A musical weekend in Arizona
Just got home today from a weekend at the Mexican border. I don't get down to Arizona very often, and I always enjoy the drastic change of scenery.
Spent the weekend in Sierra Vista, just a few miles from the Mexican line. Got stopped by the Border Patrol and everything! They had me roll down my window, and asked me "State your citizenship, please, sir." I answered loudly "United States!" and the guy waved me on. It was a strange feeling...I got a big swell of national pride at that moment. The same way I feel when I've traveled abroad. Usually, I'm not exactly John McCain when it comes to patriotism, but when I'm literally looking another country in the face I experience a deep connection to the USA.
I played for a youth retreat in the mountains from Friday to Sunday and had a great time with everyone there. Highlights included leading music for the Compline setting out of the LBW (nerd alert!) and climbing up a mountainside switchback trail to a Catholic shrine way up high overlooking the desert. We could see the Mexican border road off in the distance, as if somebody drew a black line with a Sharpie marker across a giant map of North America. I've been to Tijuana from San Diego a couple times in my life, but I'd never been out in the middle of the desert before and seen that man-made divider stretching across the valley. I kept thinking how weird it was that the USA was on this side, and another country was on the other....obviously, the two sides looked exactly the same. Strange that some dude a hundred-plus years ago decided that's where the border should be. It's just a made-up line in the sand, but man, what a serious line it is.
Here's a shot from a house concert I played last night in Tucson. I was the guest of folks from Our Saviours Lutheran Church (they've got a super-speedy blog). A couple from the church hosted the show at their beautiful home in the foothills. We hung out by the pool beneath the full moon and had grilled salmon for dinner. Then I played in their living room. I was excited to test drive some songs from my brand new album Insomniaccomplishments, including "If You Have a Question," "Dialysis Carpool," and the timely "Daniel & Peter & Thomas" (Rather, Jennings, and Brokaw), plus I played some selections from the Heartland Liturgy, and a cover of "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" by the Police. Thanks to Lars, and the young adult group from OSLC!
Spent the weekend in Sierra Vista, just a few miles from the Mexican line. Got stopped by the Border Patrol and everything! They had me roll down my window, and asked me "State your citizenship, please, sir." I answered loudly "United States!" and the guy waved me on. It was a strange feeling...I got a big swell of national pride at that moment. The same way I feel when I've traveled abroad. Usually, I'm not exactly John McCain when it comes to patriotism, but when I'm literally looking another country in the face I experience a deep connection to the USA.
I played for a youth retreat in the mountains from Friday to Sunday and had a great time with everyone there. Highlights included leading music for the Compline setting out of the LBW (nerd alert!) and climbing up a mountainside switchback trail to a Catholic shrine way up high overlooking the desert. We could see the Mexican border road off in the distance, as if somebody drew a black line with a Sharpie marker across a giant map of North America. I've been to Tijuana from San Diego a couple times in my life, but I'd never been out in the middle of the desert before and seen that man-made divider stretching across the valley. I kept thinking how weird it was that the USA was on this side, and another country was on the other....obviously, the two sides looked exactly the same. Strange that some dude a hundred-plus years ago decided that's where the border should be. It's just a made-up line in the sand, but man, what a serious line it is.
Here's a shot from a house concert I played last night in Tucson. I was the guest of folks from Our Saviours Lutheran Church (they've got a super-speedy blog). A couple from the church hosted the show at their beautiful home in the foothills. We hung out by the pool beneath the full moon and had grilled salmon for dinner. Then I played in their living room. I was excited to test drive some songs from my brand new album Insomniaccomplishments, including "If You Have a Question," "Dialysis Carpool," and the timely "Daniel & Peter & Thomas" (Rather, Jennings, and Brokaw), plus I played some selections from the Heartland Liturgy, and a cover of "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" by the Police. Thanks to Lars, and the young adult group from OSLC!
Comments