$400 Million lottery? Who cares!

What?!

You say the Powerball is up to $400 million?

Big deal.

I've got silver in the stars and gold in the morning sun, to quote Don Williams.

Plus, look at this poster I won from Graceland. Yep, that's announcing the 2013 inductees to the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.

I've got everything I need, y'all.

That being said, if I do win the big payoff, next week's dateline will be  from Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, USA.

Hey, a guy can't dream, can't he?

A clean, well-lighted place

Often, when I duck into Barley's on Sunday nights, I think about Hemingway.

Well, let me back up. I don't think so much about Papa himself, but rather about his short story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place."

I've always loved that piece. Hemingway was at his best in the short story format. His tough, terse prose lends itself to it.

I often encounter a few seemingly lonely people, sitting at the corner of the bar, taking in the music. Sometimes I wonder about their lives, who they are, where they're headed. And, like the old man drinking his brandy, I too am warmed by it all.

Oh, of course a big part of that is Robinella, I know that. She was in rare form last night. I swear, she sings those sad songs better than anybody. I felt sorry for the folks who left to see Tom Waite. They missed the show.

Got to sing Don Williams' "Amanda" with her again. Made me feel like a million bucks.

Andrea, Chris and Drew took in the show, too. The conversation was good; it warmed the night.

When I got home, I pulled Hemingway off the shelf and read about the old man drinking his brandy. And I thought about how special it is to forget about life for a couple of hours, enjoy the company of friends and hear an angelic voice create her art up on the stage.

But, you see, that's what often happens on Sunday nights, in the Old City, at a clean, well-lighted place.

Rain (and RobinElla) on a Friday night

Call me simple minded, but one doesn’t have to be rich to be wealthy.

Don Williams told us years ago that a country boy can find silver in the stars and gold in the morning sun. So true, but I’d add good friends, good music and good conversation to that mix, too.

Don’t know where you ended up Friday night. After work and a late interview, I headed out to West Knox to pick up my pal Matt. We drove to Maryville and waited for pal Drew to finish work. Guys’ night out!

We ducked into the Tomato Head about 8. It fronts historic Broadway in Maryville’s downtown district. The waiter seated us so that we could watch folks stroll by and enjoy the remains of the day.

Shelton and I split a large pepperoni; Drew opted for a smaller pie. We got caught up with one another, laughed about all those things three longtime friends laugh about. After a few minutes, the stress of the work week was but a distant memory.

RobinElla began singing about 9:30. Basking in the glow of her sweet sound, it’s easy to forget about time and life and all that other jazz.

She treated us with a wonderful rendition of her toe-tapping, heartstring-pulling original tune, "Left, Right, Back Together." I nodded my head to the beat, grinned like a newborn baby, clapped my hands in delight. As an old friend says, it was a moment, and it worked.

The pretty lyric says it all: "We landed on a cloud, and all our troubles went away..."

I lost myself somewhere in the music. Rain began to fall outside after awhile, creating an almost ethereal mist, the perfect backdrop for Robin’s remarkable talent. I looked at my friends, thought about the songs awhile and thanked God for all of life’s simple blessings.

OK, so I’m corny. I admit it.

But rain and RobinElla, good friends and better conversation on an easygoing Friday night?

Don’t try to tell me it gets any better than this, folks. Won’t believe it for a minute.

Now I'm crowdin' 30 (and still wearin' jeans...)

Wow.

That's an understatement I know, but it would take the talent of Shakespeare to describe how wonderful it all was last night at Barley's. Best birthday I've ever had.

Been a little ambiguous about turning 30. Just because, you know? But with the new condo and everything, uncertainty has given way to anticipation.

Then last night I celebrated early with my best pals at Barley's, which of course on Sunday nights means RobinElla. If you haven't yet caught her set, rearrange your schedule and do so soon. Very soon. Cause she's just so darn good, folks.

The best part? Well, it's hard to say. Don Williams' "Listen to the Radio" is always a favorite. Robin soars on Merle Haggard's "Natural High" and touches your heart on the weepers "Anymore" and "These Dreams of Mine."

But my favorite had to be "Teardrops," hands down the best song I've ever heard, especially when Robin dedicated it to one of her biggest fans for his birthday. I still haven't come down from way up there in the ether somewhere.

Life is good, folks. This precious, wonderful, crazy roller coaster ride contains such joy, divinely simple moments that make you glad to be alive. I couldn't have scripted a better night if I had written it myself.

Here, let me sing these lyrics while I still can, but don't let the melancholy fool ya. Turning 30 will be OK. This party's just getting started.

I'm leaving the last word to Don Williams...

I got my first guitar when I was 14, now I'm crowdin' 30, and still wearin' jeans...

The smoothest voice in country music

I had never been to the WDVX Blue Plate Special.

Glad I went, though. There's nothing like a live radio show and good music to get your Tuesday off to a great start.

Plus, it gave us an opportunity to get caught back up with RobinElla. She only sang for 30 minutes -- it could have been for the whole hour and then some as far as we were concerned -- but her set was great, as always.

The highlight was a cover of an old Don Williams song I haven't thought about in a mess of Sundays, "Listen to the Radio."

Listen to the radio, oh listen to the radio
Let's spend the night together
Baby don't go, they sing it on the radio

My thoughts jumped back in time a decade or so. Pal Drew and I took a quick jaunt up I-75 one Saturday night to Renfro Valley, Ky., and hung out in a big, converted barn for a couple of hours.

Don Williams came in, wearing that same old hat he's had forever. He sat on a stool and sang. He didn't swing from ropes. He didn't bust his guitar. He didn't rely on overblown (forgive the pun) pyrotechnics.

Nope, he just made music.

I can remember being a little boy and playing my mom's "Don Williams' Greatest Hits" (MCA label) album on my little Fischer Price record player. These days, the lyrics to his hit "Amanda" mean quite a bit more than they did in the early 1980s.

Now I'm crowdin' 30, and still wearin' jeans...

My mom loved the song "Ghost Story" that was a cut on that album. I bet I haven't heard it in 20 years.

Anyway, that Saturday night in Kentucky, I wanted Don to sing "Amanda," of course, which he did. I also wanted him to sing my favorite waltz of his, "She's In Love with a Rodeo Man." He didn't, but I listened to it in the car on the way home.

I do remember he sang "Good Ol' Boys Like Me," which is an understated, "says more than you know" kind of a tune; and "Heartbeat in the Darkness;" as well as "Shadowlands," a pretty little ballad he recorded later in his career, after the hits stopped.

My favorite Don Williams song? Oh, can't name just one. "Amanda," certainly. And "Rodeo Man" and "Rake and Ramblin' Man" and "Good Ol' Boys Like Me" and "Lord I Hope This Day Is Good" and "I'm Just a Country Boy" and 10 others.

I also just love that John Prine song he did, what was it called? Oh, yeah -- "Love Is On A Roll." And the one about "If Hollywood Don't Need You (Honey I Still Do)."

Well, I hope you make the big time/I hope your dreams come true/But if Hollywood don't need you, honey I still do...

But "Listen to the Radio"? Hadn't thought about it in years.

What a special memory it brought back. Good songs are like that.