The year is 1964. The pop revolution is underway, and groups like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones own the British charts and are besieged by thousands of screaming girls throwing flowers (and much else) at them wherever they go. Out of nowhere, that May, a quartet of young Australians who'd worked their passage from… Continue reading The Carnival is Over: Judith Durham, R.I.P.
Category: Ave Atque Vale
Bernard Cribbins, RIP
Where are the snows of yesteryear? Probably the first time that line from François Villon's medieval poem Ballad of Ladies of Time Gone By has been applied to Bernard Cribbins, but whatever. Tempus fugit, as they say. And my childhood with it. Bernard Cribbins, who has died age 93 was a staple of that childhood. … Continue reading Bernard Cribbins, RIP
Frank Zbozny: In Memoriam
Today is the second anniversary of my husband's death. I mark it by including the tribute I wrote for him at the time, and with the concluding quatrain from Tennyson's magnificent In Memoriam A.H.H: I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; Tis better to have loved and lost Than… Continue reading Frank Zbozny: In Memoriam
Quote of the Day: From ‘Old Blood and Guts’
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived. This is the quote attributed to General George S. Patton in his extemporaneous remarks at Boston’s Copely Plaza, on June 7, 1945. There’s no written record (on his part) of his saying such a thing,… Continue reading Quote of the Day: From ‘Old Blood and Guts’
Amazing Grace–A Lenten Post
During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world were discussing whether any one belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for… Continue reading Amazing Grace–A Lenten Post
RIP: Meat. Loaf.
There aren't many iconic rock stars I recognize, let alone for whom I can identify a single "iconic" song. The list is endless, and includes such luminaries as Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith (well done, Steven, if for nothing else than producing such a lovely Arwen), Prince, Lynard Skynard, Jimi… Continue reading RIP: Meat. Loaf.
Ave Atque Vale: The Greatest Pyrenees
He was the biggest--in every sense of the word--dog who's ever owned me. Big of size, big (well, reasonably big) of brain, big of spirit, but most of all, big of heart. Levi's long, and very good, run came to an end this morning. He'd been having increasing trouble hauling his 150lb frame to its… Continue reading Ave Atque Vale: The Greatest Pyrenees
Hallelujah! Our Long, Dark, Winter Night is Over!
https://youtu.be/WKu6HFrtpkM (Apologies for the rather tinny and reedy audio. Entirely my fault. It was a spontaneous reaction, emotion not a bit recollected in tranquility (h/t William Wordsworth). I used the voice recorder of my iPhone, and I was w-a-a-y in the back of the audience. I just wanted you to hear my neighbors and friends, children… Continue reading Hallelujah! Our Long, Dark, Winter Night is Over!
An Autocorrect Fail, or Just the Funniest Book Review Ever?
Before my husband, Mr. Right, died last year, he spent many years (probably well over a decade, now that I reflect on it with the benefit of hindsight) slowly succumbing to dementia. It's a cruel disease, as many of you know. But also looking back on it, and--indeed--since he died, I've found humor in some… Continue reading An Autocorrect Fail, or Just the Funniest Book Review Ever?
While I Was Sleeping: Death Comes to the Farm
Well, TBPH, I didn’t sleep through it. I discovered, decades ago, that the reason I don’t get much sleep is not that I can’t get to sleep; it’s that I’m a very light sleeper, and everything wakes me up. So last night, I was unsurprised to be awoken at 2:30AM by a pack of yelping… Continue reading While I Was Sleeping: Death Comes to the Farm