Here it is the month of July already, the long-awaited summer and the occasion of both my daughter's and my birthdays. I simply cannot believe my daughter has turned eleven. Happy Birthday, daughter and friend!

I hope that those hours staring at the seed catalogs and dreaming all winter are now paying off for you. All year, we have heard about the economy making people decide to "grow their own," and believe me, that isn't a bad thing at all. The taste of garden produce is much better when it's fresh and the sense of accomplishment goes a long way too.

That's the subject of this month's column; the sense of accomplishment. Since I started this column, I have not discussed my love of other things besides music. Well, time for a revelation! I love trains and railroads as much as music, though I don't write much about them. I also have taken hundreds of photos, even won a couple of photo contests.

I always thought, if I love to write and take photos, why do I not seem satisfied when I do it concerning railroads? Perhaps I have felt that my discussion and photography of trains and railroads doesn't measure up to some of the great work that I have been blessed to see.

A while ago, I sent a shot of a passing locomotive to a couple friends and wrote a caption-type email to let them know where, when, and why the photo was taken (as we should all do with every photo we take).

This is the reply that I received from my friend, Danny, a West Virginian living in North Carolina: "I have always admired your style of writing. You remind me of Charles Roberts of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad lore....His books are more of a treat from how they are written and the fine photos being a bonus."

What a kind and meaningful comment from a good friend, a good writer in his own right! That really gave me a sense of accomplishment. While I assure you that I am not in the league of such a professional railroad historical writer as Charles S. Roberts, it is nice to know that your work touches someone.

While I have always considered my ability to write a true gift and blessing, we columnists in this magazine want to put out a piece each month that gives you a good few minutes of what you enjoy doing; reading our work. I try to make each month's piece something of quality you might enjoy -- or at least may give you a slight diversion and perhaps make you think.

So, as another year of my life rolls by, I am thankful for the chance to share my words with you each month. But more than that, I hope that this piece may inspire or re-ignite you to believe in your gifts enough to perhaps try something that you enjoy or have thought you might if you could only do it.

Listening to music requires little creativity; it is the making of the music that requires it. Likewise, it is something that gives us a sense of accomplishment is worth the trial and error and believing enough in ourselves to keep trying. None of these monthly columns are a "given" for any of us, I assure you.

I appreciate the fact that you take your valuable time to read my writing. If you enjoy it, therein comes my "payday." A sense of accomplishment beats a pile of money any day.