Adele is certainly inspiring us all with her golden sultry voice, great showing with six recent Grammy Awards, and overcoming terrifying prospects around her throat surgeries.

but, let’s not forget the phenomenal artist that was Adele before there was an Adele – and, that would be Alison Moyet, herself.

so, think about how Adele makes you feel, and where you were when you heard her sing for the first time.

yesterday in the truck, on the way to pick up some new shin-guards for soccer, with Adele straining in the background through the radio, my little Emma Jo was telling me all about Adele. I could tell she was touched. and, deeply so. I told her about examples of my own love for music and people that create it. we discussed Alison Moyet, and Emma Jo was actually interested.

but (or, but…), where were you in life when Alison came though with her own ground-breaking effort, Alf?

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

time certainly does fly, but all the more so when every Daddy grimly observes the ticking clock against the dreaded time his “little girl” lets go of his protective hand.

however, those fears can be reasonably set aside for the moment, because its that magical time of year, again. and, the 7th Annual – My Princess Dance is upon us! it is! so, mark your calendars! guard the date, and fiercely so! Saturday, February 18th at 630pm to 9pm at The Foundry at Puritan Hill. stand firm, goodly men, and register, here.

to be sure, you’ve read earlier stories on this Blog from last year, God gave me daughters. What did He give you?, Its time for a Princess to Dance!, the Princess and the me, and, investing in my daughters.

consider forging a few stories of your own.

I have three Princesses in my immediate family with the girl of my dreams at my side, and two daughters that I’m determined will realize their own.

I coach a good number of princesses in soccer. but, that is different. and, the stuff of other stories. you can always read about those adventures, here. now, I’m also coaching young lads in Lacrosse with the best hopes of influencing them to be gallant around any right Princess. more on all that, to be certain.

Haley Anne and I went to the first “Daddy/ Daughter Dance” six short years ago after a heads-up from Woody Faulk (a father of four girls of his own) let me know he would be hosting this inspiring event. it has quickly became an Atlanta-area tradition. Last year the event was renamed, and aptly so, “My Princess Dance,” and held at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead. More than five hundred fathers and daughters came to that My Princess Dance, and they are, and all of them, forever changed. complete with princesses, carriages, chocolate fountains, and a knighting ceremony, the evening was spectacular.

Haley Anne kicked me to the curb after seventh grade and I started taking Emma Jo to the dance. the experience has been brilliant for us all, and I’m keen to share it with any man that understands how important he is in the life of his daughter. I’m convinced this is a vital bond where God really trusts some of us with daughters. the anticipation builds with talks about pretty dresses and an afternoon getting hair and nails done (or, Mommy can certainly do that!). it’s dancing practice and perhaps a special dinner. then come the shared secrets and the memories that enchant a life-time realized in only the span of a few hours that leave us all the more excited about the next year.

the My Princess Dance is all about the importance of family by stopping the busy-ness of life, and spending time with those we love, and cherish, the most.

read more about My Princess Dance in this story, printed by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution: bit.ly/fLhOUt. do it!

and, then watch the video below for a sense of what is yet to come (sorry if it’s bleeding over on this blog page. it’s videos fault, and not mine own – yet, I’ll forgive almost anything that helps me share this wondrous event with you all.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

this post isn’t meant to be news. just some thinking about my Dad whom was neither a football player, nor citizen of San Francisco. just my Dad.

last night the San Francisco 49ers beat the Pittsburg Steelers in unique fashion. a lot of the details are being reported elsewhere, and are in fact, unimportant to me.

but, the 49ers were, improbably, very important to my Dad. he grew up, literally, dirt poor in South Dakota and Nebraska. his path from poverty to that of an elite military officer through the Army Air Corps that became the the Air Force, somehow equated with his views of San Francisco as the epitome of advantage, opportunity and example. I don’t know a lot of the reasoning around that, but I do know that Dad was happy whenever I saw him, there.

and, when Dad was happy his laugh was genuine, and his smile could light up an entire room, and one evening in particular, an entire stadium.

last night the power kept going out at Candlestick Park, and that was bigger news than the 49ers victory even though it’s certainly been too long since they found the play-off’s.

“The Stick” powered-up in 1960, the year I was born, and the 49ers played their first game in that place in 1971. Dad and I were there. he was just back from another tour in Viet Nam.

it should be noted that The Beatles gave their final full concert at Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966. and, inexplicably Dad was there, as well. Dad was something of an enigma, to many. amongst Dad’s favorite songs he firmly counted John Lennon’s Imagine. of course, by way of karma, that song found it’s own light by Lennon’s hand in 1971. I think dad may have viewed himself as a world citizen (a significant part of the songs message). that may explain why he fought so hard for his country and relished the air of San Francisco.

in any event, I spent most of that day nestled under my Dad’s arm while he roared with the crowd. the details of the game were meaningless to me, as were the hot dogs. there was a moment when Dad looked at me and said, “I love this town and this team. Good things are possible here. I sure do love you, son”. although I can’t immediately recall who actually won that particular contest, I can tell you that the 49ers won their second straight divisional title in 1971 with a 9-5 record. they also won their divisional playoff game against the Washington Redskins by a 24-20 final score. I know that because Dad talked about it. and I always listened to my Dad. Dad also loved the Redskins, but mostly, and evidently, because they were associated with Washington, DC. and, Dad was a patriot, albeit not a New England fan.

so… whenever I see the 49ers play, especially at Candlestick Park, I immediately think of Dad and his electric smile.

I love you Dad. I miss you so much. I coach a lot of other guys’ sons in Lacrosse now. it’s all bitter sweet. I try to be a beacon in my own right. I really do. but, thanks for showing me the way and lighting my path. and, you know I’m listening to, Imagine, by John Lennon (for Dad). but, check this out… while I share that particular Lennon’s effort with you all, consider the Imagine cover by Taio Cruz. Dad would have appreciated it. in fact, I would have called him to talk about it. so, I’ll share it with you.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

you can also listen to me narrate this post, here: you have to understand evil to appreciate goodness by brian patrick cork.

when I was much younger (which is all the more relevant now that I’m near one hundred years of age), my Nana (Mom’s Grand Mother) said, “where there is greatest good is where you will find evil’s best opportunity”. of course, she said it with a very raspy Italian accent, but I clearly understood.

mind you, Nana ran boot-leg gin out of her bathroom during the depression in Old Sacramento. but, she also taught my Mom how to high-dive, think independently, and to love “fiercely”.

I think she meant that you have to understand evil to appreciate goodness.

I am not hypocrite, just like I can’t claim to be an evangelical Christian. but, I talk about subjects and discuss topics realized in the Bible because the book is so relevant with it’s perspective and point-of-ageless example.

in any event, dedicated readers of this blog and long-time stalwarts of mine understand that I don’t know for certain that Christ rose from the dead to make his point and save us all. but, I do look around myself daily with confidence there is a higher power that influences and compels my actions around doing good things. so, I’m hip with God. I’ve always been quite matter-of-fact about that. its seems obvious to me God is our ultimate cause-and-effect. I’ve never seen any point in debating against it. call that instinct, but I know it’s conviction.

so…

Satan might be a frame-of-mind. but, that perspective is what offers the greatest hope that good can prevail. maybe that propels our actions. were there no comparison, we would have no baring-point to align those actions. the fear of death and fading to black nothingness awakened God in our hearts. and for God to hold us accountable there must needs be something to lose. that makes Satan darkness, and God light.

if only life were always that simple. then again, perhaps it is. ironically, death is the proving ground, eh.

so… I’m typically focused on doing good work. most of the time it’s easier than the alternative, anyway. especially if you surround yourself with people that generally feel the same way and conduct themselves accordingly. I still get offended and surprised when people are bad or do things that seem out-of-sync with my sense of fairness or fair-play (that occurred just late last week with a guy in my business life named Marcus, for example). but, that’s the best potential to stay on-point, right?

I ask God every day to keep introducing me to good and better men. when bad things happen I keep learning and refining my own sense of virtu, by comparison.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork