Louisville' Ted Collins: There's No Fraud Like Affinity Fraud

On some beach, well out of reach...

There just must be a Perdition, because we live in a world where people like Ted Collins walk around and victimize people.

Tedd Collins, a Louisville businessman who is under investigation by the Secret Service and Kentucky authorities, has been hit with a $3.3 million default judgment for defrauding a minister in South Carolina.

Collins attracted national attention last year after disclosures that he was raising money for a Yale hockey player with leukemia without registering the charity and despite his history of fraud allegations in several states.

Actually, he's rather small potatoes, compared to guys like Madoff, who was small potatoes compared to the folks who kicked the legs out from under the entire economy and walked away, just to prove it could be done.

In this instance, though, it's the parlaying of his own daughter's death from cancer, and the death of another college student from lukemia, neatly packaged and sold to church-folk, that make this particular fraudster particularly odious.

In this life, he'll likely never face justice. In this life, his victims will never recover either their money or ability to trust so fearlessly.

In this life, which is short, and quixotic and unpredictable and unjust.

We are, however, assured of another, contrasting life...so enjoy this one, Ted, while you can. Drink up, bro'. Spend. Chase skirts.

Go for the gusto in this life. 'Cuz it's all yer gunna get.

Tom Jones has a word of wisdom to share in the meantime.

The Voice, The Ryman, And The Gospel, According To Tom Jones

May has been extraordinarily busy. OS had intended to frame his thoughts about the April 29 concert Tom Jones staged at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. It's taken a while to digest the experience. OS bought the tickets as a gift for his long-suffering Mrs. OS, expecting to spend the evening being entertained. He was, but well past that, OS came away from the evening profoundly moved.

At age seventy, Jones and his crew, both on and off-stage, perform flawlessly. That voice is still fabulous, and he has taken wonderful care of it over the decades. Mrs. OS noted that he continued to drink water throughout the evening, the best way to preserve a voice at work. The band was fabulous, and Jones was a delight as he sang and then stepped back to let the musicians ply their craft. The house mix reflected that same ensemble approach--everything clear as a bell, even at full volume, with his voice placed front and center, but always as a part of the music. Volume levels went from near silence to full-throated roar when they romped through favorites such 'Mama Told Me Not To Come' and 'Kiss'. The country set was performed with acoustic guitars only, which was especially touching in the context of the Ryman. Yes, Virginia, he really can pull those songs off...

He did a few of the big hits, such as 'Delilah', and yes, the ladies' undergarments did rain onto the stage, along with the bouquets of roses, at which he smiled, but pointedly did not encourage. Something was so different about this evening. Jones is in that same 'class' with Michael Caine, a living symbol of 60's cool and 70's hedonism. He gave a few nods in that direction, but he was about something else entirely. His rendition of 'You Can Keep Your Hat On' was grand fun, and he avoided excessive salaciousness--a real feat, given the content of the lyrics!

Musically, his heart and soul are grounded in blues and funk. He speaks with that profound Welsh accent, and if OS didn't have a few Welsh friends, he would have found Jones hard to understand. The man sings like he grew up fifty miles south of Memphis. It's remarkable, and the band picks up on it with a vengeance. He pulled off a dramatic rendition of 'St. James Infirmary Blues', amongst other moments.

The tour was in support of his 2010 gospel album Praise and Blame. The heart of the show was gospel music. Fair enough--any number of people can belt out some happy 'Gospel Numbers', gather the applause, and move on. This was different, and the album, good as it is, is only a pale shadow of the performance that night. The lyrics were dark, penitent, and he seemed to be singing from some private place, a place perhaps never brought to light in years past. It takes some cojones to open the show with one electric guitarist vamping angrily, and sing 'I'm going down to the church-house, get down on bended knee...Deacon Jones, please pray for me...with no devil will I make a deal...maybe there ain't heaven, maybe there ain't no hell...when I die, where will I go?'

There was one 'happy-clappy' spiritual ('Don't Knock'), but the rest was about grappling with mortality, failure, ethics...which was more than a bit of a shock. As the concert got underway, OS eyed the pews warily, wondering if all these graying boomers would welcome such tidings. Jones shared an anecdote about singing gospel with Elvis into the wee hours of the morning in Las Vegas, and it put them more at ease. The audience embraced the songs, and Jones, warmly.

OS found himself wishing a list of his friends, in da music biz, and the clergy, had attended. It would have been a cathartic and challenging evening. He kept looking for even one familiar face from 'da biz' in the Ryman's pews, but alas...no glamour to be gained here. No clouds allowed on the horizon in Nashville, ya'll, and seventy-year-old performers aren't TheNextBigThing upon which one can latch and grab a bit of cash flow.

Again, OS urges his UK and European readers, if you have the opportunity to attend one the concerts Jones has scheduled for the summer, be there. 11 June, Isle of Wight Festival is announced on the link.

Quick Takes For The Week

OS is up to his keister in work, so it may be a few days before he gets to gather any thoughts.

Last Friday through today have been eventful, and uplifting, both in the 'big picture' and the 'little picture' of life in OS's house.

So, quickly: OS notes that the Almighty often affords us glimpses of the contrast between His ways and the ways of the evil one. The royal wedding, a thing of dignity and beauty, contrasted with the mass murderer hiding behind women and children in his blast-proof compound (undoubtedly living under the protection of the Pakis). Which approach to life and culture offers hope, which offers despair?

OS was able to check an item off his personal 'bucket list'. He attended the Tom Jones concert at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, the home of the Grand Ole Opry. Jones is seventy, still in wonderful health and voice. OS attended to be entertained, and came away inspired and deeply moved. He's still mulling over the evening, will have more to say as the words organize themselves. In the meantime, for those readers in Europe and the UK, his upcoming schedule is here. If you can, attend. You'll thank OS later.

OS rejoices always at the defeat of evil, at the administration of justice, and the demise of those who prey upon the innocent. It occurs to him that this weekend may be remembered as the first adult decision made by Barack Obama, in a life dedicated to avoidance of such necessities. All credit to all those who, over the past decade, made the moment of bullet insertion above Bin Laden's left eye possible. Obama's second adult act should be to invite President Bush, Vice-President Cheney, Secretary Rumsfeld, and the commandants of Club Gitmo to the White House for a public acknowledgment of the wisdom of their approach in pursuit of the monster. Time will tell if the effect of the first adult moment will wear off too soon.

Back to work. Take care, say your prayers, and give thanks to the Almighty for the US Navy.