My Birthday, Roger Hooper Jazz Trio (Duo), Gene BBQ, HES Concert, Wolf Trap

This is a warning ... the following post is very long ...

My birthday was last Saturday and it was a full day ... the best part was Mari and I were together all day. We started the day by taking part in the walk downtown to support research for breast cancer. My sister-in-law Tere has breast cancer and we lost a good friend almost two years ago, Madonna, to breast cancer. Mari, my Mom, and Cleo and I walked the 5k together:

After the walk, we went to my brother's workplace, the Sitar Arts Center. We saw some of the students perform in an end of semester student showcase. We are a family involved in inspiring young musicians and artists. Because Sitar is located in Adam's Morgan, I wanted to stop by my old stomping ground, FELIX. I used to play @ FELIX every Friday night for about 3 months. I played percussion (Conga, bongos, tire rim, water bottle, and a wok) with a band called Traffic Jam back in 1998. It looks like FELIX is closing down. Goodbye FELIX, thanks for the memories:

After the walk and Sitar, we came home and took a nap. Once we were well rested, it was time to go play 'drums' for the University Park Elementary School production of WILL WONKA (UPES is one of the schools I teach Instrumental Music). Below is a picture of the set-up I used (you could barely hear the kids and there was no bass player ... that's why I used such a small 'kit'):

This is the pit for the show:

Once done playing drums, it was time to go to Cheesecake Factory w/ our good friends the Hills:



The next morning Mari woke up early (pretty amazing because of our crazy day) to make me breakfast. Pancakes, Meuslix, and tea. It was AMAZING!!!

After Church, I had the privilege to play drums w/ Roger Hooper. Not only was Roger instrumental in introducing me to Jesus, he is an amazing piano player. Normally we play w/ John Spiro on bass, but he had a family commitment that conflicted w/ the gig, so we were the Roger Hooper duo. Below are some pics from the Pastors College graduation reception:





On Monday, we had the joy to have dinner over at the Thompson's house. Gene was in town from SanFran ... he made ribs, Brandy made macaroni salad, I made chicken, and we all had great conversation. We'll miss you Gene:

On Thursday night I had my final concert for the year at Hyattsville Elementary School ... the students did a great job!

This Saturday I finally took Mari to see the Gipsy Kings @ Wolf Trap. Ever since I've known her she's been saying, "I'd like to go see the Gipsy Kings." Well ... 3 years later I finally listened. Here are the pics:







I love ending blog entries w/ my smiling wife.

Per usual, if you've read this entry I want to thank you for showing interest in my life. I hope you have a great week and become aware of the amazing grace of God available to us through Jesus Christ!