Blake Saunders needs your help.
I barely knew Blake. I had met him briefly while visiting the Smythes in Bristol Virginia last Summer. He had just finished playing a game of softball with R.C Sproul Jr and members of his church. Blake was smoking a cigar as the sun set behind the winding river and the clinch mountains. We talked very briefly about music. Charlotte had told me of Blake's penny whistle skills, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that he also played the hammer dulcimer. I asked him if he had heard of Rich Mullins. It turned out that Rich was Blake's favorite musician. Rich is mine too.
When Blake heard that I would need a place to stay for my first night in Bristol this Christmas, he immediately offered to put me up. Blake drove all the way from Mendota to Bristol, to meet me at IHOP. That night, Blake let me drive to his house, because he would be letting me borrow that car during my entire stay. I was delighted. At the gas station, Blake instructed me in the ways of the "Geo Metro".
"These things get 60 miles to a gallon." He said.
"It's all because of their 3 cylinder technology...I don't believe that any other car has a 3 cylinder engine."
If there was, I definitely couldn't think of any at the time.
Blake's Geo was a stick-shift, and I hadn't driven a stick-shift in a good, long time. So, needless to say, I was a little rough. Blake took this as an oppurtunity to teach me his little tricks of the trade.
"You don't need to press the clutch all the way in if you just need to tap the brakes a little. That wears out the clutch."
I didn't know that.
"That's the turn signal: if you press it down, it means you are turning left...if you flip it up, it means you're turning right."
I did know that...but it never hurts to hear it again.
Blake was renting a little house on someone else's property. Half of the house was filled with the owner's possesions and the other half was Blake's living space. Blake didn't have much, but what he did have he gave and shared freely. That night, Dec 21st 2007, Blake taught me to chop firewood for his wood stove, taught me to smoke a pipe, and taught me how to feel very welcome in someone else's house. Since both Blake and I were musicians, we began to take turns playing songs for eachother, and then eventually delved into deep conversation about our upbringings and the essentials for living the "good life"...all while smoking a pipe and drinking Barq's root beer out of frosted mugs. When we finally went to bed it was 7:00 am...the sun was already rising over the treetops...
Today I just learned that Blake's house burned to the ground. Blake lost almost every material possession that he had. Both Blake and his visiting brother Brett almost slept through the fire, when a neighbor pounded on the door and woke them up. Blake escaped untouched, while his brother Brett suffered minor burns to his hands.
Blake did not own much, but his most treasured possessions were his instruments:
- Hammer Dulcimer
- 2 Lap Dulcimers
- Six string guitar
- Harmonica
- Tin Whistle
- Penny Whistle
He also lost his vast music collection and all of his books as well. If you would like to help Blake out in any way, please contact me:
(402) 578-5096
pianofrog@gmail.com
Benjamin Lueders
19213 Costanzo Plz Apt. 2B
Elkhorn, NE 68022
Thank you so much...any little thing will help.
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