Back in Time…

July 11, 2024 By Ben Bongers KM

We recently returned to an event in San Francisco, CA, where I sang on the San Francisco Opera stage. Now, for many, that would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing. But I’d sung on that site several times before when I was singing for a living. Don’t get me wrong; it’s always a thrill to sing on one of the world's greatest stages, but as Huey Lewis sang so aptly, “Better remember, lightning never strikes twice.” I’m not saying the trip was a let down. Not at all. But you can’t expect to go back like nothing has changed. Read more

What Are Your Intentions?

July 3, 2024 By Ben Bongers KM

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Many years ago, before my wife and I met, when a date would come to the door to pick her up, they would be met at the door by her brother. He would always be mid-cleaning his favorite shotgun and just happen to answer the door with it still in his hand. All six-foot-six of him would lean down to the face of the prospective date and ask, “What are your intentions with my little sister?” Read more

We’re too Busy to Have Faith

June 29, 2024 By Ben Bongers KM

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We’re too busy to have faith. It’s a fact. Our days start earlier and earlier, and we work until the night before we think about going to sleep. We are surrounded by machines that are supposed to make our lives easier, yet somehow, we work more. We have become project-driven and don’t have a big-picture vision. So, was it simpler a hundred, a thousand, two thousand years ago? Read more

“For the Beauty…”

June 28, 2024 By Ben Bongers KM

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For some incomprehensible reason, I woke the other morning with “For the Beauty of the Earth...” running through my mind. No matter what I did, what I was thinking about, what I was watching or doing, it was constantly in the background. Then it dawned on me. I was watching some of the events a few days earlier commemorating the anniversary of D-Day. Read more

“Aye, Calypso…”

June 23, 2024 By Ben Bongers KM

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When I was a much younger man, I used to pop in my eight track tape (I only had one at the time), roll down the windows of my 64 Chevy Impala, and crank up the volume to song number four—“Calypso.” I’ve always been a sucker for a good seafaring tune or shanty. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” and “Come Sail Away,” and today “Soon May the Wellerman Come” are some favorites that will make me stop, smile, and slap my thigh with the beat. Read more

First Dream, Then Do!

June 14, 2024 By Ben Bongers KM

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I once knew a guy who loved to sit at home and talk about all the places he wanted to go and things he wanted to do. He talked about going to Paris and walking along the Seine while finding the perfect place to set up a coffee cart that would cater to tourists. He would start by renting a little flat in the Latin Quarter, find the right immigrants to buy the coffee beans from, and set up a little roastery. The next week he’d be mentally traveling to Morocco, or Madagascar, or Madrid, where he would start a business, and like a mustard seed, it would grow into a large company that would one day split off into a chain of shops. Read more

“You Have too Much… Character”

June 14, 2024 By Ben Bongers KM

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We’ve all worked with and for people who either rub us the wrong way or that we love to be around. Many times, the people we gravitate toward have the same character we do. But what does having character mean? And why is having a good character important? When I was a much younger singer in the world of opera, I would do audition after audition after audition in hopes of landing one or two roles with companies anywhere in the world. During an audition, you put yourself out there. You are completely vulnerable to everyone in the room. Your looks, size, age, and deportment are being judged before you even open your mouth to sing. Then, when you finally are able to show what you have to offer, you are judged, compared, and ranked like a prime piece of USDA prime beef or scrapple. Read more

What are Happiness and Joy?

June 7, 2024 By Ben Bongers KM

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What is “real happiness,” and when will you know if you have it? And what’s the difference between happiness and joy? These are age-old questions, and answers depend on who you ask. My grandpa used to say, “You’ll know happiness when you don’t have it anymore.” And a friend said, “I’ll only know joy when it kicks me in the ass and says, ‘Hey! I’m Joy!’” Read more

“Pray to Castro for Candy”

May 31, 2024 By Ben Bongers KM

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Once, while we were having a Cuban chicken and rice meal, I asked, “Why did you leave Cuba? The raucous table ground to a silent halt, and the mother said, “We left because of Castro and candy.” My friend excused herself from the table, and one of her brothers went to check on her while the mother continued. Read more

Butker, Buddha, and Baal

May 23, 2024 By Ben Bongers KM

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I love being right. And I’m willing to bet you do, too. But am I always right? Just ask my wife! You will get a response with eyebrows raised, a tight smile, and a reply, “He likes to think he is.” As much as we all want to be right in our opinions, perspectives, and moral perspectives, we sometimes need to take a giant step back and look at what we’re doing through the eyes of the person across from us and ask, “What’s their intent?” Read more