If you have been in pretty much any truck stop in North America and many greeting card stores you will have seen the work of this man! Up next in my series, "Where Are They Now" is artist, sculptor, songwriter, musician and singer Ben Crane.
I have known Ben since we were kids and the talent coming out of every pore in this guy is just incredible! Ben faced a serious challenge right out of the womb as he was born what we now term, "a thalidomide baby". Thalidomide was a drug given to expectant mothers to combat morning sickness but was soon found to have devastating results on their offspring. Ben's challenge was his left hand.
If you ever see Ben play; bass, guitar, keyboards, mandolin, accordion and pretty much anything he sets his mind to you will see and hear how Ben has overcome many of the obstacles that were set in front of him.
Ben told me some years ago that he and I had worked on about 40 projects together in some form or another. It was an honour to work with Ben and I don't think in 20 plus years we even had a cross word or argument! Not that we never disagreed, but it was done in a civil fashion. 
After graduating from PHS, Ben served on staff at Prairie College as an illustrator and graphic designer. When my Dad retired Ben presented him with a beautiful drawing of the head of a horse which now hangs in Dad's house in Memphis and is one of Dad's prized possessions.
For the last many years Ben has been one of the lead cartoonists for Leanin' Tree greeting cards and more recently has been the illustrator for the Jeff Foxworthy line of, "You Might Be A Redneck" cards.
Ben's diverse talents are too many to enumerate here but I encourage you to check out his website and make sure you take in his upcoming concert in Three Hills. I guarantee you will be entertained!
I should mention one other thing and that is if you are ever in Sylvan Lake, please check out Ben's bronze sculpture of a mermaid, her baby and rainbow trout. It is wonderful!
