El Paso
April 10, 2008

Last night we held our seventh “Music For Life” event here in El Paso at Club 101, a red and black punk-rock club with some of the nicest people you could ever want to know….It was great having rockers working together with nuns, and the Mayor of El Paso, Mayor John Cook, was our guest musician, and he did a fantastic job. After singing a Beatles song and then “Five Foot Two”, he proceeded to wow us with an original song about facing the man in the mirror and answering to that person.

I captured him in a filmed interview talking about how he has always tried to follow the advice of his grandfather…to be a statesman, not a politician. To
follow what is right, and to lead in that direction, and not to follow the sway of what is popular in current culture. He had me in tears. His wife, Tram, was lovely , too.

We had two heartfelt speakers, Carmen and Gloria, both women who lost a son and husband, respectively, to violent crime. It was hard not to cry, most of all because both of these ladies brought their daughters, sisters and surrounded themselves with families as they spoke through their tears and anguish. Neither one believes in the death penalty, even after all they have suffered.

I am at a pay computer in the Howard Johnson lobby, and my time is just about up. Thanks to Pat and Charlie, Jean and Bob, Club 101 and Adrian and Jimmy for running great sound!, and Wayne for driving me to/from the airport.

El Paso is wind driven dust and beautiful mountains, and warm hearts.

Oh! And thanks to Lee for driving over from Las Cruces!

posted by Sara Hickman at 08:47 am
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