And I thought I had a busy week? I am a lightweight.

I thought I was busy?  Many of my friends think I am busy.  I am a lightweight.

Last week was the 6th annual Los Angeles Ampshow. 

There was a major press event at 65amps announcing their release of two new amplifiers. 

Friends and associates from all over the globe, from as far as Norway and Singapore, decended on Los Angeles for these events.  I was running at about 100 mph the entire week.  The folks at 65 Amps had been running at 200 mph for the last month.

Many of you saw my posts on the net on the events.  Busy few weeks.

As busy as I thought things were for me I sat down this morning and reflected on my week.  I then looked back on the week of my friends at Union Rescue Mission - http://www.urm.org/ 

I thought about the 113 degree heat last week which was the highest recorded heat in the history of Los Angeles since 1877 when statistics were first collected.  The people of URM pushing carts weighing 1500 pounds through the streets of skid row so they could pass out cold water bottles to the people on the street.   They do this anytime the temperture is above 85 degrees.  It was a hot week.  They were busy.  A lot.

113 degrees and the man is smiling?.....

I thought about the homeless population of Los Angeles which exceeds 100,000 people.  More homeless folks in Los Angeles than the population of Santa Barbara. 

I thought about my friend Mark Horvath ( http://www.hardlynormal.com/ and http://www.invisiblepeople.tv/ ) who just finished his trip from Los Angeles to Los Angeles via the United States.  Check out the two links here and then somebody in the business get this man a movie deal.

Mark Horvath

I thought of URM serving over 3,000 meals per day, added to the medical, dental, legal services they provide.  Added to the programs they put on to help people change their lives.  Added to pushing three quarter ton carts of water down the street in over 100 degree weather.  Added to 100 other daily tasks.

Thanks to my friend Don Garza for the URM waterwalk shots.

I thought about Andy Bales, the CEO of Union Rescue Mission.  I cannot begin to describe the man and I have tried countless times.  On the page at http://www.urm.org/services/what-we-do.html there are some great videos on what URM does if you want to learn a bit more.  On the page at http://www.urm.org/about/faqs/video-faqs.html Andy Bales answers a lot of questions that many folks may have.

I thought that it might be interesting to post some of the photos that were taken over the last week or two by people at URM and by Andy Bales.  Andy is always on the move but always takes a moment to snap some fun shots or shots that make you stop and think.  Andy even takes time out of his busy day to take cell shots of some of his meals and send the shots to me as he posts them on twitter ( @abales on twitter )  At times the two of us trade meal cell shots.

For my friend, Myles, my main dish at Gold Coast Buffet on Commonwealth in Alhambra, California!

Yeah, I thought I was busy?  Maybe if I travel back a week or so in photos to see what Andy and the folks at URM have been doing I will have a few thoughts on just how busy I was.

Hosting 500 UCLA college freshman at Union Rescue Mission was one activity for the folks at URM.

Filming a segment of the soap - The Bold and the Beautiful at URM to air 10/29 with a segment on the homeless, BBQ's on the roof to serve lunch for 1000 (they eat darn well at URM as you can see), talking to Mark Horvath on Mark's return to Los Angeles, meeting with folks from China, accepting donations, giving tours, dealing with the crime on skid row (right across the street from URM), avoiding knife weilding folks during the waterwalks who are crazed by the heat while being on drugs, putting on events for the children who are now at Hope Gardens, speaking and presenting at various events, taking time to send me even more cell phone food shots when he (Andy Bales) has a moment to eat, working with folks like Pauley Perette from NCIS as she designed a new T-shirt for URM, Bank of America day of service, Wells Fargo day of service and the list goes on and on.  Below are a few shots of the last week or two.  I think you will get the idea.

Andy Bales and Mark Horvath on the roof at http://www.urm.org/

Andy Bales takes a moment to send me another cell shot of his lunch :)

The look of concern here was because there was a guy with a knife coming at the water crew.

My buddy Don Garza on the right.  Great man on the grille and ex USMC.

I joke with friends that the homeless at Union Rescue Mission eat better than I have eaten through the course of my three marriages.

URM's own Chris Strode stepping out of elevator into his appearance on The Bold & The Beautiful

And I thought I had a busy few weeks?

If you want a little more insight on Skid Row and the homeless situation from another angle here are a few great videos.

Myles Rose is the founder of Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting which provides support services and training for touring bands and individuals as well as blueprinting services.   I offer consulting services to various amplifier designers and manufacturers.  The link www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com has links to music industry forums which I moderate and direct email contact information.  My shop is located in the complex at www.65amps.com.  If you wish a tour of 65 Amps please feel free to contact me directly.  When I am not doing something related to music I do what I can to support the homeless of Los Angeles either directly on the streets at night or through my good friends at Union Rescue Mission.

www.urm.org