There is a reason I never gave up. A reason I never will give up my hope, my dreams, my desire to live. The reason is people who care. Those who have shown their concern for me, and their wish for me to succeed, to do the best I can do. They give me a reason to live.

A couple of those people are my parents. I thank my father for his (possibly unintentional) ability to make me rethink what I did, or would do. Is it good enough? Am I good enough? There are masters, there are learners, and there are master learners. A real master never stops learning. I am not a master. In subtle ways, again maybe not intentional, my father taught me this truth. I was the cocky punk know-it-all, but my father kept me in check much of the time. He made me re-evaluate myself, made me look deeper.

My mother always thought what I did was outstanding, including the little monster heads I used to make out of clay, complete with teeth. She was amazed when I told her that I used a toothpick to put each tooth in. They had eyes too. Sometimes a tongue.

I'd spend hours making those things. For what? God knows, maybe that talent will come in handy someday. It certainly taught me patience, and how to be thorough. That patience carried over to many other areas of my life, my music, finding my true love, and other goals. I thank my mother for her encouragement and love. She is certainly one of the many people who kept me from giving up.

Still more of those people who made a difference are musicians and artists. Most of them care, and you can tell which ones. Even if they don't know who we are, they're talking to us through their music.

Rush, one of my all time favorite bands, has been a part of my life since around 1977. When I was about ten years old I was looking through my sisters record collection and discovered an album called "Rush - Archives". It was a re-release of the first three Rush albums. I was hooked. The lyrics were positive, imaginative, and inspirational, and the music was just so cool.

My uncle got tickets to Rush's "Hemispheres" tour in 1979 and brought my sister and I to the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, to see them live. I didn't know what that strange aroma was wafting around

The Authors Who Made My 'Day To Day'
As a correspondent for <em>Day to Day</em>, Karen Grigsby Bates often reported on books and their writers. She offers an essay musing on her time with the show, including some of her best moments with brilliant authors. Karen Grigsby Bates

A Hip-Hop Farewell
If <em>Day To Day</em> were a rap star, how would it say goodbye? "Peace out?" "I'm ghost?" "Let's shake the spot?" A quick look at bidding farewell with hip hop slang. Christopher Johnson

About the Author: Drew Vics is an artist, writer and musician living in New Jersey. Aside from writing, which for now is a hobby, Drew enjoys playing guitar, writing and recording music, painting, and brewing his own beer.