Message from Ships Have Sailed:

Storytime: when I was young, my life was chaotic, uncertain, always shifting and full of more stress than a child should have to deal with.

My dad wasn't around, my mom was dealing with five kids trying to make ends meet, there often wasn't enough food to go around...life was hard, but I had a group of friends that slowly gravitated together.

We connected about music among other things and we used to take these hikes...literally just climb up to the top of a mountain with some food, water and tents and just camp overnight...laying up and gazing at the stars. These were some of the most peaceful moments I knew growing up...allowing me to just lay there, often in silence but ever present, feeling a sense of kinship and belonging that I didn't feel in my own home and looking out into the great unknown with wonder and, most importantly, hope.

I still speak to these friends on occasion...and I probably should reach out more often - perhaps one or more of them is reading this at this very moment, wondering if I'm talking about our memories together. I am.

Not only that, but our new song "Reflections" which is now yours in two unique versions (I'm cleverly calling it a 'Double A-Side') was intended to capture the feeling I used to cling to on those mountain tops when I was younger.

Life is better now, and I'm so grateful. I've found a 'mountain top' where I can exist, belong, create, and remember all the people and events that allowed me to get here...not the least of which were the friends I mentioned.

Will