Well….I’d say we are back to normal this week, but you guys all know we are FAR from normal. We are back home though after the big 8 day road trip which saw us go from Mt. Juliet, TN…to Columbia, TN…to Shipshewana, IN…to Tipton, IN…to Hazel, KY…to Camden, TN…and finally wrapping up this past Sunday night in Martin, TN. Whew!! It was great fun from pillar to post and we met lots of cool new friends who I’m hoping are tuning in here either by way of the website or through our email newsletter service. We’ve actually been home for a few days but you all know what it’s like to be away for that length of time…lots of things that need ‘tending to. Do want to throw one small thing out…happy birthday (belated as it is) to Wilma (also known in some circles as Gran-Gran). Appreciate her always keeping up on us and being such a big supporter.

Okay…I think we addressed most of the stuff from the weekend in Mt. Juliet/Columbia and I think we hashed out quite a bit of what went down at the Blue Gate. Awesome place…out in the absolute middle of no where. I think we were about 10 or so miles from Michigan, so we were about as far north into Indy as you could get…actually pretty close to the Golden Domes of Notre Dame University. I saw at least one sign for South Bend that said we weren’t too far away…oh, and we saw our fair share of trailers and campers rolling down the road from nearby Elkhart, IN as well. Looking forward to getting back to the Blue Gate in late September-early October.

Last Friday had us trucking down the trail to Tipton to hang with the Disciples Quartet…but not before we hit the first Mexican restaurant we could find. Amish food is great…but we were hankering for some chips and salsa and all the fixin’s that come with it. Once substantially filled with greasy food, we moved on to our destination….Tipton High School, and more specifically the beautiful auditorium (which smelled like chlorine since the school’s indoor pool was right down the hall…I fought the temptation all night to go take a dive…which was hard by the way with the heat outside). We got there and setup early…so we headed out for a Wal-Mart/Starbucks run to nearby Noblesville. Our first mistake was letting Jess go in and shop alone…our second mistake in retrospect was laughing at Jess when he dropped something on the way to our van from the store. I just HAD to roll the window down and laugh hysterically…paid for that one right quick. Seems Jess had made a purchase of a certain party favor that shoots sticky strands of “string” in fun colors like pink. Once the window was down Darrell (driving) and I (riding shotgun) were easy prey for his Silly String expertise. Next stop….a car wash with a vacuum cleaner.

After getting all that cleaned up, we made it back to the theater and had an awesome night. Enjoyed listening to not only the Disciples, but also a local group that goes by The Smith Family (not to be confused with The Smith Family that is also represented by Jubilee Music Artists and Barbara Roach). Great spirit there and a great group of supporters the Disciples have.

Saturday….well Saturday we were actually home! I think it took us a day to hug the family and get rested back up. Sunday we had 3 (count them….3) places to sing and we needed all that rest we could muster up. Sandy (my dog) looked a little suspicious at me…like she thought she should know who I was but wasn’t sure. Okay…I’m kidding…kind of…

Sunday we headed out early (like sunrise early) for Hazel, KY and Hazel First Baptist Church. Don’t know that I had ever seen this before…the church’s back parking lot was on the Kentucky-Tennessee state line….so we were in Kentucky, but barely. Great church…got to sing for the morning service right before their pastor laid down a great sermon. Like Darrell said, it’s nice when we can fulfill our calling and get fed at the same time. Look forward to going back down the road maybe and singing there on a Sunday night when we can let our hair down a bit more (considering I let my hair down YEARS ago, I guess I should specify which members can actually let their hair down). They offered to have us back so we will definitely be taking them up on it.

When the service was over we had about an hour to travel a 45 minute drive before the next service started. Got to Shiloh Methodist just in the nick of time to set up and get cranking. Another neat church with a bunch of fun loving Southern Gospel fans. Enjoyed seeing them and especially Barbara and Jerry Roach and their friend (and now ours) Dana. I think we are exploring dates to head back there as well for next year and their Homecoming.

We had a bit more time between that service and the 3rd and final one. I think we had two hours to travel one hour and then get set up. Did so in plenty of time and found a neat old church filled with beautiful stained glass and dark antique wood everywhere. Seems that church though is collapsing and the foundation is crumbling…so the church is celebrating it’s last few weeks there in anticipation of their brand-spanking new facility being ready for occupancy somewhere around Thanksgiving. Ooops…forgot to tell you the name…Central Baptist in Martin, TN…home of UT Martin University. Across the street was a First State Bank…which was kind of odd to me because it’s where my wife works here in Nashville. Even weirder (if that’s a word) is that First State has purchased the church we sang at and will be leveling it to make room for a new bank location soon after Central moves to the new digs. Small world…I spent much of our set up time calling and texting pics of the church and the bank to my wife. Anyway….great crowd and fun place to sing. Do me a favor and remember the pastor’s mom…don’t need names, just know she is in her last days here suffering from the late stages of cancer. He’s got peace about it all, but still it’s hard. He’s a young guy like me and Darrell (okay…young is in the eye of the beholder, if he’s my age, he’s a young whipper-snapper). He’s also a great singer and used to be in a local quartet when he lived in Mt. Vernon, IL. Hoping to get back there to when they get to the new place.

This weekend has us heading to see Joanne Clark and The Barn in Pana, IL on Saturday night. Should be fun as always…I know our friends the The Gabbards will be there and seems like one more group. Will fill everyone in when we get back..better yet, if you live close by…come out and see for yourself. Always reminds me of the movie Field of Dreams for some reason. I guess it’s because the barn is out in the middle of no where it seems with corn all around…and when it’s time to start the night, cars file in from everywhere. Come on out and see for yourself!

Sunday has us moving back towards home to Bethel Baptist in Palmyra, TN…which is actually close to Clarksville. Nice to be working our way towards home so that when we wrap up we are close to home and family. Might make for a long drive Saturday night, but will for sure make for a shorter one Sunday.

Quick reminders….Gatlinburg is really in overdrive now. We’ve been talking to one other group that wants to participate…more on that if it comes together. Also…if you don’t have the new CD “Classics”…what’s the hold up??? Just kidding…hope you like the clips here on the website (or if you get this through email, go check them on the website). We are getting great response to the good ol’ songs and I think if you don’t have one that you would enjoy it. If you don’t like it…ahh…Scott and Jess will come over and paint your house to make up for it….

Have a great weekend and we’ll talk at you first of the week.

Von and all the guys at CO4

P.S.- For those getting this through the email newsletter deal, go visit the website…there are a couple of updates that were done from the road that never made it to email status. Short and fun…so if you have time, check them out…

This will definitely be the shortest post I’ve ever added….but I couldn’t resist. The fine folks here at the Blue Gate have given us access to their network and there’s a line right here in the “green room”. What’s a “green room” you ask? Well….typically it’s not even remotely green, but is a place set up for entertainers to prepare for their deals. Some churches even supply “green rooms” for groups and soloists to change from casual to dress clothes. The Blue Gate’s green room comes loaded with bottled water, internet access, and very comfortable chairs.

We will be singing here in less than an hour…and it’s going to be our last night here until October. Weather has been perfect and the people are super friendly. They supplied us with a house to stay in and food here at the wonderful Blue Gate restaurant downstairs. Highly recommend that if you’ve not been here, you consider it. Very quiet surroundings with plenty of shopping for unique gifts and hand crafts. Sounds kind of like I am trying to get hired by the local Chamber of Commerce. Oh….you’ve got to check out the awesome Peanut Butter here at the Blue Gate (out of this world) and Yoder’s Meat and Cheese Mart. Bringing back chicken jerky myself…

Okay…about to have to run and start meeting folks, but wanted to let everyone know we are having a great week and look forward to being in Tipton tomorrow night and at the churches this Sunday. Most of all I think we all look forward to seeing our families and our own beds. No knock with anything here…there’s just no place like home. Hope you all have a great rest of the week and I’ll try and do a wrap up post as soon as possible talking about our week here…when we get back….

Von and all the guys at CO4