Now, I’ve sung in public a lot and have for over 35 years, so it may seem odd that I have this as a goal.

Here’s what I want to do – I want to have people pay for the privilege of hearing me sing. I don’t aspire to be the next great American voice. I would be happy as a saloon singer in a cheesy hotel. I just want to have a career doing the one thing I love most and I haven’t done that yet.

If you’re interested, I sing standards with a small combo backup. I also sing a lot of folk music. For that, I play my guitar and sing. I seem to get more exposure singing folk music than standards, but then there is more opportunity for folk music. Really! There is!!!

I love to sing and for many years I was told it was impossible for me. I was born with a cleft palate that was surgically repaired when I was nine months old. I wear a metal and plastic prosthetic that attached to my teeth so that my speech is understandable. My speech is so damned good now that even speech pathologists can’t tell I have a speech disability.

Maybe this was too much. I’m new here. I’ll pick it up.