The gentleman in this video might look familiar to you, in the 1980’s he played an older man name Rolly Forbes in 110 episodes of the sitcom “Amen”.

In this clip he’s directing the Rowan University Chamber Choir along with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the massive Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City.

Jester was 93 years old when this was filmed in 1994!

Born in 1901, the grandson of slaves, Hairston had an amazing career that spanned movies, television and music composition. He passed away in 2000.

Jester’s film career started in 1936 and his last movie credit was in 1999!

My personal connection to this video? I’m actually in it, 2nd row in the baritone section!

You can see me at the 5:01 mark, right behind Hairston’s shoulder. That young kid….

I was a freshman at Rowan University, there on a music scholarship to study opera. My professor Dr. Eugene Simpson was also a composer / arranger of Slave Spirituals, a genre of music that was the pre-curser to modern church gospel music.

I’m amazed that Jester was out and about, still conducting and doing cool stuff well into his 90’s.

What an neat guy, what a great honor to sing with him in this setting!

Someone posted this video to YouTube, and I’m grateful they did.

Ben Alexander

September 29, 2021

Grace brought Ms Lemz home as a kitten just before she went off to Carnegie Mellon four years ago.

Claire stayed here with me and went to college locally, but Claire and Grace are both out of school now, working full time. Claire has been looking for apartments with her longtime boyfriend, Paul.

Ms. Lemons is really bonded with Claire and her boyfriend, so she’s moving out with Claire in a few weeks.

I’ll miss Claire, as well as Ms. Lemons. Both have been my roomies for four years. I’ll have to visit them both at Claire’s place. Lemz will be happier with Claire and Paul, she’ll get more attention from them than from me, especially if I’m out of town.

Things change, our lives move on. I’m glad Claire and Grace have grown up, it makes me really proud as their father.

This is a new chapter for me, and since I’m traveling frequently I don’t want to have another pet that needs daily care. All the plants around my house are enough, thanks to Grace!

A few weeks ago I dropped $140 at Lowe’s to buy a bunch of flowers for the front garden.

I’m rocking various pentas, some mums, roses and some celosias. Bees love my front garden.

I even planted flowers around my mailbox.

I’m totally at peace being here solo, being healthy, having a lovely home.

I also have a ton of options… the future has not been written yet, but I’m optimistic.

Ben Alexander

September 28th………………… 2021

This past Saturday I sang two hymns at a funeral service for a lovely woman in my church community.

Delaine Holsopple passed peacefully in her sleep last week, and her husband Gary asked me to sing “How Great Thou Art” and “Amazing Grace”.

It was an honor to do so.

Delaine was a deeply Christian woman, and Gary told me she liked those songs.

As I sat there in church, getting ready to sing, I realized that I was supposed to be THERE in that moment, there was NO other place where I was meant to be. God blessed me with a decent voice, He blessed me with my church community, and the best way that I could serve my community in THAT moment was to sing for Delaine.

For the last few years I’ve struggled with my PURPOSE, I knew that I had found my professional purpose with Tampa Bay Solar, that was a no brainer; help roll back global warming AND make a great income?

I’m grateful to be in the solar business.

In my personal life I know that my purpose is to be a good father to Claire and Grace, a loving son for my Mom and Dad and a good sibling to George, Andrea and Danielle.

Even a good uncle to my nieces and nephews.

Perhaps at some point in the future: a kind and loving husband to my wife, if I’m blessed to be married again.

Being single has given me cause to reflect, and I know that things are happening right now for a reason.

My times of loneliness, isolation, sadness have given more insight in regards to my Spiritual Purpose.

I’ve found a certain measure of Peace in this.

I’ve drawn comfort and connection from the folks in my church community.

Perhaps my Spiritual Purpose is to be with these people, love them, even sing to honor them.

There are larger forces moving within my heart, and that is OK.

Ben Alexander

September 27, 2021

Last week I flew out to Flagstaff and toured a bit around the northern half of Arizona.

Went to see the Grand Canyon, from the ground and via helicopter!

If you have never seen the Grand Canyon in person…. save up your money and go see it!

Worth every penny. The helicopter ride was $219 per person.

I got a funky little Air BnB in Flagstaff and discovered the beautiful mountain woods and Snow Bowl mountain near that area, see pics :::::::::::::

Sat at the top of SnowBowl and just felt peaceful. The clouds, the valley below…. pics don’t do it justice.

Explored the area around Sedona and even the weird hilltop town of Jerome.

Took a Ghost Tour. Did not see a ghost, it kinda felt like a scam.

Friday night I was driving in the mountains from Sedona back to Flagstaff and I pulled over and turned off the car lights just to look at the sky… it was so dark I could see the Milky Way and a billion other stars right above me. Worth it just to see the dark sky like that, at higher altitudes.

Travel is mentally healthy, and all that hiking and exploring is helping me get back in shape after my knee surgery last March. I’m not fully recovered yet, my health is not where I’d like it to be. I’m taking daily action to change that.

My next trip is to see Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico… by then I’ll be a bit thinner, a bit healthier, etc.

One thing I realized while hiking at almost 12,000 feet? I’d like to be in better cardio shape, and maybe 20 pounds lighter! After I got back I downloaded the Noom app and bought a new Fitbit.

Doing 10,000 steps each day NOW will get me in better shape for my New Mexico trip!

I was totally solo on this trip, and I’ve never really done that before. During the trip I was uploading some of these pics to a family group text, so I was sharing my experience with my family…

This year has not been easy for me, there were moments when I was in pain, moments when I prayed, and cried, and felt down. I needed this trip. It was a great reset.

I’m glad I went to see the Grand Canyon, and I’m ready to move forward to a new chapter in my life that is healthy, with travel, and new horizons, maybe even new relationships!

Ben Alexander

September 17th 2021

Hurricane Ida was fueled by warm water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico.

That water was picked up and dumped on all the states from Louisiana up to New York and New Jersey.

Extreme weather, extreme flooding, in other parts of the country extreme drought and wildfires!

It’s time to plant a billion trees, get solar on every roof and STOP burning fossil fuels to move our cars and generate our electricity.

I’m out there every single day, helping folks buy solar all over Tampa Bay.

I’m right here when YOU are ready.

Ben Alexander

September 3, 2021

Before you get in your time machine and travel forward to the year 2078 make sure you do 2 things:

1. Look up when dangerous asteroids (see “Bennu”) are about to hit the planet and visit a future point in the years BEFORE these events happen. Bennu might hit Earth in 2082, so I’d visit prior to that. Future technology will probably take care of this issue, but there are no guarantees in life.
2. Make sure you hire a Dr. (in 2021) with an updated vaccine waiting exactly where you land in the future.

You see, the 2021 version of your body has immunities up to THIS point in time, so all the nasty virulent stuff that pops up in the next few decades will surely kill you. And yes, Covid19 is NOT going to be the last nasty pathogen that whacks the human race.

Of course, 40 or 50 years from now vaccines might not be needed at all because medical technology will be far better than today, assuming that humany sontinues along our current path without any macro disruptions.

Someone with 2021 natural immunities who finds themself in 2078 will be like the indigenous people who met Europeans carrying smallpox 300 years ago. Entire villages were wiped out.

Read “Guns, Germs and Steel” by Jared Diamond.

Great book. He talks about how easy it was to just march over indigenous people because they would be very sick within a few weeks of first contact. Sadly, the Europeans conquerors saw this as “God’s favor” on the Europeans.

Not true, the North American people had merely been isolated from European pathogens. They had zero natural immunity.

Just like a time traveler.

This is what I’m thinking about today.

August 17th, 2021

I had knee surgery back in March of this year, and even after ER and the specialist went through my medical insurance I still had $18,000 in charges that were NOT covered.

Totally ridiculous.

So I sat on those bills for 4 months. This past week I got on the phone and negotiated all of them down to a total of $5500, and paid them off.

That’s just proof right there that we have a problems with medical costs in this country.

Imagine doing that with food, or real estate, or anything else we purchase as consumers.

I knew that if I let my medical debt fester for a few months the debtors would take pennies on the billed dollar, because they overinflated my charges in the first place.

I feel bad for people who get medical bills and don’t realize they can negotiate the balances.

Oy.

Ben Alexander

August 15th 2021

There is an older couple in my church that I’ve gotten to know over the years… and a few days ago their oldest son died of Covid19 here in Florida.

He was 61 years old, in good health, and he refused to get the vaccine.

He was listening to lies on social media, and he thought to himself “I’m healthy, Covid won’t get me” and now he’s dead. Gone. No longer able to be a father, a husband, a son….

His 84 year old mother has to bury her son, because he was stupid.

A 61 year old man should live at least another 15 to 20 years, but this guy won’t because he bought into total bullshit.

His family is paying the price.

I was sitting in church today praying for this man’s family and I began to break down and cry, just from the sheer sadness and stupidity of it all.

I don’t care who you voted for, go get your vaccine if you don’t want your family to watch you die on a ventilator.

Don’t listen to the lies and conspiracy bullshit, protect yourself.

Ben Alexander

August 1, 2021

… then who could be against me?

Prayer was the one thing missing from my walk in Faith, and now that I’ve started to pray on a daily basis I’ve found more peace within myself, and a closer connection with my Creator.

In the last few years I’ve been alone, I’ve been in pain, I’ve cried in sorrow.

But He was there all along, waiting for a closer connection.

Waiting for me to walk in Faith.

I’m here God, do with me what you will.

If I’m to be single and do good than Your will be done.

If I’m to be married and love my wife than Your will be done.

I’m listening.

(My daughters… Grace and Claire. Being goofy.)

I don’t have any scientific evidence that prayer works, but I’ve been praying every morning anyway.

Call me a rebel.

Praying for my daughters and my Mom and Dad, that God looks after them.

Praying for my siblings and their spouses and their children. My nieces and nephews….

Praying for my business partner and his family.

Praying for my sales team, and our admin ladies, and all our installers putting themselves at risk on a roof today.

I’m praying for my ex wife, and women that I once dated, even if they are no longer in my life I want them and their families to be well.

Being a single Mom is tough. Too many kids out there need a loving father.

This morning I began to cry as I prayed, perhaps this is God’s presence in the room with me?

God does not talk to us directly, but he sure can turn on the old waterworks sometimes…..

There are things we can’t measure with science, but I know, in my heart, that prayer is the RIGHT thing to do.

Some might say that praying and crying every morning is weird, but if this brings me closer to God I’ll keep doing it.

Prayer for others is an act of love, and LOVE is never wrong.

I’m walking in Faith here, pray for me…. I’ll pray for you.

With Love,

Ben Alexander

July 30th 2021