From the time I could walk, I was a baseball player. In the neighborhood in which I grew up, my friends and I would play from morning until night. I played all through T-Ball until my early 20's. When I was 19, I also started playing slo-pitch softball with one of my T-Ball teammates. It wasn't long until teams were asking me to come play for them. I was a power-hitting shortstop in those early days. I later became a pitcher out of necessity, and my infield skills served me well in that position. Eventually, I was playing for one of the top 4 teams in country. I won numerous NIT and State titles, individual awards, and three World Series rings by the time I hung up the spikes at the end of the 2002 season.

I got a phone call today that anyone who ever plays competitive sports dreams of getting; over the weekend at a banquet in Rockford, IL, it was announced that I have been elected to the 2009 Class of the IL United States Specialty Sports Association Hall of Fame in the Male Player category. Needless to say I'm very excited at the news. I called one of my teammates from the Mountain Top team in Michigan tonight to tell him the news. I can't tell you how much I miss these guys that I played with and spent so many weekends with each summer for so many years. It'll be great to have them in attendance for my induction next year.

After a couple of weeks off, we actually managed to do a show tonight! Thanks for you patience and your concerns as I do my best to bring some semblance of order to the chaos that has been my life lately. I've been doing some photography for our local newspaper; it's been a lot of fun, but it's taken me away from my usual routine at times. The emails I've received have reinforced the importance of this show to me, and I'll do my best to ensure it remains a priority in the future. That being said, here's tonight's playlist which features new music from Parallel Or 90 Degrees and Martin Orford:

• Secret Saucer - Tranquility Base
• Shadow Gallery - Floydian Memories (for the late Mike Baker)
• Parallel Or 90 Degrees - Afterlifecycle Sequence
• Martin Orford - The Old Road
• Martin Orford - Out In The Darkness
• Martin Orford - The Time And The Season
• Karmakanic - Who's The Boss In The Factory
• Parallel Or 90 Degrees - Four Egos One War
• The Dream Academy - Life In A Northern Town
• Art In America - Art In America
• Asia - Wildest Dreams
• Red Rider - Light In The Tunnel / Human Race
• Toy Matinee - There Was A Little Boy