Today is the 75th anniversary of V-E Day. That’s “Victory in Europe Day,” the day the Allies accepted Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender in World War II. Gary’s Dad, Andrew, celebrated in Austria. A soldier there with the U.S. Army, he had to wait his turn to make it back home. There was a “point system” and as a single fellow he had fewer points than those returning to wives and children. Andrew was a long way from home, but he’d…
Did you see those book-banning fools are at it again? In Alaska, they’re quivering with fear at the thought of their young darlings reading Catch 22 or (gasp!) The Great Gatsby. As if that’s not embarrassing enough, when it’s discussed around the world – especially by the country that gave us Queen Victoria – it’s time to simply duck under the covers with a good book and read ’til it’s safe to come out again. Happily, banned books tend to…
“Goose! You know BEE-thoven?!“ Cameron was stunned that I recognized the piano piece he’d just finished. Yes, Cam. In fact it was the wedding song played when Papaw and I got married. “Goose! You and Papaw are married?!” Clearly we need to talk about the fact that Gary and I haven’t just been shacking up all these years. Cameron is our constant delight. Our joy. Looking back even further than our 1982 nuptials, I realize Beethoven’s 9th Symphony has always…
Mom wrote this poem, called simply Cherries, when her granddaughter Lucy was just a few months old. It may be that this cute little outfit inspired her. Cherries Lucy’s little yellow dress is cherried Take her to the hammock under cherry treesand in the early evening wrap herin the childhood cherry spreadremembering another eveningwhen we rode a ferris wheelafter a day of cherry picking Grandchildren and sister loved the cherriessent for summer birthdaysand from a country marketwe wooed each otherwith…
They’re married! Saturday was a lovely day for a wedding. Since Aubrie and John’s plans for April 18 nuptials ended up as part of the coronavirus quarantine, it was somewhat … diminutive. That’s Cameron’s new word: diminutive. (I’ve since learned that it’s from a Bugs Bunny quote in the movie Space Jam. I can’t wait to tell my father; he’ll be so pleased to know another generation loves that wascally wabbit.) Rather than list what was … er, diminutized, let’s…
In these endless days of Covid-19 self-isolation, it is important to find ways to smile and laugh. More than just by making fun of politicians, though; that rabbit hole seems to get stinkier by the minute. It’s still funny stuff, but definitely doesn’t lift the spirits. And so, I turn to podcasts. Here’s a new one I “discovered” a few days ago: In a nutshell (emphasis on nut), this comedic duo plays two elderly New Yorkers who are on a…
When you grow up in New England, you come to crave lobster. By-the-seashore lobster, that is, not the ones in a large fish tank as you enter a national restaurant chain. When Thomas was a little guy, he even included a lobster in the family crest he designed in art class. Our family Christmas tradition the past half-dozen years or so is mid-afternoon Lobster Grilled Cheese Sandwiches shipped frozen from Maine, thanks to GoldBelly.com. And so, when Gary and I…
In case you’re reading this years in the future, let me just say that the spring of 2020 is one we will most likely choose not to look back upon with fondness. A frightening pandemic swept the country, while calls to stay home and “flatten the curve” were, by all too many, ignored. Some in self-isolation rediscovered the joy of reading. Gary and I settled in, each with a pile of books, to stay safe and healthy. And well-read. It…
“I live for death.” Gary says that with a twinkle in his eye, when he tells me he’s heading to a funeral home yet again. He never misses the local radio newscast, which ends with obituaries. It’s the first page he turns to when the newspaper is delivered. Always has been, Gary wants to know who died. He wants to pay his respects. He wants to tell stories. My husband will go to the funeral home when so many others…
The usual meaning for the term “keyboard warriors” is those angry trolls who make sure social media is always stirred up with arguments and untruths. For our purposes, though – and during Teach Music Week – we’ll look at the keyboards that tie our family together. Piano keyboards. Dad remembers taking piano lessons when his family lived in Lowell in the early 1940s. He was ten or 11 and would walk just a few blocks to get to Mrs. Salmonson’s…