I picked up the sticks at the age of two and I've been behind a kit for most of my 48 years. Every few years, I make it a point to change up my setup and my basic approach to drumming. It keeps it interesting and fresh. I never get locked into one stylistic feel or get too hung up on cloning a favorite artist. I do tend to go through a lot of kits, though.

But, it seems that the past few years have been an exceptional challenge for me. I thought I might share an open letter with my friends for whatever it might mean to you.

I was working, doing some live shows and doing a healthy amount of session work, having some fun. In one year, I tore (burst) my achilles tendon, bruised my coccyx, and tore a ligament in my shoulder. I never missed a gig, but it did slow me down a bit. The beginning of the following year, we had a gig scheduled when I dislocated my left pinky finger while playing ball with my students. I set it myself and brought the kiddos back in to class. That caused me some downtime from gigging. A couple of months later, I finally located a surgeon to do some reconstruction on my achilles tendon and bones. The surgery goes well but it lays me up in a wheelchair and cripple-crutches for several months. Now, I'm walking with a cane and ready to get back into the groove. I get cast in a movie and called to do the soundtrack, too. I'm feeling pretty alright.

I take the wife to the Bahamas for a week to get her ready for the time I'm going to be away. Two days after we get back, I'm headed to Nashville to work on the soundtrack. On the way to the studio to meet some people and do a preliminary listen ... I never make it.

A semi in front of me has a leaf spring breakaway and crashes through my windshield. It's about 25 pounds and is traveling about 125mph. It breaks my right humerus in two.

I'm in the hospital for several days in the pain ward. The surgery goes well and I head home. My sessions are given to a very good drummer, but a very safe and straight drummer. I'm hooked in to the studio via Apple's iChat and I watch as a couple of songs slip away from me. They assure me I can pick up some of the tracks later on and that I'm still slated to play two parts in the film. One of which is the touring drummer of the main character of the film, which plays the concert at the end of the film. We have to assume I'll be ready for that. I just smile and start flexing the fingers of my right hand in an effort to convince myself that I can do this.

So, I'm on a year long recovery road. The thing is, I'm very happy. I'm blessed to have the time to work on my left hand strengthening and groove. I'm very excited that in about a month or so, I'll have enough healing to hold my screwdriver, so I can get back to my restorations. I'm so grateful to still have enough of my summer break left to heal so I can stand up tall in front of that classroom. I should be able to write on the lower portion of the board. That's my goal.

Mostly, I'm happy to be alive. All of the responders said the same thing, that chunk of steel was about an inch away from impaling me, which would have made for a very bad day. The doctors said that the muscles in my right arm were conditioned well through the years and that's what kept the steel from totally severing the arm from my body. They said that drumming most likely saved it.

In all of this, I realize that this is just another chapter in understanding the art of the instrument. It continues to inspire and delight me. There is joy and satisfaction in the simple act of whipping a stick in the air. Why do I love the art of drumming? I honestly don't know. I stopped seeking an answer to that many many years ago. All I know for sure is, I do love 'em.