So , it ’ s that light that people are seeing without even saying anything , it just kind of happens .
[ WM ] Right on . I saw you worked with Gary Sinise . I like what he ’ s doing with veterans .
[ Jeff ] Oh , he is amazing . Gary is an anomaly in Hollywood , obviously . He ’ s conservative , he ’ s patriotic . And so around 2004 or 2005 there was an organization called Snowball Express , which was formed for the Gold Star families at the time . The Iraq and Afghanistan wars were going on . And so it was formed partly by American Airlines and other sponsors . And what they wanted to do was give the Gold Star families . And for those that don ’ t know what a Gold Star is , it ’ s a family that has lost a loved one while serving in the military . So , it could be in combat , it could be , you know , just any spouse or whatever that ’ s in the military and they die or they ’ re killed … then that ’ s a Gold Star family .
And the thing that we don ’ t realize sometimes is the sacrifice of the Gold Stars , you know , they ’ re left behind . They still have to live life , but they ’ ll never see their son or their daughter or mother or their father again ( here on earth ). They started Snowball Express to honor those folks and a guy that was heading part of it up knew me and knew my band and said , “ Hey , would CTS like to perform this event ?” And I ’ m like , absolutely , we would love to do that . And so we went to Oakley headquarters in Orange County , CA and we opened for Gary Sinise ’ s band .
[ WM ] Gary has got a good band himself .
[ Jeff ] He does . He ’ s a bass player . ( laughing ) He ’ s awesome . So I ’ ve gotten to know Gary and Snowball Express . We performed numerous years after that and then I wrote the song “ Snowball Express ”. It ’ s on iTunes .
The first year we were there , you ’ re on this big stage at Oakley headquarters ( it ’ s a beautiful facility ) and 22 busloads of women and children rolled up and got out and stood in front of the stage . 2000 people … Wow ! And that ’ s when it hit me . You look at them and realize that every one of these families has lost somebody that they ’ ll never see again in military service . And that ’ s when I wrote the song that year . And so after that , we became very involved with Snowball . Gary Sinise now took over the foundation and it is out of Florida . Now they go to Disney World . It ’ s like a three day , all expenses paid event in Florida where American Airlines flies all the Gold Stars and they honor these kids and these families .
[ WM ] That ’ s amazing . Tell us about your new song “ One Life ”?
[ Jeff ] Yes . Universal ’ s getting ready to release it . They think it ’ s gonna be better than “ Angels Watching Over Me ”. And when I wrote “ One Life ,” it ’ s just about the gift that God gives us every day you wake up and make it a great journey . I mean as Christians , we have eternal life , but this life here is a wonderful journey . You know ? I tell people , “ Take your life off of autopilot . Go do something with it . Find the gift inside of you that God gave you and try to do something with it . If you can make a living at it even better .” Yes ! God gave me aviation and music , and I never take for granted . I was so blessed to have made a living at this stuff .
And so I try to inspire people through the song “ One Life ”. Go live your dreams . Go do whatever it is you wanna go do . I ’ ve had people come up at our shows and say , “ Hey , I always wanted to learn to fly .” I ’ ll reply , “ What ’ s holding you back ? What are you waiting for , tomorrow I want you to get started ”. And they ’ ll go , “ Well , okay , I ’ m not too old ?” I ’ ll say , “ No , you ’ re never too old . Don ’ t ever think that ”. You know , this journey is a great gift and it ’ s a great journey . And so that ’ s the song .
[ WM ] I have a personal motto . Half of life is showing up to see what God ’ s got for you , but you gotta show up ! That ’ s your part .
[ Jeff ] I love that . That ’ s very good . I wrote a book called Life Lessons From 7 Miles High : The View That Captured My Heart and I talk about your destination . In aviation , you must have a destination . We don ’ t just jump on the plane and then halfway across the country go , “ Well , we didn ’ t really know where we ’ re going , so we gotta land for some gas .” You gotta know where you ’ re going . And in this life , there ’ s as you know … there ’ s only two destinations . There ’ s eternal life in heaven or hell , you know ? It ’ s not a hard decision to make !
[ WM ] Well said . I want to thank you for your time today .
[ Jeff ] You are welcome !
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26 August 2023 Subscribe for Free ...