Monday Video - You Won't Believe Your Ears

When I was a kid I took violin lessons for six months in the sixth grade. I wish now I had continued as I love to hear real country fiddlin'.

As a teenager I picked up the guitar and learned to play by ear - actually I used my hands and fingers - but you know what I mean. I played most of my life and got pretty decent because I was able to play with a lot of people over the years who were much better than I and I stole a lot from them. I put the guitar down a few years ago and haven't played it much since.

As an older adult I picked up the American Indian flute and learned to play "Amazing Grace" and I was hooked. I now have a dozen flutes of different sizes and tonal keys that I still play to this day. The nice thing about the Indian flute is you can make up and play your own tunes and it sounds OK - at least to me. It's also pretty basic so it's easier for a guy like me who plays by ear - OK, I really I use my mouth and fingers. (One day I'll find an instrument that you can play with your ear!)

However, as a young adult I picked up the harmonica and tried to learn to play it. The problem with the harmonica is to play it well you need to read and understand music. So, like the violin, I put the harmonica down and never learned to play it. And, like the violin, I wish I could play the harmonica.

So, I was thrilled to find today's Monday Video. Buddy Green plays the harmonica with Bill Gaither and his Homecoming crew. Be sure and listen to the whole video as it gets better and more amazing as he goes along.

Enjoy! If you've ever tried to play the harmonica you won't believe your ears.



Today is February 23 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Dakota Fanning (amazing child actor, "Dreamer"), Michael Dell (founder of Dell Computers), Patricia Richardson (actress, Jill on "Home Improvement"), Johnny Winter (blues singer), Peter Fonda (actor, "Easy Rider"), and George Frederick Handel (composer).

On this day in 1455 Johannes Gutenberg prints the 1st book, the Bible (approximate date). In 1821 the Philadelphia College of Apothecaries established the first pharmacy college in Philadelphia. In 1822 Boston was granted a charter to incorporate as a city. In 1836 Alamo is besieged by Santa Anna and his Mexican army. In 1846 the Liberty Bell tolls for the last time, to mark George Washington's birthday. In 1861 Texas secedes from the Union (and I don't think they ever really came back). In 1886 Charles M. Hall completed his invention of aluminum. In 1921 an airmail plane sets a record of 33 hours and 20 minutes from San Francisco to New York. In 1939 Walt Disney won an Oscar for the film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" at the Academy Award ceremonies that were held at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Disney actually received one Oscar statuette and seven miniature ones for his work. In 1945 during World War II, U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi, and raised the American flag. And in 1954 the first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - I was 9 at the time and this was a big deal as my cousin had polio.