Q. How often do you go to Nashville?
A. About every six to eight weeks. I’m a job-share teacher (at Washington Middle School).
Q. How long do you stay?
A. I’m there for about a week.
Q. You fell into the height of your songwriting career after 40. What drove that?
All through my life I’ve gone back to writing and singing and playing my guitar, it’s always been a big part of me.
I’ve let it go sometimes, especially after I had my daughter. I started the NSAI group, but there were years where all I could manage when I first had Haley was just to have the meeting. I wasn’t writing any new songs, I always felt that void.
I used to go to Nashville once in a great while and nothing was happening, but it’s always been a dream of mine to have songs recorded. Finally, I just said I’m not going to be one of these people who are 80 years old and say, “What if? What if I had tried really hard?”
It was in June 2003, when Haley was about 5, I said, ‘Now is the time.’ I’m going to reconnect with those people down there (in Nashville) and I’m going to try really hard, I’m going to do it. And I did.
Things really fell into place. I met the people I needed to meet. I met a mentor, Mark Allen Barnett, who really helped me polish my songs and helped me meet people. I joined an advanced songwriter’s group. Things just kept falling into place, and then I met Meghan and things just kept going.
We were just saying that every experience we’ve had, and then all had together, has funneled down to this point, being on this program. It’s their big chance and mine, too.
Q. It sounds like you’ve had quite a journey.
A. There are sacrifices you make. I leave my daughter, I make seven meals, plus I spend money to go there. There are sacrifices.
But it’s like in anything, when you do make up your mind to do that you accept those sacrifices, and you put in the time and effort. There are no overnight successes, there really aren’t.
Q. Who influenced you as a songwriter?
A. Growing up I listened to people like Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. I always liked country, but even people like the Eagles and the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Writers like Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton.