Hi T.J. This is Billye... A Voice from Your Past...

I was home from work this evening quite a bit later than usual.

I sure did talk to a lot of people this evening on the telephone.


I was talking on my cell phone on my way home...

And then there was a beep in.

I talked some more on the phone...

And got back with the first caller.


I ate my dinner (a sandwich) while I was talking on the telephone.

I hung up.

The phone rang again...

And I talked some more.


I was off of the telephone...

And then Parker told me that I had a message on the recorder.

I returned that phone call...

And the cell phone rang again.


I finished that phone call and five minutes later...

Then the house phone rang, again.


I don't know if I have accurately kept count of the telephone calls...


But either way, all the phone calls ended up being ~right with the world~.



Whew...



The one phone message that I returned was different than all the others though.


It really was a "voice from my past".


Billye is the grandmother of one of the children that I "helped raise".


I hadn't spoken with anyone in that family for several years...

Probably about six or seven years.


She said that they, her and her daughter, had been thinking about me lately...

And they were wondering how I was doing.


*wow*


Her grandson is doing really well she said. She's very proud of him for what he has overcome, as well as what he has accomplished.

He's 19 years old now...

The last time I saw him he was ten.


It was a really nice conversation...

And it made me *very happy*.



My brother sends me quite a few forwarded e-mails.

This one had a very unusual video attached to it.


While I cannot verify the text, the source, or the validity of the e-mail's claims...

(Believe me, I tried!)

I still have enjoyed the little two minute video.

It makes me smile.


I found that it is posted on YouTube...

That amazing and crazy video website.


While I can't share everything about my telephone conversations with you guys tonight...

Hopefully, I can still share the smile.

later...



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**UPDATE**

Leave it to a blogger to uncover the mystery of the video!

Iowa Greyhound has discovered that the e-mail is a hoax.

But not only that, he discovered where the video orginated from.

Good Job!

Go here and you will find that this video, and others, are available on DVD and VHS.

I think I might buy a DVD as a Christmas present for my little nephew.

I like it so much surely he would too!


Here's what the text of the e-mail said:

This is almost unbelievable!

This incredible machine was built as a collaborative effort between The Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory and the Sharon Wick School of Engineering at the University of Iowa . Amazingly, 97% of the machines components came from John Deere Industries and Irrigation Equipment of
Bancroft Iowa , yes farm equipment!

It took the team a combined 13,029 hours of set-up, alignment,calibration, and tuning before filming this video but as you can see it was WELL worth the effort.

It is now on display in the Matthew Gerhard Alumni Hall at the University and is already slated to be donated to the Smithsonian.