25 Random Things

OK, OK, OK, already. I get the picture. Everybody wants to know 25 random things. Well, here they are:

1. I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is God made flesh and sent to earth to be the final sacrifice for my sins. I am saved by God’s grace, through faith in Christ Jesus.
2. My wife is the best! I could not live without her. She truly is my completer. We got married March 10, 1985.
3. I have two sons – Wiley & Hunter. Wiley is 20. Hunter is 18.
4. My son, Wiley, is battling a very rare brain tumor called a Craniopharingioma. It has robbed him of most of his vision. It has destroyed his endocrine system – he now takes 11 medications a day to stay alive and function. Without all the meds, he can live about 6 hours past the time he needs to take them.
5. Hunter is a scientist. He wants to go to Mississippi State to study Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering. He got his momma’s brains.
6. I am ambitiously lazy. I love work. I could sit and watch it for hours.
7. I am a musician that works as a research mathematician to support my habit as a guitar player. I consider myself more of an artist than scientist.
8. I am a Dale Carnegie instructor to pay for my gear and studio.
9. I use to be a motivational speaker. It’s just like being a musician only different. One day, I’ll get back on the road again.
10. I am the lead singer, slide & rhythm guitar player for the Off 61 band. We play Christian music with a southern rock and blues feel.
11. I am trying to learn to be a song writer. For a boy that failed English almost every time he took it, this is a challenge. It took me 5 senior semesters to pass sophomore literature.
12. I get to be a substitute preacher sometimes. When I retire, I would like to pastor a church. Or, just work as a janitor at one.
13. I have written, produced, edited, and directed 13 movies. One was even picked up, in parts, by the Discovery Channel several years back for the “Weapons of War” series on the HEDI Missile system.
14. I have worked on several albums over the years. My first exposure to recording was with James Stroud, a friend of the family when I was a kid. James had just produced a Gold Album with Dorothy Moore. James is now one of the top music people in Nashville.
15. I’m a picky eater.
16. I am building a 1979 ProStreet Toyota Pickup truck. I have a Chevy 327 Small Block motor, Power Glide transmission, Narrowed Ford 9” rear end, 10 point Art Morrison roll cage, and other custom stuff. The only thing left made by Toyota is the frame from the cab forward; the front suspension and steering; and the skin on the body. I have done all the cutting, welding, and sheet metal work myself. Family and friends have helped and hung out with me along the way.
17. I love motorcycles. I have a Kawasaki KLR 650 Dual Sport. Looks and rides like a motocross / enduro bike. I would love to build a chopper – not buy one – I want to do all the sheet metal work, forming / welding, etc.
18. I still have my first car - a 1974 MGB. It needs to be rebuilt and restored. It’s next in line to be rolled into the shop and out of my mom’s garage.
19. I have a dream of building a 1948 Anglia (little British Ford car) hotrod for Wiley. I want to put pedals and steering on both sides so he can drive and I can be the co-pilot. Driving is one of the things Wiley misses most from his life before the tumor.
20. I love photography. I would love to have a studio. Stacy is a better photographer. But, we love to photograph different things. She likes nature. I love junkyards, cars, and people.
21. I would prefer to have long hair and a beard. I’m a hippy at heart.
22. I want to build a Factory 5 Cobra Replica.
23. I love playing golf. Ken Halford taught me the etiquette and how to play. We would play in the mornings. It would be the long hairs and the grey hairs. If you want to ruin a golf game, go to work in the golf industry. I have broken 90 within the rules. No fudging, no cheating, I played every shot and putted out every hole. 89 shots on a par 72 course.
24. My favorite color is camouflage / green. Closely followed by yellow and orange.
25. I love the water and sailing. But, my wife is not a water nut like me. Our biggest fights have been about water – and specifically water parks. So, I don’t push water, water toys, or water type vacaions.