Rock and Roll Saved My Soul

This story is more than just giving my favorite singer a book. This was a very special book. This story begins a long time ago. I was at work and a song came on the radio. The song was “Give Me Something” by Scars on 45. I fell in love instantly. The year was 2011. That was the first time I saw them live, too. It changed my life. I just didn’t know how it would. Only time would tell on that.  Over the course of the years I saw them a few more times. I got to know them, not just as musicians, but as people. They became friends. I’ve seen a lot of bands over the years, more than I can even begin to count or list. Some of them became friends like that for a time, but this time something was different. Something came alive in me.  Fast forward to winter of 2014. I had a book idea--an idea that came from one of their songs. That very same song that I had first heard three years ago. One book turned into two and then a series. I now have one book completed, five more p...

“A shop owner placed a sign above his door that said: ‘Puppies For Sale.’ Signs like this always have a way of attracting young children, and to no surprise, a boy saw the sign and approached the owner; ‘How much are you going to sell the puppies for?’ he asked. The store owner replied, ‘Anywhere from $30 to $50.’ The little boy pulled out some change from his pocket. ‘I have $2.37,’ he said. ‘Can I please look at them?’ The shop owner smiled and whistled. Out of the kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his shop followed by five teeny, tiny balls of fur. One puppy was lagging considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said, ‘What’s wrong with that little dog?’ The shop owner explained that the veterinarian had examined the little puppy and had discovered it didn’t have a hip socket. It would always limp. It would always be lame. The little boy became excited. ‘That is the puppy that I want to buy.’...

In a small Italian town, hundreds of years ago, a small business owner owed a large sum of money to a loan-shark. The loan-shark was a very old, unattractive looking guy that just so happened to fancy the business owner’s daughter. He decided to offer the businessman a deal that would completely wipe out the debt he owed him. However, the catch was that we would only wipe out the debt if he could marry the businessman’s daughter. Needless to say, this proposal was met with a look of disgust. The loan-shark said that he would place two pebbles into a bag, one white and one black. The daughter would then have to reach into the bag and pick out a pebble. If it was black, the debt would be wiped, but the loan-shark would then marry her. If it was white, the debt would also be wiped, but the daughter wouldn’t have to marry the loan-shark. Standing on a pebble-strewn path in the businessman’s garden, the loan-shark bent over and picked up two pebbles. Whilst he ...