One of my favorite movies is Albert Brooks’ (one of my favorite Woody Allen-style writer/ actor/directors) Defending Your Life. It’s sort of a complicated plot but there’s one scene thrown in that’s pure slapstick fun … showing a movie reel, essentially, of all the ridiculously stupid things main character Daniel Miller has done throughout his … Continue reading Rescuing Piglet
I’ve been making lists for as long as I remember. To Do Lists. Favorite movie and book lists. Lists of friends. Long-range plan and objective lists. Even lists of future blogs I want to write. I find If I can’t get to something – or don’t think I’ll remember it – a list does the … Continue reading Do It or List It … and a Look at Generational Differences
Before the curtain went down on large-scale gatherings, concert halls closed for business and ‘live’ music turned into another online experience seen from our devices at home, I had the great fortune to see some truly amazing performers last year. While 2019 had its ups and downs for me, in pandemic-hindsight there were some truly … Continue reading Pre-Covid Concerts (a.k.a. Magical Musical Moments of 2019) hi
I woke up the other morning feeling pretty down. I had a little (or not so little) crying bout, acknowledged all my fears and concerns, and came to the same conclusion I’ve been coming to lately. It’s o.k. to feel out of sorts during a pandemic, especially if you have other troubling things going on … Continue reading My Morning Bike Ride
My dad died in early April and a good friend passed away, from the other deadly ‘c’ disease, cancer, in mid-June. In the middle of that short time span, I was asked to be a panelist for a webinar, called The Effect of COVID-19 on Grief, Bereavement & Loss (view the video recording here). And … Continue reading Grief, Empathy and Resilience
Certain songs and lyrics mean more at different times in your life, right? These days I’ve been thinking about Dan Fogelberg’s Part of the Plan and wanted to shoot out a quick blog to share the lyrics because they might speak to you too in these difficult pandemic times (and difficult times all around). Dan … Continue reading Love When You Can …
They say if you can put a man on the moon … Well they did put some men on the moon (about 50 years ago, in fact) and this year, I got my mom on Zoom. Once you finish reading this blog, you decide which feat is more impressive. I should start by saying, I … Continue reading My Mom on Zoom
We said a final farewell to my dad on Friday, April 10, three days after he passed away. Under the heavy Coronavirus cloud we’re all living under, there was no large gathering of guests, no music played, no Shivah sitting and no formal funeral service. On a gray, windy day where we saw rain, hail, … Continue reading Thanks Dad
Give me love, give me love, give me peace on Earth Give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth Give me hope, help me cope with this heavy load … George Harrison’s Give Me Love song was running through my head last Sunday when Jim and I were sitting in the pews … Continue reading Sending Hope and Love
At the very end of the movie Almost Famous, young budding Rolling Stone music critic ‘William Miller’ asks up-and-coming rock ‘n roll guitarist ‘Russell Hammond’ what he loves about music. Without missing a beat, Russell answers, “In a word … everything.” I kind of feel the same way. My father’s violin playing fills my earliest … Continue reading In a Word … Music
