Hey group!

It's been a long time and just so you know I do read and enjoy every
post. Or, well, most every post. Lately we've had quite a few spam posts
and it seems that we moderators have dropped the ball on taking care of
those pesky spammers. For that I do apologize. Too much spam and you'll
likely quit the group altogether, and we wouldn't want that! We're about
to celebrate our ninth year, by the way, and that's too long to let our
group die. So I have deleted the spam and banned the spammer from
posting. When Polly has a moment--she's busier than I am--she'll ban the
spammer altogether, but until then we are officially spam free!

So it is true, I have been silent for far too long. Let's talk. We love
Peter and his music, but we have been supporting him for nearly nine
years in this group and have kept talk of our personal lives to a
minimum. Peter should come first, of course, but I would love to know
more about you guys!

I'll start:

For those of you who don't know, my name is Paul Speir and I'm the
founder of this cool club. I first ran into the great Mr. Lacey when he
joined a group I started back in 1999 devoted to the Beach Boys, a group
called Good Vibrations. I was a fan of Peter's music the moment I first
heard "Beam!" and wanted the whole world to love it as much as I did, so
I began this group early 2000.

It seems like yesterday! I was eighteen years old then and am
twenty-seven now. Much has happened to me in that period of time. I
learned to play the bass, then guitar, joined five rock bands (or so),
grew my hair out, cut my hair, lost a hundred pounds then gained much of
it back, went on a trip through the wilderness to "find my path" in
life, found it, moved to Oklahoma City, got married, moved back to San
Antonio for two years before moving to Alabama then back to Oklahoma
City. And that's where I am now!

The point is, life is a trip and each and every one of you have an
interesting story to tell. We're the lucky ones, really, for our
soundtrack is made from the best stuff around. Why don't you share some
of your stories? Let us know who you are and how you've been effected by
music--Peter's, of course, but other music as well--throughout the
years. And don't forget to tell us how long you've been a member of the
Beamin' Family!

Sincerely,

Paul M. Speir



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