Life's too short and precious..

This morning I opened my e-mail and almost choked on my juice. The headline read that Anthony Burger, one of the Gaither Homecoming artists, passed away suddenly of a heart attack while playing for the Gaither Homecoming cruise.

I don't think any of us were ready for this one. At least when I lost my dad last year, I was prepared for it.

Anthony was one of the artists I was friendly with. He was always good for a hug whenever I would see him at a show, or Praise Gathering, He supported me when my dad passed, promising that the Gaither gang would be praying. And, he always acknowledged and supported my work for musicians. One of his favorite things to say to me was "If Wendy married Anthony Burger, she'd be Wendy burger." Always got a good laugh out of that one.

Let me share the story of the attached picture. I was at the Dallas Homecoming two years ago. One of the things I hoped for was to get a picture of me, Mark Lowry and Taylor Mason together (I already had one of Anthony with many of the other Burger buddies). Taylor was very kind to pull this together for me. Sue Carlson volunteered to take the shot, and as she was about to, Anthony walked by and we pulled him in (for those who don't know Anthony, he is standing on the right in the shot) . It happened to be February 14, so my joke for this picture was that it was "my three valentines".

I don't usually celebrate V day--but that year, I did.

There are countless other memories to share in this five years of fandom. You can find some of those sprinkled throughout Gaither show-related trip reports in the fans section of www.wendyv.com. I hadn't seen Anthony in a year and was really looking forward to doing so in May. Needless to say, it will be very different at the Target Center this year.

Thanks for everything, Anthony, and go rest high. I hope you'll introduce yourself to my dad.