Every April here in Catawba County, North Carolina, hardworking and bighearted volunteers organize the “Veterans’ Stand-Down.” Many of the volunteers are veterans themselves. Veterans in need, some of them homeless, many with psychological and addiction problems, come for free advice, dental treatment, medical referrals, clothes and food. As this year’s event nears, I got to thinking of the stories behind the faces…

Gene Poole-Skimmings does a great job on the piano here. He may be a pain in the behind, but when he quits moaning about getting paid and complaining that the groupies he brings back to his room leave when they sober up and realize that they are not at the Hyatt Regency but at the Red Roof Inn, he can actually tickle those ivories. Friend of the band, honorary Mysterious Being and Pennsylvania’s finest guitarist, John Evans, adds a solo.

You can also listen at SoundCloud. If you are using the SoundCloud app on your phone, choose the ‘Listen in Browser” option, not “Play on SoundCloud” to make sure you hear the latest version.  Sound Cloud refuses to fix a bug in the app which can sometimes play old versions of a song.