Happy Thanksgiving! I went for a six-mile run this morning on a hike/bike trail near our house. What a wonderful way to start this Turkey Day… not many people out, great running weather, sun coming up…
While I ran I thought about the many things for which I am thankful:
my health – this week I heard about another college classmate of mine who passed away suddenly, which really gave me pause.
my wife – she works as a nurse 4 days a week, teaches 4-6 exercise classes a week, just ran the New York Marathon and spent all day yesterday getting the house in shape as we prepare to host the Thanksgiving feast. (I helped a bit, but not enough.) A human dynamo.
my kids – they all have their moments, but overall they’re great kids.
my job – a year ago I was 80% sure I’d be laid off from work and pounding the pavement looking for my next gig. But what happened when my old company split actually turned out to be a plus for me.
my friends – I don’t see them as often as I’d like to, but when I do it’s sustenance for the soul
a good book – there’s no better way to escape the your own world and inhabit another.
music – my lifelong love affair with tunes goes on…
public transportation – a weird one, I know, but I’m convinced that by taking the bus to work most days instead of driving, I’ve reduced my stress immeasurably and have been able to read more.
craft beer – yum.
hike/bike paths – they make a run or ride so much more relaxing than fighting traffic.
tofurkey – actually I’ve never had this, but as a vegetarian I feel like I need to represent.
Bea Arthur – the most golden of the Golden Girls.
Scoopable kitty litter – most welcome in a two-cat household.
Xavier basketball – makes the winter a bit more bearable.
Students also have to take at least one semester of music class… which went over like a pregnant pole vaulter at our house. Leah had never had a single music lesson in her life prior to choosing her musical weapon of trumpet. Practice isn’t always pretty… in fact sometimes it sounds like an elephant is being tortured:
But it’s a prime example of “practice makes perfect.” They may not put in the 10,000 hours required to reach Malcolm Gladwell’s “mastery” but they certainly become quite proficient by the end-of-semester concert. And the kicker is they wind up liking it. After completing his mandatory class, Peter wound up signing up for another semester of music of his own volition. So no matter how practice sounds to other folks, it’s music to my ears.
It’s like ol’ Bill Shakespeare said “If music be the food of love, play on”
My wife and I buy a new car only once every decade, whether we need to or not. In 2002, with Baby #3 on the way, we shed any vestiges of “coolness” by getting a Honda minivan. In 2011, I campaigned hard for a Jetta Sportwagen TDI because I’m a tree-hugger and loved the great gas mileage along with the benefits of the “clean diesel” engine that VW was promoting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNS2nvkjARk
Turns out we’ve been living a lie. VW was gaming the system with a software cheat that tricked emissions testing, something that was uncovered by a professor at WVU. All this time I thought I was doing the environment a solid, while in reality we were driving a nitrogen oxide belching beast.
We don’t put a ton of miles on the Jetta. I still commute to work via bus most days, and have for the past 20 years, so that helps assuage my green guilt over this “diesel dupe.” But that’s not the point – the point is VW did not sell us the car they promised, and we feel betrayed.
The good news is by 2020 Teslas might actually be in our price range.
I’m not a runner, and I don’t play one on TV. But my wife is training for the New York City Marathon and I’ve been joining her on the long weekend runs. (Just send that “Husband of the Year” trophy to my home address, thanks very much.)
As much as I don’t enjoy dragging my creaky old-man bones out of bed at 6 a.m. on Sunday mornings, there’s a calm, peaceful rhythm to life that you can’t get any other time of the week. The streets are deserted, the sun’s coming up, the air is cooler… it’s a great way to unplug and recharge at the same time. When I was younger I was more concerned with Saturday night activities than Sunday morning ones, but now I know why old folks like to get up early.
My wife runs with a running group, and this morning we met in Newport, KY, just across the river from downtown Cincinnati, then ran across a bridge and along the Cincinnati riverfront. I like to distract myself from the slog of the run by checking out the scenery, the barges on the river, the architecture of the homes, the small mom-and-pop shops and tiny taverns you see along the way and probably never would notice if you were zooming by in a car.
Now if only I could figure out how to turn my running shoes into a hoverboard…
Last night’s US Open quarterfinal tennis match between Serena and Venus Williams was the greatest sibling struggle on the court since… I played my older brother in the finals of the Clarksville, Arkansas Boys & Girls Club summer tennis lesson tourney, circa 1975.
Last night the kid sister got the win, but back in the day big brother John topped me in straight sets… because we only played a single set. John’s prize for winning the championship was a trophy. For finishing second (out of about 8 kids total in the class), I got a Jimmy Connors autograph model wooden tennis racquet.
Mine didn’t have an actual Jimmy Connors autograph.
My bro totally got screwed on the prizes, I’m sure he gladly would’ve traded the hardware for something that was actually useful. And I guarantee you that if John and I played another set where I used my new racquet and he used his trophy to hit the ball, I would’ve won.
Music has the power to heal. Friends are a blessing. And when you put them together, it can be magical.
On Friday night I went to the heart of downtown Cincinnati, Fountain Square (as seen in the “WKRP in Cincinnati” opening credits) for a free indie rock show. Wussy — proclaimed by Robert Christgau as “the best band in America” — was the headliner, and they lived up to that billing, albeit a bit raggedly. Prior to Wussy, another excellent band called Pike 27 played. Their usual drummer is my friend Dave, who is currently being treated for his second bout with lymphoma. I worked with Dave’s wife Jacqui at an ad agency long ago, and I’ve shared a few of Jacqui’s poignant posts about their journey on her “Nashville or Bust” blog.
Yesterday morning I went on a 9-mile run with my wife, who is training for the New York Marathon, and we saw Jacqui running the other way with another running group. I’m guessing her runs are a bit more meditative and therapeutic than mine.
Last night we went to a fundraiser for Music Resource Center and I met Pike 27’s frontman (also named Dave) and his wife Amy. Dave is friends with my friend Jennifer from my radio days. And Amy is good friends with one of my current co-workers. Amy also had played a key role in Friday night’s concert – iPhone cameraperson. Turns out they were able to broadcast (narrowcast actually) the gig to Jacqui and Dave at their home.
This was our Friday night. And it was pretty spectacular.
You’ve heard me mention Dave’s band, Pike 27, from time to time. They are incredible musicians. They are incredible people. They are part of our family.
And last night — the night of the very much anticipated show on Fountain Square as part of Cincinnati’s MidPoin Indie Summer series — they made sure that Dave didn’t miss out.
It was a last minute idea and probably the most hillbilly way to ‘live cam’ — but we did it! Thanks to iPhones, FaceTime, iCloud and Facebook, we patched in from the dining room table.
Dave had no clue that we were doing this. In fact, he was a bit annoyed when he heard me fussing at my computer and told him to, “get over here — you have to see this!” I think he thought I was watching cat videos or something.
I really wished I had a video camera rolling on him when he saw Amy on my computer screen, waving and smiling, and figured out that she was on Fountain Square. Live. Like there at the show.
The plan was really to watch one or two songs. We didn’t want to burden Amy (who was fighting bronchitis) to wear out her arm holding her phone up all night. But others jumped in and kept the feed going. Then there were the message pictures and the selfies and wow… so much love.
We are humbled by and grateful to all the folks that are Pike 27 and for the local music scene who continue to send love and support. It was incredible to see Dave so happy — so alive! And yes, he was singing his ‘girl part’ high harmonies and keeping time with his feet. Would you expect any less? ~Jacqui
My son’s band played a few songs at the fundraiser last night. If they keep playing music, I hope they always remember that it’s not about fame, fortune or glory, it’s about the friendships you form and the love you share.
Kevin Sullivan on Life advice from a man who lived it: “A good one Damian. Bring our lens into focus after the long weekend or our long life journey.” Jul 7, 09:38
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