Pianos, Guitars, and Trumpets.

Last week was my public piano debut at the Crafted Keg. I played That's Just the Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby. It's a very complicated song and it took me about a year to complete it. I give thanks to Dad, who printed out the lyrics for me, and to Miss Debbie Boykin, for teaching me the basics of the fingering and chords for piano. Last year, my guitar teacher, David, got me a piano for my birthday. When we brought the keyboard in, Dad wanted me to learn That's Just the Way It Is. Now, a year later, I have learned and performed it in public. Thanks Dad for keeping me going with that song.

I am learning a bunch of new songs on guitar such as Cry Love - John Hiatt, Boat on the River - Styx, and my most recent song, Let My Love Open the Door - Pete Townshend. Each week at the Crafted Keg, I learn at least one new song and play it there. I am Currently working on Child of the Wild Blue Yonder - John Hiatt. Thank you Jonathan Cummings for letting me come up and play every Tuesday at the Crafted Keg.

Up until three days ago, my musical inventory was four guitars, a guitarlele, a keyboard, a set of harmonicas, and a saxophone. After I got the sax I wanted a trumpet, but the problem was that musical instruments are expensive. Then a few days ago, Dad was cruising through Craigslist and he found someone selling a trumpet for only $20. The trumpet is an Etude ETR 100 in like new condition, and it has the case and everything. Dad called the guy up and said "I'll come over and get it."

Now I have Sarah the Trumpet in my musical inventory. So far I am learning how to go from C to G with the other notes in between. G is a bit hard to get, because C is open, so you don't press any of the valves down, and G is the same way.  So you have to adjust your lips to get the G sound, and when you do middle C, keep your lips in the same position for D, E, and F. Dad played the Tuba so he teaches me a little bit.

Frank Aird (Trumpet Man): "Take 5", 'Alfred's Ocean Palace', Negril, Jamaica, 2011

That's all for this week's blog post. I'll see you guys next week! B'bye.

By Fletcher Morton.

The Kingdom Keepers

A few years ago, my mom told me about a book series called the Kingdom Keepers. I said "I'll check the first book and see what happens next." Now, I still read them, all seven books, over and over again.

The Kingdom Keepers Book Series is an amazing story about five teenagers, (Finn, Maybeck, Philby, Willa, and Charlene), that auditioned for Disney's DHIs, which stands for two things. 1: Disney Host Interactive, 2: Daylight Hologram Imaging. To put it simply, the guides at the Disney Theme Parks have been replaced by holograms.There are seven books in the series, Disney After Dark, Disney At Dawn, Disney In Shadow, Power Play, Shell Game, Dark Passage, and The Insider. The Disney characters are real and alive, even the villains. All of the villains are in a group called the Overtakers, and the Keepers have to stop them from taking everything Disney and making it dark and scary. The leader of the Overtakers, (Chernabog from Fantasia), is rising, and can only be stopped by the mouse that started it all. The problem is that Mickey has gone missing for a while. How will they defeat the Overtakers and bring the magic back without him?

The book series was written by Ridley Pearson, and caught my attention from the first page of Disney After Dark to the last page of The Insider. This would be an excellent series for kids and adults alike. I think it's  great as far as the story and how Mr. Pearson kept me on edge to see who would win. Would the Overtakers win and destroy Disney, or would the Keepers win and save Disney? Would there be another strike from the Overtakers in the future? The last question remains unanswered. It just might be on your mind when you read the last page of The Insider.

By Fletcher Morton.

US Sport Aviation Expo

 Last weekend, I went to Sebring, FL for a performance at the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo. I would like to thank the Flying Musicians Association for inviting me to play, and I would also like to thank my Mom and Dad for the time and effort of getting us up there and getting room and board for all of us. Friday morning: My dad took Sam T. Dawg to The Inn of the Dog. When he came back, we started packing the guitar and equipment up.

At 3:00, my mom arrived home from work early to get herself ready for the trip and to get on the road early.           At around 4:00, we were on the road to the Kenilworth Lodge in Sebring. Once we got our room key, we went and had dinner at a restaurant next to the hotel. 

The next day, I got up and took a shower. Once we were all awake, we went downstairs for the free continental breakfast. I had Swiss Miss hot chocolate, a doughnut, and a bagel. We got in the van and drove to the Aviation Expo, where we got wristbands for the volunteers. At around 12:00 noon, I got up and played a few songs, and the tent filled up. After that, I went outside to see some airplanes take off and land. I also played a song for the people at the Seaplane Pilots Association booth. I am now a 5 year member. We met the Chairman of the Board of Sun 'n' Fun, Robert Knight and I was interviewed by the Florida Aviation Network. At around 5:00, we went back to the hotel and I played Peaceful Easy Feeling over by the fireplace, then we lounged in our room and watched TV before going to sleep.

At around 9:00 the next day, we packed everything up and hit the road back home. We had an amazing breakfast at the Landing Strip Cafe at the Okeechobee airport. The waitress was very nice, and so was the food. In my opinion, they should turn off a few off the TV's there. We came back home, and mom got the dog. All in all, I think it was a fantastic weekend.

By Fletcher Morton.

~ VIDEO~

Fletcher's Performance at the Expo

 Performing for the Seaplane Pilots association

The Kenilworth Lodge lobby 

The Age of the Flying Boat

By Fletcher Morton
Flying Boats are fixed wing seaplanes with a watertight hull making it so that they can set down on the water. They are kept balanced on the water by the use of floats under the wings. Some Flying Boats were amphibious, meaning they can set down on the water and land on runways.

Flying Boats had very interesting attributes. They had floats near the ends of the wings instead of wheels. They carried freight and passengers. Most would carry between six and thirty passengers, but the really big later models, like the Pan Am Clipper could carry over seventy passengers. Although the outside looked oddly shaped, the cabins were very nicely appointed, some with rooms inside like miniature staterooms on a cruise ship. Most Flying Boats were made out of aluminum, plywood, and fabric and were powered by radial engines. Flying Boats were mainly used as passenger planes for going around Europe, Africa and Asia. Some of the most popular destinations of the flying boats were exotic ports of call like the Pacific Isles, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Lake Victoria, The Ivory Coast and Southern Africa.

Many Flying boats were made during the first half of the 1900s. At the time, technology had not gone to lighter planes and better fuel and engines, and runways were expensive to build. Because the behemoths were really huge, and less power, it took longer to take off. The solution, was water. Flying boats took off from the water instead of land which made them good international airliners without the need for expensive long runways. Flying boats also served as air/sea rescue planes. They and their valiant crews are responsible for saving countless lives.

By the end of World War II, their popularity waned because of new materials and technologies making airplanes lighter, more powerful and efficient. People thought, "Flying Boats? Why should we use them when we have shorter, less expensive runways?" Very few Flying Boats still exist today. They are now mostly used for recreational flights, remote areas, air/sea rescue missions and dropping water on fires.

There are a lot of famous flying boats, such as the Pan Am Clipper, The PBY Catalina, and Jimmy Buffett's Grumman HU-16 Albatross, the Hemisphere Dancer. (pictured on the right) For the future of Flying Boats, I really hope that they come back for more flying around Europe, Africa and Asia, because I would really like to see places like the Serengeti and Lake Victoria and touch that lost piece of aviation history.

Listen to Scott Kirby's song Last Flying Boat here.

Epcot

I have been to Disney World once for my twelfth birthday. I went to the Magic Kingdom, which was really cool. I have three theme parks left to do. Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Epcot. The next park I would like to go to is Epcot. Epcot is divided into two areas, Future World and World Showcase. In Future World, there are many structures such as Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, Test Track and more. Mission Space is a ride meant to simulate astronaut training for the first manned mission to Mars. Riders are arranged into crews of four before watching an introductory video. Before going on, each person has a role,(Navigator, Pilot, Commander, or Engineer). Test Track is a car ride where first you get in a car, and you go through tests where one room is very cold and the other is very hot. Then there's the brake tests. you're about to hit a wall because you don't have brakes, but the wall is a door that opens up to the track, where you go sixty-five miles an hour around the track. World Showcase has many structures of different parts of the world, such as France, Italy, and Mexico. There is a mobile attraction at World Showcase called the World Showcase Adventure, taking place in different parts of World Showcase. It is an electronic scavenger hunt that has people use special custom made cellphones to give them clues on what to find and where to find it. Epcot is a very interesting park full of science and technology that is amazing for the future.