Author: Jeff Hampton

For Wilshire Baptist Church

One of the scariest words in the English language, for me anyway, is “improvisation.” And yet improvisation is a key to success in many regards.

That word came up Sunday during a “chat and chew” with Wilshire’s George Gagliardi. Lunch conversations with George almost always include some music notes, and I don’t recall the specific context, but improvisation was part of the mix. I confessed I cannot improvise at all. I can play notes on a page reasonably well, but take the page away and ask me to improvise, and I can’t do it.

Continue reading “Improvising Life”

For Wilshire Baptist Church

I’m working on republishing a book, and the process has caused me to stop and think about how much the world has changed.

The story was written in 2000 and takes place in that same year. The publisher is no longer in business, so the story is mine to do with as I wish. While a graphic artist is creating a new cover and updating the page design, I’m re-reading the previous edition to check for typos and mistakes that might have slipped by the first time. I’d already found a few errors after it was published, so I’ve been prepared for this day.

Continue reading “History in the Making”

For Wilshire Baptist Church

Back in December we were watching a program of Christmas music on public television and couldn’t help but notice the closed captions at the bottom of the screen. We didn’t activate the captions; they were placed there presumably by the producers for everyone’s benefit. They included the texts of carols and hymns, but most interesting were the captions during instrumental segments:

Continue reading “Intriguing and Spirited Music”