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Our year in photos – 2016

Published by DJB

As we enter this season of Thanksgiving, I continue my tradition of posting family photographs from the past year on More to Come… We have much for which to be thankful in 2016.

During a year when our country has seen much distrust, hatred, and focus on the worst aspects of our common life, we – like so many of you – are working hard to recognize the many blessings we have shared individually, as a family, and within our communities. Not everyone in our families and in our group of friends agrees with our outlook on life. But no matter where one stands on the political divide, it is clear that we have a profoundly broken country at the moment. Our family will try and be advocates for a loving, inclusive country that recognizes the gifts of all and the bounty available if we will only embrace the “we” as well as the “me” in our communities. I know we have to do more.

Last December, I gathered with all my brothers and sisters in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Not only was it a time when the family could come together to grieve the loss of Carol’s husband Raouf, but it was also the last time I would see my father – although I didn’t realize it at the time.

Brown Children - Advent 2015 — DJB with his brothers and sisters: Debbie, Steve, Carol, and Joe

Daddy and Steve — With my father, Tom Brown, and brother Steve in December 2015

December is also the time when we celebrate Andrew and Claire’s birthdays. Now that they are adults, it is always fun to enjoy a nice dinner (with wine pairings!) at wonderful restaurants such as the Iron Gate.

23rd birthday celebration — Celebrating 23rd birthdays at Iron Gate Restaurant on December 20, 2015

2016 was the year Andrew’s professional focus shifted towards music. In January, he sang his first gig as a sub at the Washington National Cathedral, where he once sang treble as a Boy Chorister.

Andrew at the Cathedral — Andrew sings with the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys

With the children grown, Candice is able to travel with me for work on occasion. In late February I had a speaking engagement in Bedford, New York, and we took the opportunity to spend time at the Marcel Breuer House on the grounds at Kykuit, a National Trust Historic Site.

Candice at the Breuer House — Candice enjoys a morning coffee at the Marcel Breuer House, a National Trust Historic Site

In early March, Andrew was invited to join Lady Gaga and other survivors of sexual assault onstage at the Academy Awards as she performed “Till it Happens to You.” Among the many people he met on that emotional trip was Vice President Joe Biden.

Andrew with the VP — Andrew with Vice President Joe Biden following the Oscars

The family’s biggest 2016 adventure was my six-week sabbatical at the American Academy in Rome during March and April, and an additional two weeks of sabbatical during August in Maine. Candice joined me for the entire sabbatical and both Claire and Andrew came for visits of several days while we were in Rome.

Chiaraviglio Apts — My home away from home – the Chiaraviglio Apartments at the American Academy in Rome

Claire’s visit was early in our stay, and we used the occasion to explore Tuscany, as well as some of the very familiar sites in Rome.

CCB and DJB in San Gimignano — Candice and DJB in San Gimignano

San Gmignano — Claire and Candice in San Gimignano

CCB, CHB, and DJB at the top of Florence — At the top of Florence: proof that we made it!

First day in Rome — Claire on her first day in Rome

We were lucky to be able to celebrate our 34th wedding anniversary during my time on sabbatical. The evening brought back many memories.

34th anniversary — Celebrating our 34th wedding anniversary at Ditirambo in Rome

In addition to wonderful food and wine, Rome was full of beautiful architecture and new adventures (for us), such as Holy Week in the Eternal City.

The priest leads the Palm Sunday procession at the Basilica di San Pancrazio

Andrew arrived in Italy after Easter, and we took advantage of his visit to travel to Venice. What an incredible city.

Andrew and the cutaway — Andrew goes bonkers after catching a glimpse of the magnificent cutaway model of the basilica

DJB on the loggia — More to come as the journey continues

Enjoying lunch with Andrew and Candice in Murano

All of us made like Italians and drank caffe at every chance we could get.

ABB at Sant Eustachio — Andrew at Sant Eustachio il Caffe

Throughout my visit, I posted pictures and observations from some of the most beautiful places in the city. The Protestant Cemetery and Borromini’s San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane were among my (many) favorites.

We returned to the states in late April, in time for me to welcome musician Ben Folds to the National Trust’s headquarters in Washington.

Ben Folds at NTHP — With Ben Folds at the Washington Offices of the National Trust

In May, we said good-bye to the most wonderful father, father-in-law, grandfather that one could hope for. Daddy passed away as he was nearing his 91st birthday. It was a joyous celebration with hundreds of friends and family members.

2016 was a good year for baseball in the Brown household. I checked off two more stadiums from my bucket list, including Anaheim Stadium with Claire, and Candice joined me to cheer for the National League Eastern Division Champion Nationals as they closed in on the division title in September.

With Claire at the Big A — Connecting with Claire…over a baseball game

CCB and a Half Smoke — Candice with her “Half Smoke All the Way” at Nats Park earlier this season.

Our summer was filled with celebrations and time with friends. In June we all descended on Philadelphia for the wedding of Julia Pentz and Barry Katz. Candice and I also joined friends Oakley and Margaret Pearson at the 2016 Red Wing Music Festival in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley.

Sierra Hull at Red Wing 2016 — Sierra Hull with Justin Moore at Red Wing 2016

Claire wrapped up her year with the Episcopal Urban Intern Program in Los Angeles, but stayed in Pasadena to work for a second year at Hillsides Educational Center. Her EUIP experience was fulfilling and life changing.

Claire's EUIP housemates — Claire with her housemates from the Episcopal Urban Intern Program in Los Angeles

August took us to Maine for the second part of my sabbatical, and then to Murfreesboro, where Andrew and I brought back a truck of furniture, books, and other memories from Daddy’s house.

Packing with Aunt Debbie — Andrew and Aunt Debbie prepare Daddy’s furniture and keepsakes for the ride to our home

Andrew in Bristol — Andrew (and his Beyonce shirt) have a foot in Tennessee and a foot in Virginia on Bristol’s famous State Street

I was lucky to take a second trip to Italy in 2016, this time to Milan and Lake Como with the International National Trusts Organisation (INTO).

Villa del Balbianello view — Villa del Balbianello on Lake Como

This fall has seen Claire and Andrew stretching their wings. Claire has been exploring Southern California, and took a hike up Mt. Baldy on the day the Supermoon was at its height. Andrew was on a plane to Norway that evening, to join a singing ensemble, Trondheim Vokalensemble, for a tour of the country. We lived their adventures through their photographs!

Mount Baldy Super Moon — Claire and friends climb Mount Baldy in California with the Super Moon in the background

Trondheim – home base for Andrew’s Norwegian choral tour in November

As you can see, it has been a busy and fulfilling year. During this Thanksgiving season, we give thanks for you, our wonderful friends.

Family in Philadelphia — With Candice, Andrew, and Claire (clockwise from bottom left) as we wrapped up our time in Philadelphia

Have a terrific Thanksgiving holiday with friends and families.

More to come…

DJB

Image: Andrew, Candice, Claire and DJB on December 20, 2015 (Photo by John Thorne)

Ants Don’t Get Stuck in Traffic Jams

Published by DJB

Ants marching (photo credit: PSG of Mercer County)

The Next City website had a recent post by a physicist, Laurie Winkless, entitled 7 Things I Learned While Trying to Figure Out How Cities Work. Number 3 jumped out at me, and I’ll quote it here:

“We’ve all been caught up in phantom traffic jams, where for no discernible reason, traffic builds up and then eases. These traffic shockwaves are officially known as “jamitons,” and they can arise even if everyone is driving perfectly. But ants don’t have the same issue: Even when their highways are packed, they don’t get gridlocked. It seems that it’s because ants self-organize into lanes, and give each other a lot of headway, which buys them more time to react to any incidents up ahead … maybe a lesson in there for us all.”

Maybe a lesson indeed! I looked up from my book on a recent commute on the Metro, when I felt several people rush by my seat. What was the hurry? It turns out that they had entered at Gallery Place and were all pushing to get to the door closest to the escalators when the train arrived at their transfer point at Metro Center. Of course, by bunching together the door became blocked, those who were going past the Metro Center stop were suddenly crushed, and no one had given anyone else any headway (much less consideration and courtesy).

Living and working together has its challenges. Especially in these times of heated political divisions. But the next time I’m in one of those phantom traffic jams – in a car (perhaps heading out for the Thanksgiving holiday this week) or in some other realm of life – I’m going to try to think about the ants and provide a bit more headway.

Have a good week, safe travels (if you are visiting others), and Happy Thanksgiving.

More to come…

DJB

Reflection. Meekness. Responsibility.

Published by DJB

Vaclav Havel (photo credit: vaclavhavel.cz)

In February 1990, Václav Havel – the great Czech playwright, intellectual, and dissident – made an address to the United States Congress. Havel had been president of Czechoslovakia for only two months when he made his speech. However, he had a lifetime of experience in living through, and responding to, different political systems.

Among his thoughts that day was the following:

“…the salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human meekness, and in human responsibility.”

Havel’s words are as important today as ever.

Have a good week.

More to come…

DJB

Six (or Less) Degrees of Separation

Published by DJB

Dr. John Finley speaking at the Annual Meeting of Historic Savannah Foundation

My father stayed in touch with people all over the world. But I was still surprised earlier this week when the Senior Minister of First Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia – where I was speaking – quickly made the association between me and my hyper-connected father.

Historic Savannah Foundation invited me to be the guest speaker at their annual meeting, which was being held in the historic sanctuary of First Baptist Church. In a bit of chit-chat before the meeting began with their senior minister, Dr. John Finley, I mentioned that I grew up attending First Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

That’s when Dr. Finley looked at me and asked, “Are you Tom’s son?”

I must have looked pretty dumb-founded, because he quickly added, “My first job out of college at Vanderbilt was as a youth minister in First Baptist in Murfreesboro.” Dr. Finley was there in the mid-1970s for three months, and became friends with my mom and dad, as well as the staff and others. Daddy kept in touch and even visited Savannah in 2000, when First Baptist hosted a Baptist History conference. We chatted about many connections (including Dr. Eugene Cotey, my pastor growing up), and I left that evening with a copy of Pilgrims through the Years, the excellent history of First Baptist written by George H. Shriver.

“The First Baptist Church of Savannah, Georgia, was chartered on November 26, 1800, and soon thereafter the first meeting house was built on Franklin Square. The cornerstone of the present church on Chippewa Square was laid on February 2, 1831, and the building was completed in 1833. This Greek Revival structure is Savannah’s oldest standing house of worship.”

HSF Annual Meeting 2016

When I returned to my hotel room, I texted some of my brothers and sisters to see if they remembered Dr. Finley. It turns out my sister Debbie was in a newlyweds class with the Finleys, and my brother Joe was in his youth group. Joe wrote back and said,

“If I’m not mistaken, he was the first youth minister ever hired by FBC. I think Claude King was the next one. I always said I drove Claude out of youth work!”

When I responded that he drove Dr. Finley out as well, because he told me that those three months in Murfreesboro convinced him he never wanted to do youth ministry again, Joe responded with “It’s a gift!”

As fate would have it, I was reading about “Six Degrees of Separation and Three Degrees of Influence” in Jonathan F.P. Rose’s new book The Well Tempered City on the plane ride to Savannah. Rose writes that if a city wants to promote positive behaviors, “the most effective strategy is to target people who are at the center of social clusters and have them reach out to those who are less connected.”

While he wouldn’t have named it this way, Tom Brown was definitely a force of nature when it came to social clusters.

It is one more legacy of a life well lived.

More to come…

DJB

For the Son of a Librarian, the Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree

Published by DJB

Beach Reading

I love seeing lists of books recommended by people from all walks of life. As the son of a children’s librarian and the husband of a children’s reading specialist, books have always been a part of my life. This enthusiasm was brought home to me again when I recently saw a list of recommended readings from President Obama (or, as Inc.com called him, the “Bookworm-in-Chief.”) It seemed appropriate – the day before the election – to recall all the good things President Obama has brought our way, including an intellectual curiosity about the world.

Writer Rebecca Solnit has said, “I disappeared into books when I was very young, disappeared into them like someone running into the woods.” I know that feeling. A couple of years ago, in thinking about a lifetime (so far) of reading, I put together my own list of twelve books (plus some bonus reads) that had influenced me. If you click through, you’ll see that the initial one on my list is the first I remember from my childhood. I suspect you’ll understand a bit more about me when you see that the title is If Everybody Did.

Books are a wonderful window into the world, and I’m always looking for reading recommendations. In the past few months, I’ve received book suggestions from several colleagues that included Economics of Uniqueness – Investing in Historic City Cores and Cultural Heritage Assets for Sustainable Development (a free publication of the World Bank); Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, a 1998 book by biologist E. O. Wilson; as well as The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain by Barbara Strauch (which posits that middle-aged brains do not start to fail but instead become better at problem solving and making connections. Hmmm…I hope so!)

To reach a younger demographic, I often ask my 23-year-old twins what books influenced them, and they recently responded with a range of works, including Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (recommended by both and which is on my list); The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter by Meg Jay (perhaps I’m a bit past focusing on this); The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs (from my urban studies-loving son); A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (a classic); Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich and The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (both in my book bag to be read); and the Harry Potter series (have read them all myself).

To end, I’ll circle back to President Obama. I have read two of the books on his list of books that shaped his thinking, and would recommend both: the remarkable Thinking, Fast and Slow as well as Taylor Branch’s thorough and thoughtful history of the civil rights movement, Parting the Waters : America in the King Years 1954-63. I’ve also read two from the President’s vacation reading list: Between the World and Me and All the Light We Cannot See. Both are powerful books, in very different ways. Let me know what you would recommend, and when I have enough I’ll share a new “colleagues and friends” list.

Until then, have a great week (reading).

More to come…

DJB

Going out in a blaze of glory

Published by DJB

Last evening’s Commemoration of All Faithful Departed service at our church was beautiful and personally meaningful. I had it marked on my calendar for some time, as I wanted to attend to remember my father, who passed away earlier this year.

The choir’s music was beautiful, with Mozart’s Requiem interspersed between the readings. The first of those readings is from the Book of Wisdom and begins, “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment shall ever touch them.”

We put the names of loved ones departed into a basket, and during the prayers of the people each name was read while members of the congregation could come forward and light a candle. (As an aside, I loved hearing baseball legend Monte Irvin remembered among the departed.)

Lovely. Thoughtful. Deeply moving.

And when I saw that The Rev. Emily Griffin was the evening’s preacher, I knew all three of those feelings would continue. We have three very insightful and thoughtful priests who enlighten us each in their own way with powerful words.

Emily began her sermon by saying, “There are other ways we could be doing this,” and continued by recounting various ways we remember our loved ones. That’s when my mind took off.

For earlier on Saturday, Andrew and I had our own special “Commemoration of All Faithful Departed” for Daddy/Granddaddy.

When we brought furniture home from his house in August, I threw in his DVD player, knowing ours was on the fritz. It took me until yesterday to check it out and plug it in. Andrew was helping me, and after we had it connected, I said, “Let’s see if this thing works.” We turned it on and out popped a disk. Andrew picked it up and started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“Guess what movie Granddaddy watched last?”

Blazing Saddles.

My father loved the broad humor of Mel Brooks, and we both immediately doubled over in laughter at the thought of my 90-year-old father laughing at such lines as:

Mongo only pawn in game of life.

Hello handsome, is that a ten gallon hat or are you just enjoying the show.

[Jim the Waco Kid to Bart, the African-American sheriff, after the old woman insults him] What did you expect? “Welcome, sonny?” “Make yourself at home?” “Marry my daughter?” You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the New West. You know…morons.

So what was our commemoration? Why we sat down and watched the entire movie, and Candice said the laughter could be heard throughout the house. Andrew texted his sister and some of the cousins with the news of our find and Claire wrote back, “I wouldn’t have expected anything less of Granddaddy.”

It was a glorious celebration.

So thanks to St. Alban’s Church for the lovely and meaningful service. And thanks to you, Daddy, for having such a wonderful (and wise) sense of humor.

R.I.P.

More to come…

DJB

Image: St. Albans in Washington, ready for the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed by DJB

Cultivating a (wise) sense of humor

Published by DJB

We are made by what would break us. In every life, inexplicable things happen.

It is difficult to respond to these challenges, but I’ve noted before that we learn to walk by falling down. The beginning of wisdom often results from “the dramatic and more ordinary moments where what has gone wrong becomes an opening to more of yourself and part of your gift to the world.”

Those words were written by Krista Tippett, the Peabody Award-winning broadcaster of On Being and a 2014 recipient of the National Humanities Medal from President Obama. She has published a new work based in part on her years of conversation with poets, scientists, philosophers, theologians, and activists. Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living, is a thoughtful book, full of insight. Tippett indicates she wrote about wisdom because “one of its qualities…is about joining inner life with our outer presence in the world. The litmus test of wisdom is the imprint it makes on the world around it…”

In this new work, Tippett writes about one perhaps surprising aspect of a wise life.

“I have yet to meet a wise person who doesn’t know how to find some joy even in the midst of what is hard, and to smile and laugh easily, including at oneself. A sense of humor is high on my list of virtues, in interplay with humility and compassion and a capacity to change when that is the right thing to do. It’s one of those virtues that softens us for all the others….There is a science helping us to see a sense of humor in the brain as an expression of creativity, making unlikely connections, and leaning into them with joy.”

I like the idea of making unlikely connections in the brain, and then “leaning into them with joy.” A sense of humor doesn’t always revolve around a back-slapping joke, although I enjoy those as much as anyone. But a wise sense of humor can be as complex as delighting in paradox and as simple as a smile in the voice. It is not cynical, but instead might be described as generous or nourishing. I am certainly nurtured by those colleagues and friends who are wise. Consider reaching out and telling someone with a generous sense of humor how much you appreciate their wisdom! You’ll both have a good week.

More to come…

DJB

How we spend our lives

Published by DJB

In her 1989 collection of essays entitled The Writing Life, Annie Dillard has a wonderful meditation on the life well lived.

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order—willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living. Each day is the same, so you remember the series afterward as a blurred and powerful pattern.”

Dillard’s essay contrasts different daily schedules and the “existential tension between presence and productivity.” She then adds these words to prod us to think of how we spend our days — and lives:

“There is no shortage of good days. It is good lives that are hard to come by. A life of good days lived in the senses is not enough. The life of sensation is the life of greed; it requires more and more. The life of the spirit requires less and less; time is ample and its passage sweet. Who would call a day spent reading a good day? But a life spent reading — that is a good life.”

Here’s to having a good week lived in a way that produces a well-lived life.

More to come…

DJB

Writer’s Block (photo credit: Center for Documentary Studies)

Observations from the road: The “Has it been six weeks since I was in Milan?” edition

Published by DJB

In mid-September I published a post from Milan that promised “Lake Como and more still to come.” Next thing I know, we are pushing toward Halloween and the things I’ve wanted to post have been piling up in my brain. So with the first open weekend in about six weeks, I’m going to catch up by using my trusty “Observations from…” catch-all post.

This edition will include photos from the second and third days of my quick trip to Milan in September for the Executive Committee meeting of the International National Trusts Organisation (INTO).

Speaking of Lake Como:

Lake Como is beautiful.

We were there to visit the Villa del Balbianello, a property of FAI, the Italian National Trust. Commissioned in the 18th century by Cardinal Durini, the villa “has hosted literati and travellers up to the time of its final owner, the adventurous explorer Guido Monzino.” Throughout the house are travel mementoes and art objects from his 20th century life.

Villa lakeside entrance — View of the Villa del Balbianello from the lakeside entrance

This is a remarkable home in a stunning setting. It is easy to see why this is FAI’s most popular property.

Villa e Collezione Panza – Contemporary art in a historic villa: As the day turned from bright blue to rainy gray, we stopped at FAI’s historic Villa Panza to view the contemporary art collection of American artists that had been assembled by Giuseppe Pana di Buomo beginning in the 1950s.

Villa Panza courtyard — Courtyard of the Villa Panza

The villa’s windows open onto a wonderful Italian garden, making for a beautiful setting for more than 150 pieces of American contemporary art. While our National Trust in the U.S. has several historic sites that serve as settings for contemporary art (e.g., The Glass House, Chesterwood, Kykuit), many of my colleagues on the INTO Executive Committee were surprised to see the juxtaposition of old and new.

Skyscape at Villa Panza — Pondering the big questions

The Last Day (and Supper) in Milan:

We spent the last day in Milan touring some of the city’s most famous buildings and sites. The Duomo and square are wonders of Italian architecture.

The Galleria, also on the Duomo square, is a hub of commerce next to the spiritual center of the city.

And finally, thanks to the good folks at FAI, we were able to acquire much sought-after tickets to see the Last Supper. The experience – with only 30 or so visitors allowed in the room for 15 minutes – is very moving and satisfying. The stewards of this priceless treasure could teach the Vatican Museum – with the over-crowded and wholly unsatisfying Sistine Chapel experience – a thing or two.

This was a great bookend to our time in Rome in the spring, with many thanks to FAI and my colleagues at INTO. Milan is yet another international treasure, and I’m delighted I had the opportunity to see the city through the eyes of our Italian preservation colleagues.

More to come…

DJB

Image: Villa del Balbianello on Lake Como

I Want to Live in a Real Sports Town

Published by DJB

I’m sitting in the bar of Michael Jordan’s SteakHouse (in our Historic Hotel of America, the Intercontinental) watching Chicago vs. the LA Dodgers with dozens of passionate Cubs fans. Stores and offices throughout the cities are hanging the iconic “W” flag in their windows. Hell, even the University Club has a decorated bear in Cubs attire. I am texting with my Dodger daughter Claire in Southern California. Life is good.

Except…this isn’t my normal life.

I want to live in a real sports town. After spending portions of my life in Atlanta and Washington (neither of which is a real sports town), I am tired of the wimpy sports culture that comes from people who think that policy debates tell you more about life than arguments over baseball. I’ve been in Chicago, Boston, New York, and Philly in the past two weeks. All great sports towns. Cleveland – another passionate sports town – is in the World Series and has suddenly become the city of champions.

D.C. needs some of that passion. But people leave games in the 7th inning. Bars show the miserable Washington football club owned by the only man who might give Donald Trump a run for his money when it comes to mismanagement, while the Nats are in a playoff series. We can’t get our Metro to stay open past midnight to take passionate fans home. Don’t talk to me about a world-class city if mass transit closes at midnight.

I really don’t care who wins these games, but I love the passion!

Cubs Fever at the University Club in Chicago

Go Cubs/Indians/Dodgers!

More to come…

DJB

MORE TO COME…

Encounters, discoveries, and observations from the slow lane of life.

Latest Posts

Our year in photos – 2016

Ants Don’t Get Stuck in Traffic Jams

Reflection. Meekness. Responsibility.

Six (or Less) Degrees of Separation

For the Son of a Librarian, the Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree

Going out in a blaze of glory

Cultivating a (wise) sense of humor

How we spend our lives

Observations from the road: The “Has it been six weeks since I was in Milan?” edition

I Want to Live in a Real Sports Town