Artwork by Darrin Kobetich

I’d like to introduce you to Ellen, the young lady who inspired my song and subsequent book, Ellen’s Ride.

Many years ago, I fired up my bus for the first day of school. I picked up just one child that day, a little girl named Ellen, who was waiting for the bus to take her to her first day of Kindergarten. I made all the stops on my list, but there were no other children. For the next three years, Ellen was my only morning passenger for that school. We had fun on our trip to school. We used our imaginations to enhance the route. Every street had a magical name or story or mythical creature. No matter how silly and outlandish my ideas were, Ellen rolled with them and added her own magic.

Ellen waits for the bus on her first day of kindergarten

Here’s an example of a typical conversation on our ride to school.

Me: “Where do you want to go today, Ellen?”

Ellen: “Mt. Everest!”

Me: “Mt. Everest is cold this time of year and the air is thin. Make sure you have your oxygen tank and mittens!”

Ellen: “Got ‘em!”

Me: “It takes a long time to get to the top, so we have to go real fast coming down the other side to get to school on time, so buckle up!”

Ellen: “Done!”

In the cafetorium at Ellen’s school where I was performing a lunchtime concert

I wrote a song called Ellen’s Ride, based on the route filtered through our imaginations. I presented a rough recording of a rough performance of the song on a CD to Ellen and her mom on Ellen’s tenth birthday. As we listened to it, Ellen’s mom asked Ellen if she knew the places in the song. Ellen said, “Yeah, Mom, that’s our bus route.”

Some time after that, I got the idea to add illustrations to the song, and create a picture book for children. I enlisted the help of my good friend Darrin Kobetich, a very talented guitarist and graphic artist. It was as if he pulled the images out of my head and made them real. Neither of us had ever made a book before. The process seemed far more involved and challenging than recording music and making a CD, so the project sat on a shelf for a very long time.

A few months ago, I was invited to Ellen’s college graduation party. Where had the time gone?!

I asked Darrin if we could get a hard copy by the party date. I really wanted to give Ellen the first copy for her graduation. Darrin worked hard on the formatting and other details that were needed to make it happen. He got us over the hump, and I was able to present the new book to Ellen, and play the song for her and her family and friends.

I feel very fortunate to have made this lasting connection with Ellen and her wonderful family.

Now we’re getting ready to release the book Ellen’s Ride to the world on Oct 5. We’re planning a Book Launch in Austin, where you get to meet the author and the illustrator. Darrin and I will do a musical performance and book signing.

I’m very excited to start this new chapter (pun intended.)

I’m looking forward to working more with Darrin. I have a few songs in mind that would make great picture books.

Ellen’s college graduation party 2024