My name is Tommy Botz. I’ve been living in a halfway house in Cleveland,Ohio for the past 14 1/2 yrs.I crawled through the doors on May 3rd 2004 of The Ed Keating Center a homeless drunk with nowhere to go and noone wanted me..I met a kind old man Jack Mulhall who told me that if I followed some direction I would never have to live like that anymore. I wasn’t always a homeless drunk. I had dreams and goals like every young man has. I always loved country and gospel music.

This led to me being the lead singer in 2 bands,the Chevells and the Caesars 5.  We won the battle of the bands out of 50 bands and a recording contract with RCA records but our guitar player quit and the contract fell through. As the years passed my drinking got worse and worse and soon jails and penitentaries became a way of life. I tried to sober up in aa for over 30yrs. But soon would pick up again and the nightmare got worse, not to mention those poor innocent victims I dragged down that road with me.

People say they been to hell and back. I reached the gates of hell and threw my loved ones in. After a couple of broken marriages,lost jobs,no car, no licence. I was unemployable and was living to drink and drinking to live. My sponser told me about The Ed Keating Center.after several years sober and working , I had saved up some money and was wondering if i should move out or go for my dream. Which was to record some of the over 200+ song i had written over the years.

One night while I was praying I heard in my heart, go for you dream and I will put someone in your life who believes in your music. I contacted Michael Seifert who owned ant up studios. I told him I wanted to record some song but that I write the lyrics and hear the music in my head. So we sat down at the piano and got 6 songs done. Michael helped me get the musicians and vocalists. I dedicated my cd called family and friends, to my loving mother and father. They put their wedding picture from Yugoslavia on the front.With a picture of The Ed Keating center on the back . With pictures of some family anf friends.

GOD can do more than I could ever think or imagine and before Jack passed away, he asked me to be the director of the Ed Keating Center East. I’ve been trying to help drunks and addicts ever since with help from so many people I wrote my song Teddy Bear for an inmate and good friend when I was locked up in the old ohio penitentary.He knew that I wrote songs and came to my cell in tears one night because he just found out that his little girl had passed away. His wife was losing her mind questioning her faith and he asked if i could write something for his daughters memory.

That night i wrote Teddy Bear. I have never had any children and for me to write about a teddy bear,raggedy ann,peter pan a barbie doll lunch box for school.  Well Ibelieve what Hank Williams Sr said years ago “I hold the pen and GOD writes the words” so I just keep holding the pen I know this is long but it’s a small portion thats from my heart .