“I may be speaking to some who can say, with an emphasis, that they oftentimes find great crops of thistles springing up in their hearts, and they have to keep the sickle of sacred mortification going to cut them down, and they try if possible to dig them up by the roots. But thus it is; you cannot expect a perfect life of happiness in an imperfect world Eke this. No; your Savior carried the cross, and you will have a cross of some kind or other to carry after him. ??Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee.?? Spurgeon, C. H.

Wynton Marsalis with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra

And Buck and Grimes at Bing Auditorium Stanford

Brought the family out for a jazz concert. In some ways it seemed like a sophisticated event.

But we brought the level of sophistication down by going to In and Out before we arrived and bringing a couple of goofy kids.  

It was a special treat to see one of the greatest jazz musicians of our time doing something that was totally unique. The merging of an entire jazz orchestra  and contemporary jazz and street dancing styles. 

They didn't want photos during the concert. These are a few snaps during a short farewell jam during the standing ovation. Every song from the concert expressed a different animal, and the dancers imitated the animals during the song. The orchestration was impeccably linked, with tap dance solos weaving together with the rhythm and accents of the band so that the dancers and band performed as one . A masterpiece work of art performance merging dance and jazz. We brought the family and sat in the back stage, but after having seen it, I consider it worth the money to spend the $100 a ticket to sit in the front!