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This is the prologue to the new edition of “Three Days to Darkness.” I’ve extensively rewritten the original novel (first published in 2010) to bring it up to date. It’s amazing how the world has changed in eleven years, but some things never change, like the themes grounding the story. I’ve also added a paperback edition to the digital edition, along with a spiffy new interior design. Don’t miss this heartwarming, humorous, and action-packed saga available at major online retailers worldwide. Darius McPherson never saw it coming. His thoughts were elsewhere. On the kids. The ones he could save. They weren’t kids, really. Some of them were older than him. They were all tough and uneven around the edges, but a few of them were diamonds in the rough. They were the ones he considered his kids. They had real potential. They just needed someone to care about them. They needed a role model and some inspiration. Darius was happy to provide both. Not a bad summer gig for a guy waiting for his first year of law school to begin. He pressed the bell on the side of the barred wooden door. The royal blue paint under the ugly bars gleamed in the direct sunlight and looked completely out of place in the burned-out industrial neighborhood in midtown Detroit. He waited patiently to be buzzed into the youth counseling center. “Be right with you, Darius,” his supervisor said through the intercom. He liked Allison Turner. In her late thirties and twice divorced, she had managed to stay kind-hearted despite rough circumstances. She was also extremely capable. Allison had taught him more about inner-city teenagers than he could have learned in a decade on his own. The door opened and a group of youthful offenders burst into the street. Darius knew several of them. They were attending classes at the center as part of their plea bargains. Darius smiled at them, even though he knew most of them were as dangerous as plastic explosive wired to detonate at the slightest provocation. “Hey La Vonn” Darius called to the tallest boy in the group. “I hope you learned something today.” “Yeah. How to stay outta’ the crowbar hotel,” the slender boy replied. “Do you mean learning how to game the system or how to stay out of jail?” Darius noticed La Vonn’s eyes open wide. He turned around in time to see a gray Lincoln Navigator with shiny, twenty-inch wheels and dark tinted windows round a nearby corner. No rap music blared from inside the car, which made Darius suspicious. He heard the sound of footsteps running away from him. He thought it undignified to run. And why would anyone in the neighborhood want to harm him? When the windows came down in unison, a cold chill went through his body. Darius saw young men wearing ski masks inside the car. He had no time to react. The first shots hit the cinderblock wall of the youth center. Not unlike fireworks on the Fourth of July, Darius remembered thinking before a bullet pierced his chest. At first, he felt like an ice pick had stabbed him in the heart. Then there was a burning sensation. He remembered seeing his body lying on the cracked sidewalk in a pool of blood. The last thoughts that went through his brain were of his parents, his older brother and younger sister, and of course, Rebecca. After that, he sensed his awareness swirling down a dark tunnel opening at the far away end into some kind of scintillating light. eBook and Paperback Available on Amazon and Online Retailers Worldwide #mentor #success #mentoring #happiness #demons #consciousness #angels #ScienceFiction #humor #urbanfantasy #Joy #spirituality #Faith #relationships #reflections #hope #peace #love #innerpeace #thriller #selfconfidence #inspiration #archangel

Gordon Lightfoot is one of those rare individuals who resides in the top echelon of his profession. It takes a huge deposit of raw talent, hard work, intestinal fortitude, and luck to reach the level of success Lightfoot has achieved in the music business. Amidst all of this recognition, Gordon remains a simple and straightforward man. He is a survivor with no plans to retire. At 83 years young, Lightfoot once dodged death when his manager found him lying on the floor of his dressing room with a burst aorta. Lightfoot has navigated numerous romantic relationships, spawned six children and five grandchildren, remained close with his offspring, and outlasted most of his contemporaries, not without some regrets. When he comes on stage these days, Lightfoot often uses a misquote inaccurately attributed to Mark Twain: “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” In November of 2021, Lightfoot had the honor of re-opening the newly renovated Massey Hall in Toronto in a live performance. He has played the historic concert venue more than 160 times. Lightfoot released his fifteenth original album in 1982 on Warner Records. The songs on the album are slower and more contemplative than many of the songs he released in the prior decade. As is his custom, Lightfoot compiled the album’s songs from scraps of notes he collected in his briefcase and tapes he recorded at home. Of the album’s title song, “Shadows,” Lightfoot has made a few somewhat vague comments. He says it was the best song he had at the time, and that it is about a particular problem he was going through in his life involving a man and a woman, and nature. I feel the song is quite beautiful. I’ve learned it the way Lightfoot plays it. Here is my cover of “Shadows.” #acousticguitar #IanandSylvia #famouspeople #happiness #guitartechnique #performing #Joy #GordonLightfoot #relationships #guitarpicking #reflections #lovesongs #artists #peace #vocals #love #AnneMurray #liveperformance #learnguitar #longevity #songwriter #folksingers #performance #profiles #concerts

Don McLean released his iconic album, “American Pie,” in 1971. The title song epitomizes the era of the nineteen sixties. A famous lyric from the title song; “the day the music died,” refers to the day Buddy Holly’s plane went down. Holly and the other passengers, including Ritchie Valens and The Bigg Bopper, all died in the crash. The song “American Pie” goes on for some nine minutes to memorialize other landmark events of the era in rich metaphors. Some of the other outstanding songs on the album include, “ And I love You So ,” “ Crossroads ,” “ Empty Chairs ,” and “ Vincent .” I’ve covered these songs in earlier posts on this blog. “Winterwood” is an upbeat love song featuring McLean’s typically vivid imagery. Technically, the title of the song does not exist in the English language. McLean invented the name to evoke the sights and sounds of a snowy mid-winter day with the sun peaking through barren tree branches and birds chirping in the background. The image came to Mclean as he rode through mid-winter streets recalling fond memories with his wife by his side. The image and the related memories stayed with the artist for six months until he finally wrote “Winterwood.” The technique is a departure from the finger-picking method I used in many of the other songs I’ve posted. “Winterwood” is played entirely with a guitar pick (flat picking). I abbreviated the introductory lick because it might have taken me six months to learn. Time and Opportunity Wait for No One. #GuitarStrumming #DonMclean #memories #happiness #popmusic #guitarpicking #guitarsolo #vocals #love #guitarmethod #singer #guitar #songwriter #musician

I’m watching an interesting film titled “If You Could Read My Mind.” The Canadian documentary is about the life and career of Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot arrived in downtown Toronto as a young man after growing up in Oridella, a small rural Canadian town. Since there were no clubs to play in at the time, Gordon landed a job in a bank to earn a living. Lightfoot was about to earn a promotion when he told his manager that he had decided to leave the bank to accept a role as an extra on a square dancing Canadian TV show. Lightfoot’s manager found it hard to believe that the young man was leaving a good job with a future to go square dancing. As folk music became commercially viable in the late sixties, clubs began to spring up featuring promising musicians. Gordon landed a spot in one of them. He stood apart from the crowd because he performed many of his own songs in a characteristically pure voice. After he developed a following, a club owner invited Lightfoot to perform at his club across the street at twice the salary. Lightfoot gratefully accepted the invitation to perform at the Riverboat, Toronto’s premier folk music club. With his beautiful voice and prolific outpouring of quality music, it was only a matter of time before Warner/Reprise records rewarded Lightfoot with a one million dollar recording contract, an unheard-of number for a Canadian singer. His first album with the new label was released in 1970 when Gordon was forty-two. Lightfoot had left United Artists after five albums because he felt they did not represent him adequately. “Sit Down Young Stranger” shipped 80,000 copies before sales stopped dead. The album “had no legs” in the industry’s parlance. Warner changed the name of the album and picked a new single to lead it off. “If You Could Read My Mind” became a runaway hit when an announcer on an important local radio station kept playing it. Sales of the album ballooned to 650,000 copies. The rest is history. Gordon Lightfoot is not a “legend in his own mind” as Dirty Harry said about the perp he was about to blow away. Lightfoot is a genuine “legend in his own time.” He has been performing live well into his seventies and beyond. It is said that time waits for no man. Time may have made an exception in Mr. Lightfoot’s case. Here's my cover. #successstories #singingsolo #CanadianMusic #guitarstyle #IanandSylvia #guitartechnique #musicclubs #documentaries #JohnnyCash #BobDylan #Canada #FolkBallad #TheWreckoftheEdmundFitzgerald #CanadianRailroadTrilogy #relationships #guitarpicking #lovesongs #songwriting #love #AnneMurray #Martinguitar #songwriter #PeterPaulandMary #sologuitar #profiles

I started out with the intention of learning the song “Beautiful” by Jim Brickman, and then stumbled upon a song by the same name taught by my good friend Jerry at Jerry’s Guitar Bar. Both songs are true to their titles, but the one by Brickman has some complex chords I’d have to figure out how to play. So, I took the easy way out and decided on “Beautiful” by Gordon Lightfoot because it comes with a tutorial. Please note: I really did try NOT to do another Lightfoot song, but here we go again. Lightfoot had this comment about the song. “It’s about love fulfilled. One of those songs I’ve played every night for over a quarter-century, and I don’t get tired of it.” Here’s my cover with help from Jerry. Make the most of your time now because the world will get along just fine without you when your time comes. #guitarstyle #happiness #lovesong #guitartechnique #solos #Joy #beloved #GordonLightfoot #relationships #guitarpicking #songs #peace #love #singer #songwriter #romance #passion #singing

When Jim Brickman began taking piano lessons at the age of five, his first teacher reported to the boy’s parents that he showed little promise as a future pianist. The student didn’t follow directions. He did things his own way. I can think of four reasons why Jim’s first teacher thought so little of his potential. Either the boy was unusually rebellious, lacking in talent, or mentally ill. The fourth reason proved to be the right one. Jim was born with extraordinary talent. Fast forward a half-century. Jim Brickman is known as one of the world’s foremost Romantic songwriters and solo pianists. Brickman started his career writing advertising jingles. To call the man persistent is probably an understatement. To his credit, Jim has recorded twenty-one number-one albums, thirty-two top radio hits, and he has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. He is also a published author and appears on his own radio show, “The Jim Brickman Hour.” Not bad for a kid with no potential.  Many of Jim’s songs have been covered by leading pop singers such as Carley Simon, Olivia Newton-John, Johnny Mathis, Kenny Logins, and others. “The Love of My Life” is one of Jim’s better-known and typically beautiful songs. I’ve adapted it for the acoustic guitar. Here’s my version. By Developing the Habit of Focus and Discipline, You Will See Your Dreams Come True. #unity #satisfaction #recognition #happiness #talent #loverelationships #Joy #beloved #popmusic #lovesongs #pianosolo #unification #love #pianist #oneness #gratitude #romanticsongs #romance #passion #togetherness #inspiration #guitarplaying #singing #appreciation

Jim Brickman at the Los Angeles Gracie Awards in 2013 Jim Brickman collaborated with Tom Douglas to write “The Gift.” Jim wrote the melody and Tom wrote the lyrics. Listening to many of Jim’s love songs, I can’t help but think that the man has a heart the size of Kansas. I found an entertaining video on YouTube describing the story behind the making of The Gift. In the video, Jim reveals a healthy sense of humor about himself, and Tom tells the story with a healthy dose of humor. Here’s an edited version of the story’s opening. For the full version, click here. Jim: “The Gift is the first song I wrote with Tom. It just felt right from the beginning. I have a recollection of our first meeting, but it’s not very clear. I’d like Tom to give his version of the story.” Tom: “Mine’s not gonna be very flattering.” Jim: “That’s alright. They know me.” Tom: “So, I get a call from my agent saying I have America’s foremost Romantic songwriter and pianist who wants you to do a song with him. Needless to say, I was more than a little intimidated. I’d just moved to Nashville with my family, and I was nervous about everything. So, I walk in to meet Jim for the first time, and he’s matter-of-fact. ‘Hi. Good to meet you.’ That sort of thing. Then he starts in with, ‘I have this song with a title, The Gift. Here’s the goal: I want it to be spiritual, but not religious, seasonal, but not Christmas, and, I want it to be a love song.’ " Tom (continued): “So, I’m thinking to myself, I made a terrible mistake leaving my hometown of Dallas. I was kinda like stunned, and Jim goes, ‘Here’s the melody. I’d like the syllables of the words to match the music.’ “And I’m thinking, really? Anything else? So, he goes ahead and plays the melody and I record it. Then he says, ‘Oh. One last thing: I need it by tomorrow.’ " And so on. Let’s get to the music. Here’s my version. #spiritual #acousticguitar #happiness #countrymusic #Joy #beloved #fingerpicking #beauty #popmusic #relationships #lovesongs #love #pianist #gratitude #pianomusic #guitar #romanticsongs #romance #passion

You might expect there to be, like the Hallmark cards, an overabundance of love songs about valentines. Well, I’m here to tell you there ain’t. Jim Brickman sought to rectify the situation when he co-wrote the song “Valentine” with Jack Kugell. “I thought it was odd that for a day or for a word that is such a euphemism for love that there wasn’t a song that celebrated it, considering that most songs are love songs,” Brickman said in an interview. “The word ‘valentine’ is a euphemism for love or a replacement word for love, so I wrote it like, you are my love, only the song says, you are my valentine.” Jim selected Country and Western singer Martina McBride to sing “Valentine” on his album “Picture This” which he released in 1997. Brickman said he selected McBride because he thought she sang like an Angel when he heard her debut album. I would have to agree with him. To paraphrase, Brickman has said he feels that his music can go with anyone’s music collection. “We have different songs for different occasions. My songs are for romantic occasions.” I would agree with Brickman there too. Here’s my cover. #happiness #dreams #lovesong #MartinaMcBride #piano #Joy #beloved #fingerpicking #romantic #beauty #popmusic #relationships #guitarpicking #reflections #valentine #peace #love #gratitude #romance #romancesongs #passion #inspiration

The police are at the front door of the beach house to investigate a strange report. An unconscious body lies on the kitchen floor. Two Daytona Police deputies are knocking on the front door of the beach house mystery writer Jacob Cassel rents. It’s going to be an interesting morning for Jacob, his super-smart girlfriend, Amy, and Arcon, an AI from the other side of the Milky Way. If they can survive the morning without being thrown in jail, they are expecting a visitor from the planet Aneleya to arrive later in the evening bearing a cornucopia of gifts for the human race. Instead of gifts, the visitor arrives with dire news about a doomsday device threatening the destruction of planet Earth and the entire solar system. Welcome aboard for this suspenseful interstellar journey in the third volume of The Silver Sphere Series. The three volumes of the Silver Sphere Series can be read independently and in any order. Available Now On Amazon Worldwide #warships #aliens #BeachHouse #doomsdaydevice #SpaceTravel #invasion #wormhole #writer #artificialintelligence #apocalypse #humor #outerspace #warinoputerspace #technology #relationships #novelist #alientechnology #beaches #DouglasAdams #alieninvasion #love #starships #spaceexploration #TerryPratchett #lightspeed #aliengifts #alienconquest #doomsday #spaceships

When Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac, the band had been in a state of constant turnover. Originally a blues band, the group was as famous for its revolving door of guitarists and vocalists as it was for its handful of hits. Because of its changing lineup, the band had no signature sound. Fortunately, the addition of Buckingham and Nicks was just what Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and his then-wife Christine McVie needed to achieve the group’s long-overdue success. The duo gave the band new energy, a unique and recognizable vocal sound, and material that would become part of Fleetwood Mac’s identity, like the song“Landslide.” A song about the changes and challenges of life , Stevie Nicks wrote “Landslide” in 1974 in Aspen’s snow country when her then-boyfriend, Lindsey Buckingham, was on tour. Nicks has said in interviews that the song is about her romance with Buckingham and their career struggles, as well as her relationship with her business-executive father. Her months in the mountains helped to inspire the song’s title contained in the lines:  And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills/‘Til the landslide brought me down. Another verse contains questions that most of us ask ourselves at one time or another: Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love? Can the child within my heart rise above? Can I sail through the changing ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life? While they may sound simple, the introspection of these words resonated with millions of record buyers and helped to make the debut album by this Fleetwood Mac cast one of the best-selling albums of the 1970s. How great musicians like Lindsey Buckingham create original compositions like this one is beyond my understanding. His guitar accompaniment on this song is a testament to his extraordinary talent. Here’s my cover of “Landslide.” Love is the Truth of the Heart #beautiful #guitarstyle #lifechanges #happiness #musicoftheseventies #passages #LindseyBuckingham #Aspen #Joy #beauty #relationships #reflections #peace #StevieNicks #love #innerpeace

Buy It Now on Amazon or Your Favorite Online Retailer A vailable in e-Book and Paperback Formats T he Silver Sphere Trilogy is updated and thoroughly edited for your reading pleasure. Read and enjoy the entire story in one book. A two-chapter introduction to “ Time Terminus—Expect the Unexpected” is included as a bonus. The story begins with mystery writer Jacob Casell strolling on a moonlit beach contemplating the ending of his over-due manuscript. When Jacob stumbles across a shiny silver sphere, the artificial intelligence inside speaks to him telepathically. Jacob’s startling discovery is only the beginning of a real-life adventure that goes beyond anything his creative imagination has ever conceived. An apocalyptic event is hurtling toward the Earth at the speed of light, and there is no time to waste. The odds of surviving the catastrophe are shrinking by the second. “ The Silver Sphere: It’s Coming–No Time to Waste” is the first book in the series. The story continues in book 2: “ Cataclysm: End of Worlds” and concludes in book 3: “ Promise of the Visitor.” “A delightful romp with spaceships, suspense, and assorted aliens.” Kirkus Reviews #aliens #writing #read #SpaceTravel #thrillers #trilogy #starship #writer #artificialintelligence #apocalypse #catastrophe #reading #feelings #humor #loverelationships #bestseller #relationships #alientechnology #Mystery #spaceship #team #books #imagination #WaroftheWorlds #AI #fiction #adventure #inspiration #suspense #teamwork

If in our daily life, we can smile; if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work. Thich Nhat Hanh #satisfaction #happiness #consciousness #wisdom #Joy #purpose #beauty #spirituality #relationships #reflections #fulfillment #spiritualwisdom #peace #love #innerpeace