Small Thoughts
Though we only got a few hours above fifty degrees (not kidding), we still enjoyed our time in South Carolina. We traded the snow storm in the mid-Atlantic for views like this:
Must say, I got a chuckle out of this:
With snow hitting the mid-Atlantic, we spent a lovely afternoon at the Murrell’s Inlet (SC) Marsh Walk.
Now in South Carolina comes news of a major snowstorm forecast for home - 10-13 inches is the prediction. We may not have true spring weather, but overcast skies and rain sure beat a foot of snow.
Driving south on I-95 you begin seeing billboards for the South of the Border rest stop as you approach the South Carolina state line. Seems wildly inappropriate considering what’s currently happening in this country. (Actually it was inappropriate even before Trump’s mass deportation efforts.)
First day of our long-awaited Southern Road Trip. I’m not sure how far we’ll have to go to reach warm weather, but I can tell you it’s not in Richmond. Cold, wet, grey - more winter than winter. Here’s hoping for something better in the Carolinas.
Strangest thing happened today. I ordered Bernard Darwin’s autobiography from ThriftBooks. It arrived and the cover looked right but inside was Physique and Metaphysique Kantiennes by Jules Vuillemin (in French!). Not sure how such a thing happens, but I’m looking forward to ThriftBooks explanation.
Got word yesterday that my very reliable 2009 Toyota Highlander needs several thousand dollars of age-related repairs. Not unexpected, but still… With ChatGPT’s help, I started a repair/replace analysis, final decision TBD. But I have to say it’s shocking how much it costs to buy or lease a new car.
A break in the weather; perhaps a turn towards spring. But for sanity’s sake, I’m mentally preparing for six more weeks of winter. (Just imagine, in a few short months, I’ll be complaining about the heat!)
It’s a special day indeed - colonoscopy prep day! Comes once every five years for me. At least I have the propofol to look forward to… gonna ask the anesthesiologist to “take me down slow.”
First day in months it’s been above 50 degrees. It gives me hope that spring is out there somewhere.
Chipping away at my desk, listening to some James McMurtry. I’m struck by the literary quality of his songs. Like father, like son I suppose.
Who would have ever thought that after 30+ years my wife and I would find a sport that we both enjoy playing together? But I guess that’s the magic of Pickleball. (That’s assuming you’ll grant me that Pickleball is indeed a sport!)
Beautifully broken in a time of absolute disruption.
Ruby is getting over her kennel cough - she’s ready to get back in the game!
Not since Trent Dilfer led the Ravens to victory in Super Bowl XXXV…
The game was a bust, but the halftime show was epic. It felt groundbreaking, both culturally and technically. It was a show in a stadium, but it was no stadium show - it felt as though it was produced exclusively for those watching at home.
Who would have ever thought a show preaching that love is stronger than hate would be controversial? That celebrating Puerto Rico and Latino culture would be political? Despite critics best efforts to “other” him, Bad Bunny’s performance was both unifying and life-affirming.
I didn’t know much about Bad Bunny before Sunday night - but now I know he is a brilliant artist who understood his global audience and the moment.
Our town’s small but mighty Academy Art Museum is definitely punching above its weight:
In celebration of the 100th birthday of groundbreaking American artist Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008), the Academy Art Museum presents Rauschenberg 100: New Connections… Centered on the monumental, one-hundred-foot-long color photograph Chinese Summerhall (1982)—rarely exhibited because of its scale and fragility—the show offers an extraordinary look at Rauschenberg’s first journey to China and his creative partnership with master printmaker and Eastern Shore resident Donald Saff.
A new documentary short tells the story of the world’s longest photo.
For the past five years, a group of Baltimore’s best musicians rooted in the Bluegrass, Irish & Old Time traditions cross the Chesapeake Bay to share their talent and songs at Easton’s Avalon Theater. I look forward to their Across the Harbor show each year, and last night’s was another lovely installment.
Thought for a Friday: We seem condemned to fight the same battles again and again… Different places, different “enemy,” changing justifications, but those who benefit all sit at the top.
And there’s a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs
I wanna know who the men in the shadows are
I wanna hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they’re never the ones to fight or to die
Jackson Browne, Lives in the Balance
One of my goals for 2026 is to “scroll less, read more.” I can’t say I’ve kicked the scrolling habit entirely, but I did make incremental progress in January. I have been able to read two books five weeks into the year. A good start.
I just finished Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run by Peter Ames Carlin. Most people are familiar with the Springsteen song, if not the album. Fifty years on, it’s hard to imagine the impact of the album on the direction of Rock music. Jon Landau, the music critic who became Springsteen’s manager and coproducer, after attending an early concert famously wrote: “I have seen the future of rock n’ roll and his name is Bruce Springsteen.”
For all the impact of the album, making it was a desperate and tortuous process - and Carlin brings insight and to both the complicated creative process and the cut-throat music business. Whether or not you’re a Springsteen fan, Tonight in Jungleland is an interesting read about what Rolling Stone says is number 21 on the Greatest Albums of All Time list.