All that information will come in right handy, just a little later. So, the month of January was decidedly Southern in the life of Lost And Found. We spent most of the month below the Mason-Dixon line. In fact, our first event was in Baltimore, Maryland. (That's the state that proudly proclaims its northern border as the start of the above-mentioned line.) We played a concert for a fine group of folks at a church in Baltimore, and then headed over to a hotel for the weekend. Part of the reason for our journey to the city on the bay was to play another always-delightful Youth Encounter quake. Tons of middle school students and one of our favorite speakers, Eleanor Hunsberger. A downside of the event is that the Limo Van was burglarized. Turns out, the burglars weren't all that bright, since they skipped over all the valuables and took the large plastic tub containing cd's we didn't like, cold medicine, a Fairfield Inn guide, and two baseball gloves—the only real loss, since Michael's glove was the one he used in high school. However, the nice folks at the Baltimore Marriott insisted that they would pay to replace our busted lock and advised us to be sure to file the report so they could. Now, your skeptical mind says to me, "But George, hotels don't ever pay for that kind of stuff! You'd have to be a fool to expect to get any money out of them." I can only say, "You can hang that on the wall, Jack." They were being less than truthful in their offer. What they did pay for, instead, was a piece of chocolate on my pillow each night during our stay.

Birthday Pair

She's Italian, actually.


Pete & Flat Stanley

Anyway, we left the hotel on Sunday, and drove up to Haddonfield, New Jersey. Ran into lots of old friends (J.D., Laura, Jeff, Bart & Family, etc), and had a great time playing in an historical-monument type church. After the concert, we drove up to Bart's tall house, and borrowed books. In the morning, I flew home, and Michael began his meandering drive to Tennessee. Eleanor and I tried to make a snowman, but the snow was too crystallized. So, we did our best and created a snowman with a dress. My daughter realized that it looked more like the Statue of Liberty, and she ran inside to get some hair. On the 12th, Michael gathered Pete and me from sitting at the Knoxville airport ("I haven't got a thing to do"), and we drove on over to Gatlinburg, TN, a flashy town in the Smokies. The event was the first of two weekends of Resurrection, with young Methodist friends from all over eastern Tennessee; a huge gathering, and our friends the James Ward Band played music and wowed us with their awesome musical prowess. (Or, would that be prowesses?) Did we have a great time? You can hang that on the wall, Jack!

Stayed in town, with Michael's relations who were visiting Hickory with us. Pete got hungry at the desk and saw what he thought was a large bowl of cereal. The next morning we played at a place called The Cove, a camp with some affiliation to Billy Graham. (As though there was something in North Carolina that wasn't somehow linked to him.) We were the surprise guests for a group of about 160 middle school students who were having a retreat at the retreat center. (Clever, that.) All around the room, there were things hanging on the wall. (You know, forgone conclusions or what have you.) As we looked around, the questions began to surface. Such as, who killed those birds? Or who killed tie-dye? Or, in the really curious category, who killed DC Talk? We had a great time, and we all pretended not to notice that the room was filling up with smoke once the fire went out. You know, when in the Smokies, do as the mountains do, right? On our way out of town, this being Asheville, the very city where I once sojourned (refer to paragraph one), we stopped on in to say hey to my Aunt Pat in West Asheville. (That's on the opposite side of town from East Asheville Hardware which is no longer . . . well, let's just say that folks shopped at Lowe's a little too often.) Had a very nice visit with my kin, as it were, or, was.

Got Corn Syrup?

Maybe the Ramones?


Themselves?

"NOW we're a band!"

From there, we packed out and drove over to Charlotte for a concert that night. (Now, of course, it's only Charlotte to you and me; the locals call it Cramerton.) Great room; intimate crowd; fun times. The next day we played in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where our friends Joyful Noise opened up the show, though I neglected to get a photo to prove it because I am the Slacker Man. The next night we were in Atlanta, Georgia. (Now, of course, it's only Atlanta to you and me; the locals call it Newnan.) Newnan was a really wild night of middle school exuberance! My goodness, weren't the regular concertgoers surprised? You can hang that question on the wall, Jack! In the end, though, it was a really fun time and we think the young folks enjoyed it as well.

Another day, another state. This one was called Alabama, and the city was called Birmingham, where they love the gov'ner (ooh, ooh, ooh). Our friend Ben and his pal opened the show with some really cool songs. A couple highlights of this evening were the most excellent cookies the locals made, in the shapes of characters from our songs. Also, Michael and I switched a couple signs on the bathrooms just to be reminded of our high-school pranks. (You have to admit, it's more clever than stealing the W's from government-issued typewriters.) And, especially also, Michael tried out a new mono-lens in place of his current glasses. It seemed pretty convenient, and I assured him that I didn't think it distorted his figure and—after all—he'd have it forever. I guess he's thinking it over.

The Cooks

Eyeglasses