One of the most powerful things about making connections is that they continue to bear fruit long after the seeds are sown and can crop up in unexpected places.
A remarkable example of this is how longtime SW:S supporter, Danette (Kelly) Smith, reconnected with her middle school classmates, co-founders Mary Judd and Darden Smith. Like them, she had moved away and fallen out of touch after graduation until years later when she heard about SongwritingWith:Soldiers and wanted to find out more.
When Danette learned about an upcoming retreat in Belton, Texas, she reached out and asked how she could help. Mary replied, “Come to the retreat concert. You can learn about the program, meet the veterans, and hear the songs they will have written over the weekend.” Within minutes of arriving, Danette saw the results: the unexpected bonding between military members and civilians; the revealing, powerful stories shared through song; the relief and joy on so many faces, including her own. “It is nearly impossible to describe what is happening here,” Danette said.
What Danette witnessed changed her life. Since then, through her and her husband Randy’s generous support of SongwritingWith:Soldiers, the lives of many others have been changed.
But the connections don’t stop there. In fact, they keep multiplying, each time serving to pay it forward. Danette and Randy own a professional paintball team. Through that business they were introduced to a team of veteran paintball players led by Dwayne Pearce, an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) specialist. This inspired Danette and Randy to make a donation to a charity of Dwayne’s choice which turned out to be longtime SW:S retreat partner, EOD Warrior Foundation.
Soon after, Dwayne and his wife, Sarah, learned about the SW:S couples’ retreats at a gathering Danette hosted that included the executive directors of both the EOD Warrior Foundation and SongwritingWith:Soldiers. And if you are wondering if a song came out of these multifaceted connections, the answer is a resounding YES! They attended a subsequent retreat and with songwriter Gary Burr, they wrote Not Our Problem Anymore.
Thank you, Danette, for connecting the Pearces to SW:S, and to everyone who keeps leveraging the power of connections and paying it forward in such creative ways!
Childhood friends Mary Judd and Danette Smith reconnect at Texas retreat. Photo: Michael O’Brien.
Not Our Problem Anymore
Sarah and Dwayne Pearce / Gary Burr
Yesterday my biggest fear was keeping friends alive
Today I’m dragging trash cans to the bottom of the drive
It’s funny how your whole damn world can change with one plane ride
Between the calm and the chaos
There’s an everyday life where you’ll find us
We learned pretty quick not to sweat the small stuff
Cause we’ve had big problems before
It’s gonna be an easy day, no doubt
No matter how big the scape, it’ll buff out
When the shit hits the fan, we all shout
We either get it right or it’s not our problem anymore
Yesterday I spent the day disposing roadside bombs
Today I changed a light bulb, washed the car and mowed the lawn
I start to look for trouble if it’s quiet for too long
Between the calm and the chaos
There’s an everyday life where you’ll find us
We learned pretty quick not to sweat the small stuff
Cause we’ve had big problems before
It’s gonna be an easy day, no doubt
No matter how big the scape, it’ll buff out
When the shit hits the fan, we all shout
We either get it right or it’s not our problem anymore
We either get it right or it’s not our problem anymore
I drop my pack…shed my skin
Do my best to snap back in
To the job that always waits for me
To become the man I need to be
© 2020 SongwritingWith:Soldiers Music (ASCAP) / Connboy Music (SESAC)
Dwayne and Sarah Pearce write with Gary Burr at EOD Couples Retreat, Virginia, 2020. Photo: Bill Albrecht.