenger seat of my truck]
Yup…. That stuff.
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