Friends in high places

Recently I had the opportunity to escape from the office for a long three-day weekend to Galveston, Texas to attend a gala fundraiser for the Galveston Seafarer's Center. As some folks know, though I was born in Michigan, I spent most of my life in Texas. I grew up in Galveston and attended college at the University of Texas in Austin.

It was fun being able to revisit some of my old haunts together with my brother and my old college and high school friends.

The real reason we were down there, like I said, was thanks in large part to my mom, who is the port chaplain of the Galveston Seafarer's Center. The center helps people who basically make their living on the sea from all over the world. The center provides these seafarers a "home away from home" and a chance to escape from their ship for a few hours to hang out in a relaxed environment, call home to their families and use the Internet. To hear a very compelling story about the Seafarer's Center, click here and listen to the story of a Bulgarian seaman who was helped by the center and later provided help to the survivors of Hurricane Ike.

The Seafarer's Center, like much of Galveston, was virtually destroyed when Hurricane Ike blew through the island in 2008. Much of the island businesses are still rebuilding. The dinner my brother and I were invited to is the center's largest fundraiser of the year and helps with the cost of the center's operations.

This year, the band that the Seafarer's Center booked for the event knew of my brother and I because we had a band in Galveston years ago. They saw our new band, Delirious Love, on Facebook, and invited us to come play a few songs with them.

After kicking into "Mustang Sally," we got another surprise. The mayor of Galveston is a drummer and he enjoyed our style of music so much, he asked if he could sit in for a few songs with us. A fun time was definitely had by all and we're looking forward to next year's event.

It was nice being able to go to Galveston and see some familiar faces and share our music. It was even more fun being able to spend a weekend with my mom and step dad and stepbrother and sister.