Hmmm.  I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed by the paltry response to my Rich Mullins tribute.  Ok, granted, it was not a conventional tribute.  I did tributes in my own words ten years ago, agonizing for hours over just what to say & how to say it, and I don't have the time and energy to do that again.  It's all been said already anyway.  Besides, why use my own words when his are so much better anyway?  What better tribute than to post some of his own lyrics?  Alright, so maybe I'm just odd or obsessed or something, but I really don't know how anyone could just read those words and go, "Huh, whatever."  Or maybe, "Hmmm, interesting."

And of course, I assume that if anyone thought anything more than that, they'd comment and say so.  But then again, I have to remember all the times that I really like a post and don't comment.  I also have to remember that there really are not a whole lot of people who regularly read this blog.  Yes, I know there are plenty of places on the internet where I could go and commisserate with like-minded Rich fans.  Been there and done that long ago and, given my obsessive tendencies, really don't want to do it again.  I already stay up too late on HSB and don't need something else to pull me further into cyberspace and farther away from the important things of life.

Still, I could not let the tenth anniversary of Rich Mullins' death pass by without doing something on my blog.  And even though I didn't make it clear at first what I was doing, I assumed people would recognize some lyric or another, catch the title reference, realize the date, and figure it out immediately.  (I know, that's expecting a bit much.)  And then I guess I was just sort of expecting a bunch of people to pop in out of the woodwork and write things like, "Oh, I just love Rich Mullins too," or "Calling Out Your Name is one of my favorites," or "Wow, I like Awesome God, but I never really listened to the words of his other songs..."

Oh well.  It's not like I'm crushed or anything.  And I was happy that at least a few readers share an appreciation for the beauty of Rich's words.

I just think the guy was a remarkable wordsmith (as well as a great instrumentalist and a pretty decent singer).  His word pictures still amaze me, as many times as I have read and heard them.  Who else writes stuff like that?  And as if his lyrics weren't unique enough, there was the music, in particular that hammered dulcimer-- not exactly typical fare.  Then there was the man behind the music.  What I didn't learn about his humble, barefeet-&-bluejeans everyman nature from going to concerts, I learned from reading, and it only made me appreciate the music all the more.

Oops, that's enough of my words, so I am off to other things.  Just had to get that out of my system.

(And probably only a die-hard Rich fan would catch THIS title reference.)

Edited 9/22 to add:  I am currently on a different computer and noticed that most of the fonts I used on the tribute posts are not showing up!   What a sad state of affairs!  Words that good deserve better than arial and times new roman, and if you are getting boring fonts, you're not getting quite the full effect.  So sorry, but there's not a lot I can do about it.

And while I am on the subject of wanting the full effect, would anyone be willing to tell me how I can get music on my blog?  (My teenager said she'd see if she could help, but I'm not sure she'll get around to it, or I might have to let her off cleaning the bathroom or something.)