Carrie-Anne, Whitney, and I are in Tulsa this weekend for our monthly trip to see the grandsons. And their parents. And it’s pretty great. At three-and-a-half-months-old, they make eye contact so much easier now. And when they do, it is awesome. So awesome. They’re really locking in and grinning at exactly the right times. And trying, really trying, to talk. Sammy has a sly little smile that melts your heart and Elliott smiles with his whole face, like he’s gut-laughing in silence. And it’s heaven to hold ’em.

We’re running errands together, decorating the yard for Halloween, and mainly just enjoying these precious gifts from our God.

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The great Tom Petty was born on this day 75 years ago in Gainesville, Florida. To celebrate and to remember one of the greatest American singer/songwriters of all time, I’m posting below a live performance of King’s Highway from the Into the Great Wide Open album. To me, this song kinda captures everything I’ve always loved about Tom.

Tom Petty always communicated a realistic look at the problems all around us. His songs never hold back when it comes to pointing out faulty power structures, political corruption, senseless violence, and unfulfilled promises. And we love that about Tom. But what I love even more—and this may be what draws us to Tom Petty—is that he underscores most of everything he writes and sings with HOPE.

I wouldn’t carry this too far, but Tom’s work is like the Psalms in the Bible. In that sense, I mean: Here’s what’s going on in my life, here’s what’s happening in this world or in my country or in my relationships that feels wrong and broken and bad. And things look bad and they feel bad. But that’s not the end of the story. That’s not the last line.

There is something better for us right around the corner; “there’s something good, waitin’ down this road.” Even on “Hypnotic Eye,” in “American Dream Plan B,” the main character doesn’t have a chance, everything’s stacked against him, “But like a fool, I’m bettin’ on happiness.” The last lines Tom sings on his last album, he ends the song and, yes, his life catalogue, by expressing and renewing our hope: “Waiting for the sun to be straight overhead, til we ain’t got no shadow at all.”

That’s why I just love “King’s Highway.” The music, the tempo, the words—it’s about hope. It FEELS like hope. There IS something left for us to believe. This song, to me, reflects so much of the attitude that I think drove all of Tom Petty’s writing and singing and playing. It’s what kept him going so well. For so long.

From Tulsa. Have a really great weekend.

Peace,

Allan