Origins and Obituaries.

Bill Evans

He could have saved himself

were it not for

the self imposed addiction

common to so many

of his peers.

Fingers floated over ivory

with a beauty

reflecting

the soul inside.

Miles would call you

just to hear you play.

Years went by

as the body decayed

slowly,

that beautiful soul

possessing your hands,

making god himself weep.

Blue In Green

plays quietly

as the sun sets

and you live

once more.

Origins (Draft 1)

The entire family was poor

and living in rural Yucatan.

Grandfather was a very strict

and hardworking man.

His 8 children

had to be bilingual

(Mayan and Spanish).

Grandmother

woke every morning

preparing the little food

they had.

There was no running water,

no electricity,

no bathroom to speak of.

Grandfather never wished

any of his children

to be musicians.

They are all drunks

and drug addicts

he said.

An Uncle and young cousin

were practicing for a show

as my young father

observed them.

Uncle asked,

would you like to play with us?

My young father happily said yes.

He picked up the simple

rhythm on percussion.

Arriving home

he told Grandfather.

You absolutely

may not go with them!

My young father stayed home.

Decades passed.

In the years my view of the world

began to grow

the simple need to be with my own

young friends led me to take up

Civil War Fife & Drum

music.

We were merely boys

recreating the music

which was the soundtrack

to the day to day lives

and deaths

those young men

led.

There was never a thought,

never a consideration

for the weight of history

this music carried.

This gave way

to the

Thunder By Knight

marching regiment

at my high school.

The music was a marked

change.

It was louder

and more grandiose then

anything I had ever been part of.

3 years were spent living with

constant practice,

competition

and improvement.

It ended so abruptly

and I have mourned it ever since,

not for me and my friends

but the teenagers like us

who would never get that chance.

Senior year

I almost stopped playing.

By a chance class scheduling

I would meet those

who would comprise

my first band.

I was so proud of that first drum set.

I had never played one before.

Ever since then I have continued.

Thank You Father

for letting me become

who I have always been.

Thank You Father

for saying

Yes.