Piano Man and the rest of us.
Piano Man Take it to the Limit Moon River These Are a Few of My Favorite Things And Happy Birthday. What do these 5 songs have in common? Look again – can you guess it? Answer: they all have an endangered time signature. (Yes, I just made up that term.) What in the world does […]
Hobbits, Lions, and Human Nature.
In one of my latest deep dives, I learned that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were best friends! (Did everyone know that but me?) Together, they were members of a writing group called the Inklings, a tight-knit circle of intellectual friends – mostly Oxford University academics – who shared a love for narrative, Norse and […]
The Clues are Usually There.
Darren noticed a crack in my windshield this week. It’s on the passenger side, down in the lower corner, in a place I am apparently not looking at very often because I had not even noticed it. Once he pointed it out, though, there it was. Definitely a crack. And now, of course, I see […]
“Justin” and the concrete guy.
There’s a place a town or two over from me where I can go at 11 am on a weekday and get their Apple Salad with romaine lettuce, julienned apples, manchego cheese, craisins, and sunflower seeds, and a side of beautifully handcut fries (with fry sauce, of course.) I can sit in a booth by […]
Someone is upstairs.
Darren thinks his latest way to tease me is hysterical. He’ll come home from work sometimes while I’m working downstairs in my basement office. And then he’ll text me to tell me he’ll be home in 20 minutes KNOWING I CAN HEAR SOMEONE WALKING AROUND UPSTAIRS RIGHT NOW. And when I reply with “You’re not […]
What emerges along the way.
The word “era” can be defined several different ways: In my own life, I have had many, many eras. I got thinking about this because in a meeting the other day I found myself saying “I did once have a camping era…..” We’ve talked a bit in this space about our past and our identities […]
Grieg – and what gets to be loud.
According to Apple music, “Edvard Grieg wrote melodies that capture the imagination and touch the heart. He was loved the world over. A fine pianist and inspiring conductor, he managed to fuse music that captured the Norwegian spirit with a truly international language; it made him a national hero.” Sometime I’ll get into the details […]
When Winning Can Wait.
Right now we are in the third and final week of the NFL preseason. And we have no idea where each team stands. Like NO idea. I asked my friend the internet why no one seems to care who’s winning and who’s losing, and this is what I discovered. Preseason success in the National Football […]
Math Class and the Flat Tire Guy.
School is in session again – or soon will be. And that means students everywhere are sitting in new math classes, trying to figure out what they remember, and hoping beyond hope that it’s going to make sense. For a lot of students, one of the hardest parts of math comes when it doesn’t. Every […]
False Advertising.
A week ago, one of my best friends sent me a photo with a link to a paper embroidery class that looked super fun. It was something I had wanted to try, something she and I could have fun doing together, and the company was offering what seemed like a really, really good deal: Instruction. […]
