You know the time, grease, get on the Train

You know the time, grease, get on the Train
Current mood: bouncy
Category: Life

Well, I guess all of you guys know what day it is, right?
Today is the opening night of High School Musical 3, and I am very excited about it.

"Aren't you ashamed to admit that, Charlie?" you ask.

I could say that I'm a little ashamed, but the fact that I am blogging it for hundreds of people to read would belie the insincerity of such a response, so I'll say it loud and proud: I LOVE ME SOME HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL!!!

I was with my niece one day and she wanted to watch it with me. Needless to say, I was not excited about the next hour and a half of my life, but I love my niece, so I told her that of course I would watch her little movie with her.

About half way through, I looked at my sister (my niece's mother...go figure) and said, "This is really good."

She replied, "I know, isn't it!"

So I'm on board the HSM train and am headed to see the 12:50 showing here in a few minutes.
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Other random thought....do you ever read something and wonder if whoever wrote it said it out loud before they approved it to be printed on thousands of whatever it is that it is (does that sentence make sense to you?)

An example is the microwave dinner I ate the other day (I know they are way bad for you and the microwave kills everything good in all food, but sometimes I just don't want to feel hungry, and those things do the trick to accomplish that noble purpose). It was Greek food, but it didn't really taste Greek ( I have no idea why I think you would be interested in the fact that it did not taste Greek, but it did remind me of something the crazy family I lived with in Uruguay used to feed me). Regardless, on the box, when it says all the wonderful things about the meal they have kindly prepared for you and that you are about to enjoy, it says, "Taste of Greece in every bite!"

That sounds fine when you're reading it because you know what they are talking about, but what would you think if you were blind or something and you were at the store with your seeing eye dog who just happened to be able to talk and read (they're up and coming...one of those breeds that ends with poo [like some mexican meals, incidentally]), and your seeing/reading/talking eye dog takes you to the frozen foods section and just reads you what the boxes say about the meals. S/he gets to one and reads the following (keep in mind you can't see it), "Taste of Greece in every bite."

I would be one blind guy who would not want a taste of grease in every bite and they would lose my purchasing power (unless of course it was on sale for half off).

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Been pondering a lot lately on being actually, eternally, in Christ. I'm starting to see it much more than the things that He has done for me that I get to enjoy and more like I have become a passenger on a train going to all the places that He has bought for me. It isn't removed like He did something and because I believe it, I can somehow take a cab to where I need to go....or walk there...or travel there at all.

It's kind of like that scene in the 3rd Matrix where they are at the train station. He can't get anywhere unless he is inside that train. There is nowhere to go.

That is probably a great picture of what this little life on earth is. There is really nowhere worth going that we can get to on our own. And the only way to get anywhere worth going is to get on that train. Jesus is that train.

Once on the train, we don't run...we don't fly...we don't exert any of our own effort or plan. We simply sit in the train and let it take us where it will.

He will only take us to wonderful places (final destination is complete Union with the Trinity) and all we have to do is relinquish our ideas of how to get there and simply climb aboard and into the One who isn't only the directions, but is the Train, the Tracks, and the destination.

That's what I'm thinking these days.

Maybe I'll see you and all the other pre-teen girls at the premier!!!!!

charlie dodrill
dreaming for the next 2 hours that he's Troy Bolton

Currently reading : The Lie & The Light: There Is A Lie Hidden In The Heart Of Man By Jason Henderson Release date: 2008-06-25

KC, vacation, flag boy, garden rest, the Lie & the Light, down undah

KC, vacation, flag boy, garden rest, the Lie & the Light, down undah
Current mood: quixotic
Category: Fashion, Style, Shopping

Hello everyone,

Where were we?....Oh yeah, singing at urinals and pringles from the sky....

First of all, how are you? How's your mother? That's good to hear (unless either you or your mother is not doing well, in which case I'm very sorry).

Lots to catch up on.

(looking out, across the nightime.....the city winks a sleepless eye)--your song quiz

I'm getting ready to get on another plane and head to one of my favorite places on earth--Kansas City. Ahhhhh, Fiorella's Jack Stack, Oklahoma Joes, Sheridan's Frozen Custard, IHOP, Gates, Southwest Blvd., Union Station, Bluebird Cafe, Arthur Bryant's (that's 6 food references, if you're counting because IHOP is not a restaurant, so there!) That and some of the most wonderful people on the face of the earth (what part is the face of the earth anyway?...I wonder what the armpit of the earth would be...or the back of the knee of the earth......it's something to think about....feel free to give your opinions in the comments)

(hear her voice shake my window...sweet seducing sighs)

I took a real, live vacation last month!!! I've been on vacations with family before, but they were never ones that I would plan myself. Most of them were beach vacations and, if you've ever met me personally, it takes your eyes a second to adjust to the bright whiteness of my skin, so the beach isn't the happiest place on earth for me. Don't get me wrong...I love being in the ocean and riding the waves and such. I just don't like the after effects of pain and itching and lobster-esque complexion that peels off to become white, giving me a candy-cane appearance in the transition.

(Get me out Into the night-time...Four walls wont hold me tonight)

So here was the vacation. I flew to Chicago for a day, got on a train that night (I know what you're thinking, but it was not the midnight train to Georgia), went through Illinoise, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota (lots of sunflowers there), and Montana, where the train stopped at Glacier National Park, Montana. Spent a week there with friends and saw some of the most beautiful country I've seen outside of Chile. We hiked around 60 miles in all and saw Grizzly Bears, Big-horn sheep, Mountain Goats, a Moose and her calf, etc....all pretty close too. It was awesome!!!!

(If this town, Is just an apple...Then let me take a bite)

If you're wondering at what part of this trip did I end up looking like a fool, I'll tell you.

It became a tradition for at least us guys to jump in whatever glacial lake we hiked to. The first one was exhilerating. It was very cold, but the sun was out strong, so it felt great to dry off in the warmth. The first two lakes were in Canada (my first time in Canada, eh?) and they were cold, but the last long hike we took was to a place called Iceberg Lake.

"Why do they call it Iceberg Lake?" you ask (should the question mark go after the ask or after the Lake?...I'm putting it after Lake because that's the actual question....tell me if I'm wrong).

Because there's actual icebergs in it, silly.

I continued the tradition and jumped in a lake that isn't warm enough to melt ice and swam out to touch the nearest iceberg. This was dumb. The first two lakes were invigorating. This lake was absolutely painful from start to finish (I think there was a 20 minute period there where I may have temporarily switched genders). And as soon as I get out of the water, absolutely freeeeeeeezing and ready to dry off in the hot sun, a dark, ominous bank of clouds comes billowing over the cliffs above. With the clouds come the cold and...you guessed it....cold rain!!!

Smart guy Charlie (that's how I refer to myself at all times) decided that rain gear was too heavy to bring on this trip, so I put on every long sleeved piece of clothing I have with me and we ended up running a good portion of the 5 miles down the mountain in a downpour.

When we reached the camp, I changed into any piece of dry clothing that I had that looked like it might be warm. This included a pair of warmer running pants that I got like 9 years ago that were way too big that are supposed to fit tight on your legs but are really loose on me and look like those stirrup pants girls wore in the 80's. Over these was a pair of green shorts. I had a blue tank top covered by a white shirt, covered by a photographers vest that I traded someone for in Katmandu when I was there, and sunglasses with one lens out of them. (There's a picture on my blog page from my website). I actually ended up trying to dry off the rain protector of the tent and ended up looking like Napolean Dynamite doing a flag routine in high school band (there's actual video of this). So....there you go.

(If they say - Why, why, tell em that is human nature
Why, why, does he do me that way)

Thinking about the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve eating that fruit to gain the knowledge of Good and Evil....what if they were doing it to give themselves the ability to please God? I don't know, I'm just saying. We were discussing it at church last night and I would tend to think that it is a good possibility. They knew God was the best thing ever, so why would they want to rebel against Him and break fellowship with Him. Surely those "cool of the day walks" were the best part of their day, right? I bet they thought the knowledge of Good and Evil would allow them to make their own decisions that would make God proud of them and so become more pleasing to Him.

I know that's how my brain works.

The problem was...and is...that this is totally unnecessary and it doesn't work. We stink at it! We call what is good evil and vice-versa. But the bigger problem is that they were pleasing already!!! And so am I!!! And so are you if you are in Christ!!!! Why is that so hard for me to grasp in reality? Even though I sing about it and write about it, I still think I need to be doing something to make Him happy or to make Him smile when He looks at me. That's so jacked up!!! There is nothing I could ever do to impress Him or gain favor from Him, but there's no reason to do so because He's smiling already as He looks at me in His Son. His Son makes Him smile and there I am in Him!!! There's nothing I can do to add to Jesus Christ! I just need to rest.

I'm beginning to think that rest is maybe the most mature form of worship and the most selfless way to honor Him.....to rest in what He has done and quit trying to do my own thing to somehow acquire something that I'm continually given without the slightest hint of measure.

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Book Recommendation
You guys, I read a book that is AWESOME!!! I love finding books that when I'm done I say, "Every Christian should read this book as soon as they meet Jesus." This is one of those books. You won't find it at your local bookstore, so you'll have to order it, but it's worth ordering (plus it's pretty cheap and it's not real long). It's called "The Lie and the Light" by Jason Henderson. Get it. Read it. Tell me what you think. It will take you one or two days to read, but it is soooooooo good. Get it at https://www.createspace.com/3345469

I'd better let you get back to whatever it is that you are doing. Thanks for hanging out for a second.

By the way, some of my music is getting radio play in Australia these days. If you want to listen or request songs, you can listen over the net at http://www.rhemafm.com.au/newcastle/. Pretty fun. They say my name "chaaaaalie Daaaaahdrill." I love it!

craziness of love, circle of life at the urinal, pringles from heaven

Hey everybody!

I’ve missed you too (and stop sending me nasty e-mails heaping shame and condemnation on me for not blogging ;)….oh no…the dilemma of putting two regular parentheses in a row to make the cute, sideways winking face…but I guess this aside makes it OK again).

Let’s play “Name-that-random-tune-in-between-paragraphs” again.

(It’s hard to believe, that I couldn’t see)

Some things in my life have changed lately to change me perspective on a lot. I was thinking the other day of how frustrating it can be to be incapable of expressing affection to the degree you would like to…so that someone can really accept it and grab ahold of it.

(That you are always right beside me)

Then I began to wonder if this very scenario could be part of the reason that God Almighty came up with the plan to send His Son….the dearest thing in all the universe created and in God Himself, uncreated to a world who would never accept Him to die on behalf of those whom He created and yet hated Him anyway. What could be a greater, more crazy, extreme scenario to show someone that you love them than to give what is more precious to you than your very self to them and for them?!?!?!?! I mean, come on!!!! That is just crazy!!! What kind of unquenchable love is that!?!?! It just makes me want to learn to accept it and walk in it with my head held high because He has made me worthy, through that very gift, to be the recipient of inexpressible Love. I really want to do that. Just to accept it and so honor Him, the Giver.

(thought I was alone, with no one to hold)

I mean, what does life look like to a person who learns to receive that and leave the self-doubt and self-consciousness behind him/her and just be loved?!!??! Let’s find out, huh? What else have we got to do in our 2-3 minutes on this pebble?

(but you were always there beside me).

I know, I started off kind of heavy this time, but it’s been bubbling in me for a bit now…had to get it off my chest.

(this feeling’s like no other…I want you to know)

Have you ever been really thirsty, but have to pee at the same time?
Follow up question: Have you ever drunk (not been drunk, but been in the process of drinking liquid) at the same time as you were peeing? If you think that is gross, just skip the next few lines. I do this from time to time because I think it’s neat to have a continual flow—incoming and outgoing at the same time. When I do this, I can’t help but have the song “Circle of Life” from the Lion King playing in my head, which ultimately leads to Hanukah Matata, which sends me singing and dancing a little. This is when I notice all the other men at the urinals quickly leaving the premises (did I mention this is taking place in a public restroom?). Anywho….

(I’ve never had someone who knows me like you do… the way you do)

I imagine that one of the universal wishes of mankind, since the creation age, has been to have a portal (or at least a long tube like at the bank) which reaches all the way to heaven and dispenses fresh Pringles potatoe (Dan Quayle spelling) chips anytime that one wishes. I can’t find this wish in the Bible or in any ancient (or modern) literature, but I know in my heart that it is in the deepest desires of men and women across the globe.

(I’ve never had someone as good for me as you…no one but you)

Reading Exodus this morning, I began to notice that the Lord very intentionally put the Israelite escapees in a really difficult position with no “outs” but Him. So often, our western theology leaves no room for Him putting us in a tough spot where He is our only option. Man, I’m glad he does it. Our lives in this country are so unbelievably cushy that we can live a lifetime without every really feeling need (like the humans in WALL-E). I don’t want to look back on a life without struggle some day. There is so much to learn through pain and work and disappointment. There’s so much joy to be had on the other end of these things.

(So lonely before….I finally found...what I’ve been looking for)

As much as it pains me to do so, I’ve decided to ask Him for the whole gauntlet of what is possible here on this planet. We’ve only got one shot to experience Him through faith, while we have eternity to know Him by sight—face to face. I want to take full advantage of this short time. I ask You, Lord, to show me comfort for what it is when it doesn’t come from You. I’ve got forever to be comfortable. I’ve only got one shot at chances to walk through fear in You and to step out and risk in You. Let me/us take full advantage of these opportunities until you let us come home to You forever.

I’m off to Kansas City tomorrow for a full band show. I love KC!!!

Keep in touch and I’ll try to do the same. Sorry if I grossed you out.

SHHHOOK, SHACK, Shimmy, awkward Gramma moment

So, a friend and I are hiking in the Tennessee hills and we come to a clearing containing a forked tree (this is all after we were picked up by a police-lady....excuse me....police-person, and made to ride in the back of her cruiser because we were wandering lost on a skinny road [I have phone pictures and everything--pretty sweet--and no, she didn't taze us, bro]).

The fork was pretty low and both trunks grew up pretty straight and nice. My friend, speaking as the mature adults we are, literally said, "I dare you to jump through that tree."

Well, I was dared. As you know, there was no question as to what would happen next. I took off at about 3/4ths speed, increasing as I approached the forked tree. This would be no problem at all for me. I just had to jump up a ways and be going fast enough for my momentum to take me through the fork.

So, here I go...getting closer and closer to the tree---faster and faster as I approach---and then I jump up in the air and sail toward the fork. While rising in the air, I begin to look for the area on which to land when I come back down on the other side, when all of a sudden....SHHHHHOOK (that's what it sounded like.....SHHHHOOK!) I stopped in mid air!!!! I had overestimated the width of the fork or underestimated the width of myself. I found myself totally and completely stuck in mid air with my feet dangling a couple feet off the ground. I somehow managed to jump up and pin both my arms to my sides at the same time I went through this fork. Now I was wedged in between two trees by my shoulders and hips (which are still raw and scabby...I could take another phone picture, but I'll spare you). The only things I could move were my head and my dangling feet! What an idiot!!!

It took me a good 15 seconds to shimmy myself until the tree released me from it's ninja grip. All the other trees were laughing at me, but near as much as my hiking buddy, who was on the ground, rolling around laughing. It was pretty unbelievable. I don't think I could do that again if I tried 1000 times! I hope the scars stay so when I'm in some terrorist prison camp on the brink of despair, I can just look down at my hip scars and just laugh and laugh. It will drive those terrorists crazy!!!

O.K. I'm sorry it's been so long since I've "blogged." I'd give you the old holiday excuse (I'm sorry if the term "holiday" offended any of you...I never know what we're allowed to say these days!), but you've heard enough of that, so I'll save it.

What's been going on since we last talked?

Christmas...that was good. Got to go hang out with family, which is always good. I went to see "Charlie Wilson's War" with my 84 year-old grandmother and my folks. Good movie, but the first five minutes is a bunch of naked women in a hot-tub doing cocaine!!! If I'm by myself, that makes me uncomfortable, but when I'm with the people that gave me birth and the woman that gave one of them birth????........AWKWARD! Thankfully, the rest of the movie was great and had no more naked, cocaine snorting, hot tub women (not to reduce their lives to that one scene, but that's all I know of them....I mean, I'm sure their parents don't refer to them that way).

Since we last talked, I've become politically active. I found a candidate who I think is just awesome and I'm really excited about him (or her...but it's a him). I never really cared much until I googled this guy, but now I'm borderline obsessed with getting him elected. That's a new one for me.

West Virginia football had a fairy tale redemption of a tragic situation in beating the Goliath, Oklahoma in a bowl game with an interim coach who is the nicest guy ever after being abandoned by a 'not-as-nice" coach to fend for themselves. Being from West Virginia, that's a really big deal. The rest of you will just have to try and understand and become huge Mountaineer fans as well!!!!



Sooooo...It's a new year and I'm excited!!! I LOVE change and I just like new starts. I'm not a big "New Year's Resolution" guy because it's just a big opportunity for guilt for me. I figure I've got enough laws that I put on myself, so I avoid one more every year.

It does excite me to think, "Lord, I'm going to know You in a different way this year....not because of anything I'll do, but because I know You want me to know You in a different way." That just exhilarates me (I've tried to spell this word four times now and the red line still comes up below it! Does anyone know how to spell this word!?!?!!)

The year is off to a great start in that respect. Someone at my church mentioned a life-changing book they just read called "The Shack" by William P. Young. I went immediately from Church and began looking for this book. It was sold out all over the city until I made it to David Kidd, an independent bookstore in Nashville, who had one copy left (got the last one in the city....I take that stuff as a sign). I started reading it Sunday night and now I've got about 20 pages left. It is unbelievable.

I've never read a book I agree with more. The things I've learned in my life, especially over the past 10 years, are presented so beautifully in this book that I just sit in wrapped amazement as I turn page after page and drink in what is being so smoothly poured from the heart of God. I'm not even finished with it and I'm already planning on reading it 5 more times, just to make sure I keep reminding myself of these truths that I believe, but I don't always live. It's so easy to forget the good of Him who loves us. It's so easy to forget that we are the delight of His eyes, and not the disappointment of his expectations (expectations that He never even had). It's so easy to forget that the Life He gives us is simple and not complicated. So easy to forget that we are not made to be alone. I'll stop waxing and just tell you, you should get this book. Wow.

Well, I just wanted to check in and see how you guys are doing. I know many of you are wondering how I'm rebounding after the break up with Dee's (Dodge Stratus that should not be named). I'm doing fine. One day at a time. I do have a new lady in my life, though. Her name is Muh (pronounced "Emma"). Any guesses as to what type of vehicle she is?

May you see more and more of Him in every circumstance of your life this year and may He become clearer and bigger in your eyes as each moment passes.

Great to be on this journey with you.

charlie dodrill
(former driver of a Dodge Stratus)

Yo Juicy! I'm not near as cool as I once was (why are you laughing?)

I was at a church somewhere on the road and I was sitting beside this 60-something year old Chinese lady who had a Bible in Chinese and everything. She was very nice. When she got up to walk out, I noticed that she was wearing a black T-shirt with the words, written in about 6-inch letters, "YO JUICY!" I just thought that was pretty darn funny.

I know, I know...it's been a very long time since I've written a blog (or "blogged" for those of you who are too tech-savvy for your own good). There is a reason. A very legitimate reason. A very sad reason.

There is something that has happened in my life that I fear will change your entire opinion of me. I am scared to death to even send it out over the internet "waves (is it waves that the internet elves use to get me to you across the world?...yes, I've decided that it's waves, just like the radio [I'm wrong, of course, but that's what I've decided, regardless of the truth])."

Something has ended in my life. Something/someone that defined me...that was a huge part of my public persona (for all 3 of you who read this--mom, dad, and that other guy). A long-term relationship has ended in my life and I don't know who I am without her. Who will I become now that she is out of my life? The question frightens me.

What could be so traumatic? What could change the very fabric of my being? Who could have been this important to me that my life feels like it has been ripped apart without her?

Let me just come right out and say it (brace yourselves).

I no longer drive a Dodge Stratus.

Now you understand why it's been so long. How do I put that down in black and white? I've been grieving, my friends. So long, cool, boss Charlie (why are you snickering?....obviously you knew me apart from her). Hello, lame, Stratus-less guy.

What happened, you ask? Well, it's complicated, like any relationship. We started heading in different directions. She wanted to stop and talk when I'd pull up to a red light and I wanted to keep going. She started to become high-maintenance, requiring....well....maintenance. It just became too much for me. It was clear that we had to part ways---Me go my way and she go (or sit there and refuse to start) hers.

I'm afraid of what you must think of me---dropping Dees off to be picked up by a complete stranger? But I feel like she forced me to do it. Her sputtering brakes giving me whiplash every time I pressed them or her squeals when I turned the wheel were cries for help. One of us needed to make the move, so I did it. I'm not proud of it, but it had to happen.

There.....I said it.

I am now Charlie Dodrill, former owner of a Dodge Stratus (I realize not nearly as cool as what I used to be, but I guess it is better to have loved a Stratus and lost a Stratus, than never to have loved a Stratus at all---I think Aristotle said that).

So that's the big news. I'll understand if you drop me like a bad habit (get it?...I used to be a monk), remove me from your top 8 myspace friends...or your friends altogether, burn my CD's. It's understandable. Just remember. I'm the same inside, and I still need love. Is that so wrong?

Enough of that. I will speak no further of Dees, the Dodge Stratus.

I have no idea who this is, but the jean shorts say it all...even he looks cool next to that baby.



Just got back from KC again and am off to Colorado in a couple days. Those are two great places.
I've been on the road a bit and lately, it's become some of my best down time. Lots of people all the time these days, which it great...but can wear a guy like me out.

It has been so nice just to be able to relax when I sit down. I used to think that I had to spend every still moment straining to learn something about Him or fervently pray for someone or something...do something to make God like me or to take advantage of that moment to become more spiritually more mature than everyone else. Funny how much of a job I made it....and how much I wanted to be promoted based on my own merits/efforts.

Wow, what a waste of time and energy!!! I'm so thankful that the work has been done for me!!! I'm thankful that the same Jesus that took time away to be with His Father while He was here still does so while he lives in me!!! No pressure...nowhere to get to....no task to accomplish every time...no act to perform. The Son just loves to sit with His Father....the Spirit just loves to sit with and point to the Son....The Father loves to sit with His Son...and I get to somehow sit right there in HIM!!!! How unbelievable is that?!?!? How could I not be transformed in to His image when that is my place?!?!! It rubs off!

Lord, I ask that I keep this perspective in the midst of a crazy, busy life and take advantage of those times just to sit and be and bask in the relationship that You have with each other. Thank you for making me a partaker of the Divine Nature. How cool are You?!?!?!

Currently reading : A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship By Ron Paul Release date: 15 June, 2007

Website, sadistic fashionistas, blind drunk guy driving, brambles and lessons

Thing #1. The new website is more fully operational (like the Death Star), so the music is now playing and it says something cool on the tab on your browser and stuff like that...so....new and improved. Way to go Jeremymitchell.com!

Thing #2. I have a question for you ladies out there. Do you use fashion to punish/humiliate the men in your life? I know there are a few men out there that have a clue what to wear and are all stylish, but most of us just put stuff on and if it doesn't smell or itch, we're down with it. The reason I ask this question involves a lunch I had the other day.

Come with me to Sitar Indian restaurant in Nashville on a hot Saturday afternoon. I'm with two friends of mine and we witnessed two fashion faux pas (it's French...look it up [Lord knows I had to]) that even a fashion moron like myself could spot immediately.

The first was a man who came in---WITH HIS WIFE!!!--who was wearing bright red sports shorts (old sweatpants material) that came just above the knee and were a little tight (but not like biker short or dwight yoakam tight) and a tank top of the exact same hue as the shorts. I wish I could show you the several pictures I discreetly took of this ensemble with my phone, but I don't know how to do that. I don't know much, but I know that this was wrong.

The second was a man who walked up to pay and, as he passed by our table, all three of us just looked at each other...spellbound. Keep in mind that not one of the 3 of us would consider ourselves fashion gurus (only probably one of us even knows what's up in that world...and she's too cool to care), but these things were bordering on offensive! This guy had on jeans and a denim shirt un-tucked, which is fine if it doesn't almost touch the tops of your knees. Again, that wouldn't have drawn our attention either, but the dude was wearing one of those braided leather belts (each strip of leather was a different color) ON THE OUTSIDE OF HIS SHIRT! He also, was with his wife/girlfriend.

We came to the conclusion that these men must have recently done something horrible to these women...something that deserved harsh retribution and swift reprisal. The only thing is, that they weren't aware of the ridicule they were being subjected to. I think these women knew exactly what they were doing when they either:
1. Told their husband/boyfriend he looked fine, or even good, when asked "Does this look OK?"
or, far more sinister,
2. Actually constructed the incongruity themselves...laying out the road to social demise on the freshly made bed, snickering on the inside at the scorn that would silently be heaped upon such a costume's wearer. And trust me, if I noticed, EVERYBODY noticed.

So, ladies, is this something that you do to us? Are you reading this with a knowing smile and a malicious memory of doing just such a thing to a previous (or current) boyfriend or spouse?

Just wondering.

Thing #3. Have had some great shows at some great places recently and, as always, I've met some really super people and made good friends. For all the pain traveling can sometimes be, it's well worth it. You start to realize that this world of ours if filled with a lot of awesome people. Thanks for that.

Thing #4 NEWS STORY OF THE DAY
TALLINN (Reuters) - An Estonian man who was caught driving a car even though he is blind has been at it again, police said on Monday, and this time he faces jail.
Police first arrested the man, 20, a week ago.
"We arrested the same blind man driving his car again on Saturday in the town of Torvandi, near Tartu (in southern Estonia)," said Marge Kohtla, a spokeswoman for Tartu police district.
"He was drunk. There were three people in the car with him giving him instructions."
She said police wanted the court to jail the man for 30 days and confiscate his car.

Honestly, what does it matter if you're drunk if you're blind and driving a car. I hope that's not what he went down for. The funny thing is, did you notice it says he was driving HIS car?!?! He actually OWNS the car. That's pretty funny. Talk about the blind leading the bl...no...wait....what?

Thing #5 I was reading/praying the parable of the Sower the other day and I began to look at myself in it. I saw myself getting caught up in the business of life and it starting to choke my life some. I watched as the vines started to lift me off the ground, leaving my helpless to fight against it. So, there I was....suspended in the air, being held up by pointless things that seem important at the time, but have no real eternal value. My immediate reaction was to begin praying that He would untangle me from this mess of vain distraction and allow me to run to the place of good soil or to do something to cultivate that soil myself, but then I felt a change of direction and the verse came to mind, "I have been crucified with Christ, and now I no longer live, but He lives in/through me." I changed my prayer from, "Untangle me" to "You know what, God?...just leave me there to die, so that You can live through me." So many times I want to get my "Old Man" out of situations when God has no interest in helping out the Old Man. He made it so that Old Man will die and be replaced by the One New Man, which is His Son, Jesus Christ. It's funny, there's a song called "New Creation" on the Prologue album that talks about this very thing, and even though I wrote the song, here I find myself needing to be reminded of the message a couple years later!

Thing #6 I've got another house show in Kansas City coming up. Just someone who contacted me and wanted me to come, so here I come! If you want me in your town, just let me know! Those shows are really fun!

Root on the Mountaineers tonight.

charlie dodrill
dodge stratus

Tell ’em I said Hi (doh!), sweaty, NEW WEBSITE, FREE CD’s, yelling at cats

"Tell Everybody I said hi!"

I just said that to someone who(m) (I just use the parenthesis[ese] because I don't know when to use who or whom, or parenthesis or parenthesese...if you have any advice, let me know) I used to work with when I saw her in the Arcade here in Nashville (cool place). Anyway, though we used to work together, I know absolutely know one who(m?) she knows outside of the said place of employment. I don't know one person she knows outside of the office.

So why did I just say, "Tell everybody I said Hi"? Who is she going to tell that? A bunch of people I don't know? IDIOT!!!

Do you ever do that? Just say some moronic cliché that doesn't make any sense in an awkward moment when you really don't have anything to say to someone because you know certain things about that person's life that you probably shouldn't and so you avoid asking any questions for fear it all comes out and that person gets uncomfortable? And so you say something stupid and you end up looking like the moron and everyone involved is uncomfortable.

Yeah...I just did that.

O.K. It's been about a month since I've written and it's high time I got on the ball...or the horse...or the stick....or get my head in the game (for all you High School Musical fans out there). But first, we need to establish the "name that tune" portion of the blog:

"The camera pans the cocktail glass,
Behind a blind of plastic plants;
I found the lady with the fat diamond ring.
Then you know I cant remember a darn (but he didn't say darn) thing."

I saw one of the funniest headlines I've ever seen (although it is also very sad) the other day. It's right up there with the man who greased his entire naked body to make it difficult for the police to grab him while he wailed on them with nun-chucks (see previous blog). Now, just so you don't think I'm some sicko, I take no pleasure in others' suffering, but the wording just hit me as...odd. I didn't read the article, so lets pretend the guy is still alive. But the headline read:

Sweaty Chinese Man Electrocuted by Computer

You have to admit.....
That was the actual headline in a reputable newspaper!!! There has to be a better way to put that.

"I think its one of those de ja vu things,
Or a dream thats tryin to tell me something.
Or will I ever stop thinkin about it.
I dont know, I doubt it."

As you may have seen, "Eyes of the Exception" is up and running on i-tunes and several other download spots, so knock yourselves out there.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY COOL NEW WEBSITE!!! Jeremy Mitchell does it again! It's so cool! You can turn the pages by clicking and dragging them around. How cool is that?!?!?!

Those of you who have been listening to the new album, have any of you found the part where we left in me drinking out of a water bottle? It's in there and it's pretty loud. I thought it would be funny to leave it in there. First person to tell me where it is on the comments gets a button!

"Subterranean by design,
I wonder what I would find if I met you,
Let my eyes caress you,
Until I meet the thought of missess princess who? "

3 ringtones from "Prologue" are also available HERE.

Since the last blog, I don't remember where I've been. I know I was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I had possibly the best vacation I've ever had in my life for that weekend. Great show, great people, great rest....just great all around.

I just got back from Indianapolis, where we had another fantastic show....and then I started my journey home. Let's just say it took me 26 hours to get from Indianapolis to Nashville....3 hours on a tarmak before the flight gets cancelled in Chicago...next morning to Atlanta and finally home after standing in lines and getting the run around for like 20 hours. I did make a friend and it became kind of like "The Amazing Race" after American Airlines just left us on our own to somehow make it home. I'm claiming that we were first and thus far, no one has disputed me. They claim it was due to weather, but I don't think it was even raining in either place. Anyway...no bitterness. That's the way it goes sometimes.

"Often wonder what makes her work.
I guess Ill leave that question to the experts,
Assuming that there are some out there.
Theyre probably alone, solitaire."

I have a neighbor who is a little over 50 and a little overweight and a little different than your average bear. I often am awakened at around 2am by this:...... "You git in therrrr! Git in the house!!! GIT!!!" This would be my neighbor yelling at a cat to return to his apartment, where he's not allowed to be in the first place. This is kind of interesting in itself, because cats don't really respond to yelling in the first place. But when I look out my window, things take a turn for the worse when I feast my eyes on the sight of this man in the parking lot wearing nothing but what most would call "tightie whities," but what do not match that description at all....in either category. 'nuf said. You get the picture. It can be a pretty colorful place sometimes.

I had a record label take the new CD to one of the big radio stations (one of the big giants who owns all the other stations) to see if they would play it. I think they played them "Expression" and "What if I Would Say?" and the guy said that they love the music, but that my "lyrics are too advanced for their listeners." So...if you like this music, then you are some kind of genius prodigy according to radio people!!!

So, if we want the music on the radio, we're going to have to do it ourselves. Here's the plan. If you have an independent radio station in your town or near that you think would be a good fit for the music I do (can be Christian or Secular), then if you message me with your address, I'll send you a FREE CD to give to them. They can't play it if they don't have it, and without a label, they won't have it. If enough people tell them to play it and they have it there, then we've got a chance to get the message that I believe the Lord has given me out there on the airwaves. So just write me and tell me how many stations you've got to give it to and I'll send them to you. You're on the honor code, so no funny stuff!!! Let's see what can happen? Why not?

"I can remember when I caught up
With a pastime intimate friend.
She said, bet youre probably gonna say I look lovely,
But you probably dont think nothin of me.
She was right, though, I cant lie.
Shes just one of those corners in my mind,
And I just put her right back with the rest.
Thats the way it goes, I guess."

Do you ever wander if your life is significant at all? Do you feel like you need to do something great that is recognized by tons of people before it really "counts" in the kingdom? Do you feel like if you're not in Africa on the mission field, than you're wasting your life on selfish pursuits? I think so many of us fall into that trap and it ends up being this kind of self-fulfilling prophecy and we end up giving up on the everyday things because we have already somehow lost the race. We might as well just go for comfort if we've turned our back on the really important things. Can you identify with that? I think that is so common, especially among those who have had the "radical" times in life, and compared to that epoch of life, what is happening now appears mundane and luke-warm.

Others have no grid at all for a more radical lifestyle...have never met someone who is completely sold out and in love with Jesus. I know from experience that this world is full of people who have never been around a "pursuer" of the Lord.....even Christians!

It doesn't always take the big deeds to be fervent. It doesn't always take the great sacrifices to be the real deal. Sometimes it does, but not always. Most of the time it's just loving Him in the moment we have right now. I can get so caught up in what I'm not doing that I forget that right now, in eternity, I'm seated on a throne...I'm amongst a cloud of witnesses, worshipping and loving Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. By faith, I can enter into that reality right now, even as I type...as I work...as I talk to a friend...as I read....as I pray....as I listen to a man in his underwear yell at a cat. That's on my heart right now....to live in the reality of eternity even in the mundane times down here. Just because the outside of my life may look normal doesn't mean the life on the inside has to be anything less than 100% sold out, in love, radical worshipper....and I can do that RIGHT NOW.

Let me hear from you. You know that blog comments are my love language!