Here's a Thought with Jay Daniels

We've all had people in our lives that challenged us to do better... to do more... to achieve things we never thought possible. Two of those people that inspired many of us were Roby and Roberta Wagner.  You know, I still think about both of them from time to time, even though it's been 15 years since I last saw Mr. Wagner. But today... a dear friend of mine said something that brought back a flurry of memories...  My buddy Mark Purdy shook my hand after class and said, "See you later, Big Guy." Mr. Wagner used to always call me that when I was a kid in elementary school. In fact, our school was a combined K-12 facility out in the countryside of Bumpass, VA. Mr. Wagner served as principal; his wife, Roberta, was the K-5 teacher. My most vivid memory of Roby Wagner was actually toward the end of my first grade year in 1995 with my teacher, Mrs. Sue Riley. We had all just come back from a sneak peek of the second grade classroom with Mrs. Byers and Mrs. Kersey. W...

It was New Year's Eve 2006. I was still living with Granny at her home near Lake Anna. Earlier in the day, a friend of mine and I went for a shopping trip to Lynchburg - mostly to thrift stores and antique shops.  At the former DAV Thrift Store on Timberlake Road, I spotted it... an almost new Reader's Digest collection of records - The Great Band Era: 1936-1945. As one who was just beginning to learn much of that music, I found this to be a fanta stic buy. That evening, I got back to Granny's house. She was gone for the evening to the NYE festivities at the Louisa Moose Lodge. For me, it was going to be a quiet night in a quiet house.  After relaxing for a few moments, I found my way to the turntable. As I began to listen to one of the first records, I heard a unique baritone singing one of the most beautiful melodies from the Big Band Era.  The vocalist was  Vaughn Monroe  and the song was "There, I've Said It Again." In later years, the song would...