A Perfectly Cromulent Evening with Eric Peters

When I think of Eric Peters, a few things come to mind.

Geolly Chester and the revenge of the birds

"A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man."

the most outrageous homemade nachos this side of the Mississip

a Mr. Rogers sweater, a coin purse, and cheat sheets

chili cheese Fritos and bean dip from the QT

a Snoopy diary from the 1980's

and a collection of profound songs that stir my heart and encourage my soul

If you have no idea what anything in the list above is referring to, that is okay. Usually I am not sure myself. But on that last one, I will enlighten you.

Yesterday our friend Eric drove the four hours from Nashville to Atlanta. He left his amazing wife Danielle at home with their two boys, Eliis and Monroe (so close in age to our own two young sons). He does this often, leaving behind home and family to play in odd corners of our country and sleep on couches and rack up miles on their Honda Odyssey instead of his beloved Karmann Ghia. All for a chance to share his songs, returning with a few dollars in his pocket, a few CD's sold, another connection made.

Last night we had the privilege of seeing him play his heart out in front of a local Atlanta audience. In his songs I constantly discovered grace -- whether in the silliness of a misguided thoroughbred, the forlorn longing of a forgotten bicycle, the lament of an incarcerated lover, the anguish and honesty of a reality that bites. Somehow, despite hard years and hard words and hard earth, he keeps plowing songs from the rough ground. For that, I am thankful.

I racked my brain all week to come up with a song request. Something new, something old? At the last minute, I came up with "These Hands," a song about a man named Wilton Reeves. I cannot listen to it without remembering a little spot on the Georgia Tech campus where a certain engineer/theologian used to serenade me by playing that and other Peters tunes on his guitar. And hearing that song in a room filled with friends who knew us then was remarkable. We now have kids and careers and bedtimes, but still Eric's music meets us where we are.


(The Peters and the Redds. Pre-kids. But just barely.)

It's true that not everyone can be a top-40 artist or a CNN anchor or a Fortune 500 CEO or play a doctor on TV or be a Supreme Court Justice or a Pulitzer-winning author or be a household name for whatever reason fame and prestige come one's way. But you can do something you love and do it well. Like Eric.

If you have never heard of Eric Peters and would like to check out his music, please let us know. We have CD's and we know how to share them.

Thanks again, Eric. We shall try to do it again soon.

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