In something akin to a bad version of Groundhog Day, my wife is getting back on the chemo treatment routine. Friday, the port will again be installed in her chest. Tuesday, she starts chemo. It’s a yucky one with a pump to administer the drugs over several days. Once some test results come back, the drug cocktail will be adjusted.
We also get a consult with a radiology guy in about two weeks. Whether she is even able to get radiation is yet to be decided.
As for staging, per her doctor, she could be classified as either stage four or three, depending on which definition you wish to use.
The oncologist said that the cancer is incurable and mentioned palliative care. He said she may have one to two years depending on what they can do for her. Sorry, but her breathing is getting more difficult and until something changes with the large tumor in her throat, she is at risk (in my opinion). Oh, the necropsy in her large tumor is due to the tumor growing so quickly that parts of it don’t have sufficient oxygen, hence tissue is dying.
As a result of what is happening, the one-week trip to Canada in a month is cancelled; however, her dad is still driving up here.
The garage will be mostly sheet rocked by close of business on Friday. Also, parts of it have already been taped. Next week it should be possible to paint parts of the garage. The bathroom is also progressing and will also be ready for tiling in a few more days. I finished wiring for security cameras today and installed a few exterior lights. I’m glad we found some help to get the place livable before her dad arrives.
Last week was the PET scan. We had the results within 45 minutes of leaving the testing facility. In addition to the two tumors that we knew about from the recent CT scan, two more were found in my wife’s upper chest area. One is located near her collar bone and the other in the bronchial area. Per doctor Google, both these tumors are frequently associated with lung cancer.
Both tumors in her neck were measured larger than when the CT scan was done. Whether this is accurate or just due to different techs reading tests by different methods is unknown. The large tumor is now 2.6 cm and in the tracheal esophageal groove. This is the area immediately below the valve in your throat (epiglottis) that directs air to your lungs and food to your stomach. The groove is in between the trachea and the esophagus. This is the tumor that has changed my wife’s voice and also limits her ability to breathe. She also has some trouble swallowing liquids.
The second tumor is in the supraclavicular lymph node
The lymphatic fluid from the head and neck regions is filtered by the lymph nodes in the neck area. Specific to the right supraclavicular lymph node is the drainage of the mid-section of the chest, esophagus, and lungs, …
The first two tumors are in the neck and the other two are in the upper thorax. As you can see most are in and around the respiratory system. The two new tumors are often associated with lung cancer.
Earlier this year (February), the CT scan of her chest was clear (the neck was not scanned by the last test).
Biopsies are scheduled for later this week.
It is clear to me that radiation is off the table, leaving chemotherapy as possible treatment. Surgery on her neck is not likely so are we really gonna fix anything or just make her comfortable?
After Biopsy
The biopsy came back as expected; namely, the esophageal cancer has returned. The report featured two phrases of concern. The first was “moderately to poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma” and the second “adenocarcinomas from the gastrointestinal tract and lung.”
This roughly translates to the cancer is aggressive and suggests that it is taking up residence in the lungs. The lung diagnosis is consistent with the two new lymph nodes and her symptoms including shortness of breath.
After consulting doctor Google and my few friends in and around the medical field, this is my take on the situation, my wife has stage four cancer and has four to six months left on the planet. I sense that other folks feel that way too, but they are leaving the bad news delivery for the doctor to give to us next week.
Palliative care (a medicine or form of medical care that relieves symptoms without dealing with the cause of the condition) looks to be the likely offering from the doctor.
Editor’s note: this post was submitted to me just hours before Sleepy Joe Biden withdrew from his re-election bid.
Trump has had a good couple of months. To be honest I had tired of Trump’s self-serving act and supported Ron DeSantis during the short-lived primary. The name calling, personal attacks, and insults are petty and come off as childish. It was funny with crooked Hillary, but I think this is what caused his defeat in 2020.
Blogger note: I will be supporting and voting for Trump in November.
Then I saw a different Trump; with the exception of him going after Nikki Haley pretty hard. He acted like a former president who wanted his job back. At the first debate, he never attacked Biden, just made a couple comments about his speech and him not making sense. It was brilliant…. now the democrats are the party of chaos. Then Trump was shot by a left-wing whacko. He survived and he gave a great speech. I was sitting here thinking aloud he may get damn near 400 electoral votes.
Then the old Trump once again re-appeared.
His selection of JD Vance told me what I feared most. Vance is a Trump loyalist. He will not have much of any role. He will be a yes man and a cheerleader. This was done because Mike Pence didn’t step in and try to overturn the election. Vance also called Trump a Hitler and a couple other choice words. I am sure they mended fences, but I don’t like what I see. Sometimes it’s good to hear other ideas, not close yourself in an echo chamber.
I didn’t need to hear about prime time speaking slots from Eric and Don Jr. but this is typical that family makes everything all about themselves.
I did watch Trump’s speech, it started beautifully with him telling the story about the assassination attempt and honoring the man who was killed. He told us he would do a tax cut, close the border with a fence, end the wars in Russia and Gaza, and get inflation down and interest rates down. He gave no substance, but no candidate really ever does anymore. Then Trump went full Trump talking about the stolen election and voter fraud 4 years ago.
Blogger note: Yes, I believe there was quite a bit of shenanigans that election night, from “broken water mains” to “every major swing state city stopping their count” but can we be honest, it’s been 4 years, get over it.
The worst part of this is the hair on fire conspiracies that come from it. They will say Trump will end abortions via executive order, he will stack the Supreme Court, and overturn more protections for marginalized groups, and he will overturn the constitution and become a dictator. None of this is true but our whack jobs bring out theirs.
For all the MAGA groupies: Trump is running against likely the second worst president in our history and one who appears frail, pale and lacks the ability to put together a sentence. Trump is only beating Biden by about 4-5 in each swing state. Trump is so hated by a large part of the population that even this matchup could come down to the wire. If Biden is replaced, all bets are off, anything could happen. Also vote for the entire GOP ticket, this included senators and congressman, Trump is going to need about 55 senators to get what he wants. Recall his own party fought with him a lot during his first term. It’s disturbing. I’ve seen polling where Trump is up 4-5% yet our challenger trails a far left democrat by the same margin.
Editor’s Note: This was submitted to me a few days before Trump was shot in Pennsylvania.
Hear me out on this. Face it, you know Biden is toast when David Axelrod, a group of senators, governors, and congressman are saying, “drop out, you cannot win” that it’s over.
Let Trump win.
This economy is teetering, the inflation is not stopping, Trump claims to have an answer…let him own it.
Let Trump win.
Interest rates are sky high, home prices, and car prices are insane. Americans are draining savings, and looting retirement accounts to fund basic needs. Trump says he can fix it…let him own it.
Let Trump win.
Again, I know you don’t want to hear this….
When he gets elected, don’t impeach him. You are just giving him what he wants….it’s been proven that your continued indictments and arrests of him failed to move public perception. He will be there 4 years…let it go. No 25th amendment BS either.
Let Trump win.
You are so concerned he is an agent of Russia….when Ukraine is out of soldiers…let Trump cut them off. If Ukraine falls to Russia…say you told us so!
Democrats heed my words here.
You know what is going to happen with Trump, his own party doesn’t like him. They fought him in term 1, they will fight him again. His own party wanted a brokered convention to pick between Kasich and Lyin Ted….
Let Trump win.
Trump = Chaos he is going to fire multiple cabinet members and call any and anyone a name. Be the adults in the room…get out your popcorn and enjoy the moment. Trust me, the GOP is loving you all attacking Biden 4 years after gas lighting all of us about his mental state.
Run Gavin, Whitmer, or some other far left folk in 2028….it’s likely you will win the White House. People like me grew tired of Trump. His act grates on people. He is mentally exhausting to deal with.
Change your rhetoric. Quit supporting BLM protests, protests against Israel on college campii, and general lawlessness. Drop this transgender nonsense from your platform. Once you turn 18, hell go for it….make yourself into a science project or a real life Mr. Potato Head for all I care….knock this crap off in the schools. You look like a kook fringe party with these platforms…
Speaking of kook fringe….
I honestly do not recognize the GOP anymore. To me they have become hijacked by hair on fire conspiracy theorists, election deniers, and whack jobs. If Trump were to somehow lose, the party could become a regional party only, such as the CA GOP very quickly.
On July 9th, it would be three years since my wife was originally diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer. As you might expect from this update, something is wrong.
A few days ago, July 5th, she had a CT scan and we learned that she has two cancerous tumors in her neck.
Our first indication that something was amiss was toward the end of April when, with no explanation, the pitch of my wife’s voice changed. I would describe the change as making her voice “muddy” and similar to the classic Mickey Mouse. It also has significantly decreased in volume. She was a voice major in college and when she can’t sing, then it’s a problem. She just sang at Carnegie Hall in February and two months later she couldn’t sing anything. Big red flag.
In addition to the changes in her voice, she now is having difficulty breathing after doing mild exercise or working around the house. This symptom is scarier than the voice issue to me.
Modern medicine being what it is, she couldn’t see an ear, nose, and throat doctor without a referral. He ran a scope through her nose and down her throat and found that the right vocal cord was not working correctly. A week later, we had to take a road trip to the big city to get a CT scan.
Folks, after leaving the scan, we went to one store to shop and then stopped for a cold drink at Wendy’s. We weren’t even out of town on our return trip and had the results. Elapse time was about an hour and a half.
My wife has two tumors, the larger is 2.4 cm (about an inch) and the other is 1.2 cm (about 3/8 of an inch). One tumor is described as “necrotic mass or lymph node” and the other as “metastatic lymph nodes”. These are in the lower neck and in the area of the esophagus and trachea.
Here’s what the internet says.
necrotic mass or lymph node
Necrotic lymph nodes refer to lymph nodes that have undergone necrosis, which means that the tissue in the lymph node has died due to a lack of blood supply or severe infection. This condition can be an indicator of various underlying health issues, ranging from infections to malignancies.
Furthermore, certain types of cancers, such as lymphoma or metastatic cancer, can also lead to necrosis of the lymph nodes as the disease progresses.
Metastatic cancer is the same description as the original Esophageal Cancer three years ago.
metastatic lymph nodes
Nodal metastases refer to the spread of cancer cells from the primary tumor to nearby lymph nodes. Lymph nodes act as filters in the lymphatic system, trapping foreign substances, including cancer cells. When cancer cells invade these nodes, they can multiply, leading to the formation of secondary tumors within the lymph nodes.
We have been assured that a “STAT” order has been placed for a PET scan and biopsy. We anticipate more tests in the next week.
Given all of the structures and functions of the human neck, we know there is a real possibility that surgery will not be an option. Also, has this cancer spread anywhere else? To us it appears that this round of cancer is fast growing.
I will provide further updates, but a few prayers would be in order. Thanks.
The US Supreme Court reversed itself today on the issue of abortion for absolutely no reason by reversing an Idaho State law that should be a model for the other forty-nine states. The law bans abortion except in cases of life of the mother. The Court sided once again this week with the Biden Administration and against liberty. One can’t help but wonder if the Democrats threats to stack the Court have cowed some Justices into moral compromise.
Since Roe v Wade was reversed, both political parties have been weighing the ramifications. Of course, the Republicans have been having the biggest “buyer’s remorse” over this decision. Many were advocating a nationwide fifteen week ban on abortion. Such a law would codify Roe into Federal Law and allow millions of babies to be slaughtered each year. Such a law would codify abortion as a form of birth control.
Sorry, but I thought the Court found no place for abortion in the Constitution. So why are they finding one now and siding with the Biden Administration? Ditto for Republicans. Why say on the one hand that it’s not in the Constitution and on the other that the Federal government has a right to pass a law. This is insanity.
The solution is to find that life begins at the beginning and should be protected from the beginning to the end. Clearly our culture is not willing to reject eugenics as a national policy.
Consider this my after-action report on the recent gay pride event in Bonner Ferry.
Let’s start with a few facts.
Initial reports that 13 churches in town were coming together to host the counter event at the county fairgrounds were untrue. The actual number that I could confirm was more like three or four. Organizers—members of the local Bushnell clan—has reportedly planned for up to 1,000 people to show up. FYI that is almost half the population of the city. In reality, the reports that I received were that attendance was around 300.
Black Pearl Theater
Attendance at the gay pride event, per my estimates were as follows: about 20 on Friday night and Saturday, the daytime number was on the order of fifty to sixty. I was not present for the Saturday evening, adults only event.
Friday night, note police cars on left.
Saturday was all about the children. They brought in a traveling roadshow of circus freaks from Washington State (Spokane and neighboring areas).
Children’s groomer and friends
By circus freaks I mean drag queens and such that were grooming children to accept and participate in the deviant lifestyles that these folks embrace. On a Facebook post, I described seeing this as witnessing parents bring their children before Molech and then making them walk through the fire.
The protesters, A.K.A. our guys, were few in number and many were from outside the area. On Friday night, I would say we had eight to ten and Saturday we were able to field twelve to fourteen. Not everybody was there simultaneously.
I would describe our side as fractured in a myriad of ways.
Friday night: I showed up to hand out flyers (Bible tracts), another guy was giving out bottled water to all takers (he also donated food to the gay pride people earlier in the day as he wanted to be immunized of being called “hateful”), about five guys from another town showed up with large signs which looked like Romans on a campaign march, another guy brought a wireless mike so he could “street preach”, and a few others mostly stood around and watched.
Friday night visit with local PD.
Saturday: I was there with my flyers, another group of four was talking amongst themselves and then would read Bible passages out loud, another group of young men were actively talking to a few women attending the event (they later pulled out hymnals and sang a few songs), another guy brought a boom box type PA system to preach, the street preacher from the previous day attended the picnic and then was planning to preach during the evening session, and a few other folks also were of the crowd.
This being north Idaho, anytime conservatives gather, spies attempt to infiltrate groups. One person was pointed out to me by one of the groups in attendance as such a person. I agree that he didn’t fit in; however, whether he was from law enforcement, a plant from the rainbow mafia, or just weird I was not sure. He did his best to interact with each and every one there to protest.
Another divide was whether protesters should be confronting everyone like the preaching folks or just be passive and seek opportunities to strike up a conversation with attendees.
Street Preacher Bobby
A big divide was obvious in terms of messaging and communication. The big failure by Christians was invoking “Jesus” and “love” in the same paragraph. Many gay folks gleefully were proclaiming that Jesus loved them and thus were perplexed as to why we were there and opposing them. Such talk derailed the gospel “sharing” that was attempted by Christians protesting at the event. When your idea of the gospel is “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” and the person that you are sharing with agrees, it knocks the wheel off the Campus Crusade method of evangelism. This tactic by the gay folks, knocked Christians off offense and put them on defense with no response.
This brings to mind one of Walter Martin’s early chapters in Kingdom of the Cults where he spends a whole chapter on vocabulary and defining terms. When you don’t take the time to do that, you talk past each other and never communicate the Gospel to others.
Local democrat party sign decorated with flags
The difference of course is that the gay folks claim that God accepts them without any need to repent. It echoes Paul in the book of Romans when he rhetorically asks if we should sin more so grace may abound.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Romans 6: 1-2
Paul goes on to say you cannot sin and serve God simultaneously. Living to sin (lust) leads to eternal damnation not everlasting life.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (v 12)
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (v 22-23)
We need some training and planning before attempting this again. Too bad the professional clergy won’t touch this issue. As proven with Covid, they would rather shelter in place. As one group called our town’s clergy, “Hirelings, not shepherds.”
Lastly, what do we do with the folks that sat the whole thing out? Clearly, they are part of the problem too.
Perhaps, when dealing with defining “love” we might want to ask, “Which Jesus are we talking about?”
Somehow agreeing with to Doobie Brother that “Jesus is just alright with me” may be part of the problem.
This is another book recommended by Andrew Torba in the back of Christian Nationalism. The book is five chapters long and weighs in at about 150 pages. It was published in 2003. My recollection is that the guys at Berean Church in Sandpoint quoted one sentence from the book out of context and then threw Leithart under the bus as a heretic.
Review:
This book is like CS Lewis’ Mere Christianity in that it has lots of thought-provoking stuff and is trying to get readers to think outside of established categories about the Christian faith.
I cannot hope to “convince” readers or “prove” anything here, since I have certainly not provided enough argument or evidence to compel agreement. I hope instead to hint at, gesture toward, trace, or sketch what may be a fresh approach to the (mainly ecclesiological) issues I discuss, more to change readers’ angle of vision than persuade. (page 7).
Leithart is dissatisfied with the self-imposed limits that we as believers have allowed the secular world to impose on us. He feels strongly that we are all too willing to allow our faith to be boxed-in as a private affair between us and God and that we generally are unwilling to engage the world around us.
The Bible gives no hint that a Christian “belief system” might be isolated from the life of the Church, subjected to a scientific or logical analysis, and have its truth compared with competing “belief systems.” (page 14).
Though it has roots in the patristic period, Christianity in its more developed form is the Church’s adjustment of the gospel to modernity, and the Church’s consequent acceptance of the world’s definition of who we are and what we should be up to. Christianity is biblical religion disemboweled and emasculated by (voluntary) intellectualization and/or privatization. (page 17).
He places Christianity in one corner and in the other is the Church. The Church is both an assembly of believers (ecclesia) and a government (polis). The Church is a multi-language nation.
My complaint is more fundamental: we have accepted our liberal opponent’s account of who we are and no longer see that the gospel an is inherently political announcement, nor that the Church is an inherently political community. (page 38).
Leithart would find the notion of “me and Jesus is a majority” as laughable. The Church gives a believer purpose and meaning within a community.
Leithart argues that saving faith in Christ is not like “adding Jesus to my life” but is a completed surrender of my life and a completed adoption of Christ’s.
Conversion does not simply install a new “religious” program over the existing operating system. It installs a new operating system. (page 16).
Leithart concludes his book with ideas such as these:
Suppose the king is a liberal who tries to police the boundaries of the Church, telling the Church where it can and cannot speak, what it can and cannot do. In that case too, a clash is inevitable and, again, kings have a herd time winning such battles. …
On the other hand, if the Church appears preaching Christianity, the king is entirely capable of stealing the rhetoric and story and ideas of the Church to buttress his power. … Or, political powers may simply force Christianity into the private sphere—shoving ideas back into the brain and Christianity back into churches. Churches in the grip of Christianity will hardly blink when the liberal king tells them that that have to confine themselves to thinking pious thoughts. (page 149).
Application
Folks, this was written in 2003 but sounds like a perfect description of the total failure of the clergy in all denominations when confronted in 2020 with the Covid 19 order to shutdown all church worship and scatter the flocks of Christ. We, as believers, accepted the liberal lie that the Church was “non-essential” to our way of life and virtually ever minister, not only in the United States, but all of the West, complied without question. I can number all the churches in the United States that did not shutdown during Covid on one hand and still have fingers left. This is a huge indictment of the moral failure of modern churches.
The failure of churches during Covid is exactly the point Leithart is trying to make with this book. We have abandoned Christendom and replaced it with a pious, personal, and ineffective philosophy called “Christianity.”
The same moral failure lamented by Leithart will be played out next weekend when our community hosts its first gay pride event. Instead of protesting, local churches numbering as many as 13 congregations, will be holding a picnic at the fairgrounds as a “family friendly” alternative. They are expecting a crowd of 1,000 people at the event.
Except for one person that calls himself a street evangelist, nobody plans to be at the event to share Christ with these folks. I specifically asked my church leadership in the loudest voice that I could, why do we refuse to share Christ with these people? I said that we need more people in front of the venue protesting than they have attending it. Essentially, I was told that homosexuals are not “the elect” and that they should be ignored. Folks, if you ignore cancer, does it simply go away or spread? I submit to you that sin is a cancer, and it will spread like wildfire if not halted in its progress. To this end, I bought 100 tracts to hand-out at the event, and I will not be participating at the picnic.
Leithart’s book is worth a look. I suggest having multicolored highlighters and going through it two or three times to really get a feel for his arguments. This book is asking you to think outside your preconceived categories and view faith in Christ in terms of the early church not categories given us by the pagans that gave us the Enlightenment and modernity.
Some person identified as a conservative journalist named Daniel Greenfield just called for the extermination of everybody in Gaza. He is from Israel of course.
Greenfield further hashes this out, saying, “There are no civilians in Gaza. The vast majority of the population supports Hamas or some Islamic terrorist movement. Only a tiny minority opposes Islamic terrorism and wants peace.” He concludes:
“Hamas can’t be defeated by waiting until its terrorists take off their civilian clothes and put on uniforms. Hamas are the civilians. They are the ones holding the hostages. The only way to free the hostages and defeat the terrorists is to destroy the terror culture in whatever form it takes.”
As stated previously on this blog, the land area known as “Gaza” will be depopulated, the only question is will: “The West” take in two million refugees or will Israel just level the place?
If Trump wins, will it matter? Could it be over by then?
With Joe Biden in charge, look for this to be described by the American media as a mostly peaceful final solution.
Petra was in the area last Friday night and I decided to go see them. They last toured about ten years ago.2024 is their fiftieth anniversary. Their first album was released in 1974. I have a copy of the LP and the CD.
Their concert was across the border in Creston, Canada. Since moving to north Idaho a year ago, I have never driven into Canada. I’m the only one in the family with a valid passport, but since my wife is out of town, so I decided to go.
Two weeks ago, I bought a VIP pass for $75 (Canadian). The pass was for an event starting at 5 PM. We were given a poster to get autographed and also allowed to get autographs on another item.
The following is a recap of my adventures that day.
I got up just before 7 and did my morning chores. My wife and I were on the road at 8 AM. At 10 AM we did our Costco run in Coeur d’Alene. We tried to do a Costco run the previous Friday but were not allowed into the building because somebody in the area decided to try moving a power pole with their car. They succeeded in knocking out power to parts of the town including Costco. Oh, inside the building they have a whole section of generators for sale but whatever.
We then went to Rathdrum for lunch at a dive called Nadine’s. They have a salad that faintly resembles the Yucatan salad from Dos Coyotes. Then I dropped my wife at the airport in Spokane and by 1 PM I was returning home to walk the dog and then headed to the concert. In preparation to go to the concert I got my passport and my copy of the first Petra LP. Yep, a vintage 1974 album titled “Petra.”
Near my house, we have two border crossings: Porthill and Eastport. The Porthill crossing is closer but closes at 7 PM. It used to be open longer but since Covid the hours have been shortened. I crossed at Porthill. It was easier than I thought. I was asked if I had any firearms or ammo. I replied, “No.” I was asked about my business and how long I would be staying. I told the man that I was going to a concert. He replied, “Oh, you’re going to see Petra?” I replied, “Yes.” I was then allowed into Canada.
Please understand that I was somewhat apprehensive to do this because all my other trips to Canada were to Victoria. In Victoria they drive on the wrong side of the road just like in England. Thankfully this part of British Columbia is like driving in the US except they use the evil metric system.
Creston is a small town of a few thousand people. I was very surprised that they landed a Petra concert. Just before the venue, I found a Dairy Queen, likely the only fast-food joint in town, and ordered a chicken sandwich. I then arrived at the community center and ate most of my dinner in the car. It was a multi-use facility.
The VIP event started about 5:15. The event was really laid-back. I told them that I was there for the VIP Petra event, and they let me in. The people running the VIP portion of the event had no list of names as to who had paid for the VIP pass, they just took me at my word and let me in the room.
Shortly after I got my pass, the band members, five in all, entered the room and were seated at one end. The band members were never introduced by name.
Bob Hartman (middle) John Schlitt to his right
It turns out that only one guy was an original member of the band. What years the others joined was never discussed. A question-and-answer period was held first. Most of the time was spent recounting the story of how John Schlitt came to replace Greg X Voltz as lead singer of the band. The story was not told by John, but the only remaining guy from the original band, Bob Hartman.
John was lead singer for a 1970’s rock band called “Head East.”
John got caught up in the rock n’ roll lifestyle and got so messed up on drugs that they fired him from the band. He hit bottom and “got saved” as they say in Evangelical circles. He then finished college and did geology and mining stuff in Utah for a few years. He thought he was done with music until Petra happened. The whole answer was about 20 minutes long, so I really am giving you the thumbnail version.
Oh, the one question that was deflected concerned whether there would be a live album recorded on this tour. The band equivocated on this idea. Folks, based on what I’ve been seeing, the live album will be recorded in Oklahoma City on July 26th.
Following the Q & A session, the autograph portion began. The band members signed whatever was presented to them. Besides my original Petra LP, there were backpacks, ball caps, and CD covers. I was surprised that I was the only one with an LP. The Petra LPs are being re-released along with remastered CDs by Boone’s Overstock and Girder Music.
As people were getting autographs, they had a person assigned to take photos of each person or group going through the line, so you got a personalized photo with the band. As of this writing, the photos are not on Facebook yet.
At the conclusion of the VIP event, I went out to my car and put my treasures in the car. I then went into the concert venue. Being that I’m in Canada, would it surprise you that the venue was on the floor of the local hockey rink.
The one question I almost asked was concerning the song, “God Gave Rock N’ Roll to You.” Per Wikipedia, it was originally done by Argent in 1971. Petra changed some lyrics and did it in 1977 and again in 1984. KISS did their own variation of it in 1991 for the movie Bill and Ted’s Bogus Adventure.
Having some time to kill, I looked at the merchandise for sale and Petra had zero music for sale: only shirts. I learned from the guy at the table that only merchandise manufactured in Canada was allowed to be sold at the concert. Also, they could not accept any form of payment except cash or PayPal. Even with international data roaming activated on my phone, I was unable to download the PayPal app. It’s probably been at least ten years since I tried using PayPal for any type of transaction, so I don’t even know if I still have an account with them. NAFTA be damned, international commerce is a pain in the rear.
The warm-up band came on stage about 7 PM. They were never introduced. I researched their name, it was “Revival.”
The band performed about seven songs. Their last song was a cover of “Jesus Freak.” Per Wikipedia, the song was originally done by DC Talk. I have heard it before and have a cover of it done by Larry Norman.
Revival
People say I’m strange, does it make me a stranger
Revival finished their set about 7:40. It was then announced that there would be break and Petra would take the stage at 8 PM.
Sure enough, Petra took the stage at 8 PM and played for an hour and a half. Some of the folks really got into it, singing and dancing, and occasionally clapping to the music. Other folks watched with less visible enthusiasm. I would say that the crowd was about four to five hundred people and most of the audience was between 40 to 60 years old.
The overall playlist was much like Petra’s Farewell CD with some other songs added. Also, the rock and acoustic medleys were longer. John Schlitt’s vocals were remarkable good; especially since the guy is probably in his seventies. He looks like an older version of Christopher Lloyd’s “Doc Brown” from Back to the Future.
Christopher Lloyd “Doc Brown”
Bob Hartman’s guitar solo was much the same as Farewell.
As I said previously, the band was never introduced but I think the other band members are:
Greg Bailey – Bass, cello, backing vocal
Cristian Borneo – Drums
John Lawry – Keyboards, keytar, backing vocal
Attached are some photos of the concert.
Following the concert, I hit the road and went to the other border crossing at Eastport. I must say that it was odd driving down unfamiliar mountain roads at nighttime with the speedometer at 100. After about 40 minutes, I finally arrived at the crossing back into the United States.
I was instructed to turn off my engine and then was hit with a barrage of questions. As best as I can remember they included the following:
Was there anyone else in my car?
Did I have over $10,000 with me?
Did I have alcohol or tobacco products?
Did I have any fresh fruit or vegetables?
Where was I coming from?
Where was I going?
I felt really unwelcome to be entering the US. Perhaps I should have answered in Spanish, it might have been quicker to be allowed into the country. It might be that I was the only person in a while the guy had a chance to talk with, I don’t know but he finally let me go. I walked in the door about 11 PM.
Now I just need to find a few frames for my autographed stuff.
