The day after my return from celebrating my colleague and friend’s 50th I was down to the CenturyLink Convention Center to check in on the Home Instead Senior Care A/V setup. Joe with the in-house audio/visual company was on hand getting the audio layout started and attached to the rigging along with the 80′ projection screen. An assembly of many companies, trades and skills are deployed for the event. The next couple of days were rehearsals and then presentations for the 1300 attendees of the Home Instead Senior Care international convention. I was responsible for the live audio of all ballroom events which included training sessions, evening celebrations and awards. It is always a privilege to see a company that strives to provide top quality service to people who Jesus reminded us are sometimes considered “the least of these” – the elderly. I appreciate the opportunity to facilitate the enterprise and ministry of Home Instead Senior Care.

On Friday the 20th I boarded a plane headed for Cleveland to surprise my good friend Jon Guggenheim. Prior arrangements had been made for our mutual fishing partner, Mark Lee (former Omaha TV Channel 3 meteorologist) to pick me up at the Cleveland airport as he drove in from Pennsylvania, and so we both arrived at Jon’s house just after Jon made it home from his Cleveland recording studio C-Town Sound.  Another friend of ours EJ was not able to make it in from the Chicago area while recovering from an illness.  Additionally we did have representation from our Omaha friend/fisherman, Jim who forwarded a walker to help Jon celebrate (to make sure he could still get on stage in his old age – Thanks Jim!!).

Jon worked with me here at Tesco Productions for several years following about twelve years of independent audio engineering in the Los Angeles, CA area. I learned a lot while he was here including a “big picture” perspective based on his years of experience in much larger facilities. Along the way Jon introduced me to fishing (which I hadn’t done since childhood) and all I can say is that apparently God wanted me to do something besides work all the time. I’ve never had a day of fishing like that since. Not so incidently, I discovered not too long after making some changes of work load and taking some time to relax with fishing, that I had a lethal level of high cholesterol which if left uncorrected much longer would have very likely meant I wouldn’t be writing this story today. So, from still missing his “good morning” and prodding to get out fishing much more than I do, you can see I literally have reason to thank him for potentially saving my life.

Jon’s band Guggy’s Rock N’ Roll 101 was key feature for an extended music celebration Friday evening. A number of Jon’s clients/friends were on the stage that evening as he has the same problem of somehow turning clients into friends (love it when that happens!). The following afternoon the 3 Muskateers (that’s us) found ourselves touring the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame. There’s a lot to see including the history of modern recording. Saturday evening we were all invited to Jon’s parents’ place for a multi-birthday celebration that included some of Jon’s relatives. But no trip would be complete without at least attempting to get out and wet a line and so Sunday morning we squeezed in about an hour of trout fishing before we all headed back home.

Jon, hope and pray you have many more and thanks for everything!

If a name was synonymous with a life of vocal music it would be Dwaine Price. Hundreds of people gathered today as well as last evening to celebrate a life lived – yes entwined with music, but more significantly in the lives of people. From high school choirs, barber shop, church music, countless other musical acitivities and private vocal lessons, Dwaine lived and breathed singing. It was in the latter part of Dwaine’s vocation that I had most of my contact when he would bring by his vocal students’ recital music or progress recordings so we could make a finished product for his clients.

I actually received the news of his death from the family of a young Spanish women I referred to Dwaine. Her family thought so highly of him during the time he provided lessons and were obviously more than glad to honor him at his visitation. I am aware of three Tesco Productions’ clients that had worked with Dwaine over the years and they all thought the world of him. Yes they learned technique, style, diction and expression but the over-riding influence always came back to the person himself. Why was this? Well as stated by the preacher this afternoon, Dwaine did everything out of a grateful heart to the One he knew he owed everything – particularly God’s gift of redemption. Penned over 100 years ago and sung today as one of several songs are these words, “I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.” Dwaine, you’re missed by many, but heaven certainly has another ringing voice in its never-ending anthem of praise.