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Introducing Rugby (TN) to the next generation

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Rugby, Tennessee, is a unique community on the Cumberland Plateau, with an incredible story of perseverance.

It is also a place that means a great deal to me, as it was where my preservation career began. Today I took the opportunity to introduce Claire, Andrew, and Candice to Rugby and to show them the places that inspired me.

Here’s the official story from my last post:

“Rugby was established in the 1880s by the successful Victorian-era author Thomas Hughes as a Utopian community for the second sons of English gentry.  Due to the system of primogeniture, these men would inherit little or no property and had very limited career opportunities.  Hughes established this colony in the beautiful but hard-scrabble Cumberland Plateau area of Tennessee.  After some initial success, the colony fell on hard times, ultimately failed and was largely forgotten.  In the mid-1960s, residents of the area began to restore the remaining historic buildings and over the course of five decades have saved this wonderful place and turned it into a thriving community and a favorite spot for tourists.“

Candice has heard me talk about Rugby, my introduction to this utopian community, and the work of the Stagg family for years. (Brian Stagg was the charismatic founding director of Historic Rugby. His sister Barbara took up the organization’s leadership after Brian’s untimely death and deserves a huge amount of credit for the current state of the village’s preservation.  Brian’s brother Alan Stagg was the scoutmaster who took us to Rugby year-after-year in the 1960s.) I suggested a drive up to Rugby during a family vacation, and everyone readily agreed.

Despite an off-and-on rain, it was great to introduce this unique place to the family today.  Everyone loved the intimate and beautiful Christ Church (Episcopal). We had a tasty lunch at the Harrow Road Cafe, reconstructed from the rather sparse building I remember from my youth. Claire was especially taken with the Thomas Hughes Public Lending Library — one of the most remarkable collections to survive under any circumstances.  Because of the rain we weren’t able to hike down to the Gentlemen’s Swimming Hole, but we did tour all the public buildings, see the new homes on land that had been originally plotted for homes (but never built), and relive memories of great summers past.

Rugby is in a period of transition as Historic Rugby searches for a new director, but just as the next generation will see to the village’s preservation, I wanted the next generation in my family to know of my connection to this place of dreams.

Mission accomplished.

More to come…

DJB

Christ Church (Episcopal), Rugby, TN
Claire surveying the amazing collection of historic volumes in the Hughes Library
Thomas Hughes Public Lending Library, Rugby, TN

Baseball Pilgrimages

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Say Hey!  Check another ballpark off the list!!

About five years ago I made it a life goal to take in a game at all the Major League Baseball stadiums across America.  I wanted to achieve this goal by 2015 – when I reach the big 6-0.  It may be tough to meet that timetable, but what are goals for and I have hit a bit of a jackpot in the past six weeks. It is time for an update.

I do have some rules for this quest. First of all, I have to actually see a game.  I can’t just drive by, or I could put the Ballpark in Arlington, among others, in my checked off category. I use to buy a hat of the local team to prove I’d been there, but Candice thinks I have enough caps – and she’s probably right.  So that’s no longer necessary.  Finally, demolitions have wrecked havoc with these plans. I decided – in a totally arbitrary way, since I am the umpire – that if I’ve seen a MLB team in their home ballpark that has since been demolished, then it counts against my list.  (My best example is Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, where I used to catch a Braves game about once a home stand in the early 1980s. Ah, those wonderful $5 tickets not far behind the first base dugout!) I am going to try to visit the new stadiums in those cities when I can, but for the purposes of this goal, getting to one stadium in my lifetime counts…even if it no longer exists.

Now, with that bit of background, on to my recent games. In late June, I was in Chicago for a retreat when a colleague suggested an outing to Wrigley Field to catch a Cubs game.  Now I have been to Wrigley before – in fact it was the site of my first major league game. In 1964 our family took a vacation to Chicago and I went to a game at Wrigley Field with my parents, brothers and sisters, and my aunt and uncle.  I can still remember a great deal about that day.  We sat in the upper deck along the third base line, and the Cubs played the Cardinals – who won the World Series that year. I do remember that Ken Boyer had a hand in the Cardinals victory over the Cubs.  Later that year, Ken and Clete Boyer became the only brothers to hit home runs in the same game of a World Series – in this case the decisive Game 7 won by Ken and the Cards over Clete and the Yankees (one of my earliest World Series memories). A former colleague and I also saw a great day game at Wrigley in 2007 from terrific seats beside the third base dugout courtesy of a mutual friend.

This year, I had the good fortune to experience Wrigley as a bleacher bum. We sat out in center field and took in all the sights and sounds that go along with being “out with the people.” It was great fun – as you can see in the picture above.  I didn’t get too much ribbing for showing up in full Nats gear and I was able to cheer for a Cubbies win since they were playing the Mets who are in the same division as the Nationals. We also got to see the Cubs debut of Anthony Rizzo, who since went on to win Rookie of the Month for July in the National League. Wrigley is, of course, one of the icons in baseball and well deserving of the honor.  It also needs some updating, along the lines of the award-winning renovation at Fenway Park. But as I’ve written before, calls to demolish Wrigley showcase all that is wrong with the modern sports-industrial complex.  Save Wrigley indeed!

While this visit didn’t actually move my number forward, it got me off to a great start for the summer of 2012.

Exactly one month later I was in St. Louis for a speech and meeting, but had the good fortune to take in a St. Louis Cardinals day game in the new Busch Stadium. I went as the guest of a good friend and his wife, and the tickets were – how shall I say this – directly across the diamond from the center field bleachers. Great view! The home-standing Cards were playing the Los Angeles Dodgers and their new man Hanley Ramirez, and the Cardinals won 7-4, punctuated with a strikeout to end the game.

Technically, this didn’t advance my number either, because I saw a Cardinals game in old Busch Stadium in 1993. However, I’ll take this wonderful venue anytime.  The stadium sits right on the street in downtown St. Louis (I walked about a block from my hotel), it has a cozy feel, Stan “The Man” Musial is appropriately recognized with his own statue (see photo above), the sightlines out to the arch and city are awe-inspiring, and it appears that all the seats provide a great view of the field. Now, if they could just do something about that heat and humidity…

Earlier this week, I finally added another to my “ballparks visited” list when I went to San Francisco’s AT&T Park with colleagues and friends.  This was an especially meaningful visit, as I grew up as a Willie Mays and Giants fan. So the first stop – as seen at the top of the post – was by the Willie Mays statue in front of Willie Mays gate.  The Giants have done a great job of recognizing their players from the past, not just Mays, as important as he is to the history of baseball.  Orlando Cepeda was in the house and looking dapper as he handed out an award to Melky Cabrera before the game. Every left-handed batter who steps into the box tries to hit a “splash hit” into McCovey Cove – named after Willie “Stretch” McCovey, one of the most feared left-handed hitters of his day.

As could only happen in San Francisco, the Giants were handing out Jerry Garcia bobbleheads (for a hefty price) in honor of Jerry Garcia day on what would have been the 70th birthday of the Grateful Dead’s guitarist. Band mate Bob Weir sang a beautiful national anthem with the Giants third base coach Tim Flannery.  (A singing coach was a first for me!) At the seventh inning stretch, Dead drummer Mickey Hart and Deadhead Bill Walton led the crowd in Take Me Out to the Ballgame (see photo of them waving to the crowd above). All in all you knew you had left St. Louis and could only be in San Francisco.

The weather was cool, but perfect, and a full moon came out to shine on McCovey Cove. Unless it is the view of the Rocky Mountains from Coors Field, I’m hard pressed to think of a better ballpark view than AT&T Park. The game was close, with the visiting Mets leaving 13 men on base, yet eking out a 2-1 victory over Matt Cain.

To keep my streak going, I’m looking at Tampa Bay Rays games for when I’m in Florida later this month.  I think it will work!

I want to thank some of the folks who have either encouraged me in the quest, have provided tickets (some pretty wonderful tickets I must say – such as the Citizens Bank box in Citizens Bank Park in Philly), or have cheerfully volunteered to attend a game with me.  I wouldn’t be at this point without their encouragement and help, so many thanks to Alicia, Amelia, Anthea, Barb, Candice, Claire, Dolores, Donald, Genell, Kevin, Jonathan, Mark, Marty, Nancy, and Tom.

For those keeping score, here’s the ballparks visited list:

  • Atlanta Braves – Fulton County Stadium (multiple visits in 1980s; still need to visit Turner Field)
  • Baltimore Orioles – Camden Yards (multiple visits in 1990s and 2000s)
  • Boston Red Sox – Fenway Park (1988)
  • Chicago Cubs – Wrigley Field (1964, 2007, 2012)
  • Colorado Rockies – Coors Field (2008)
  • Kansas City Royals – Kauffman Stadium (2009)
  • Milwaukee Brewers – Miller Park (2005)
  • Oakland A’s – Oakland Coliseum (2008)
  • Philadelphia Phillies – Citizens Bank Park (2008)
  • San Francisco Giants – AT&T Park (2012)
  • Seattle Mariners – Safeco Field (2009)
  • St. Louis Cardinals – Busch Stadium (old – 1993; new – 2012)
  • Washington Nationals – RFK (multiple times) and Nationals Park (multiple times + part of a season ticket group 2012)

And here are the ballparks remaining to visit list:

  • Arizona Diamondbacks – Chase Field
  • Cincinnati Reds – Great American Ball Park
  • Chicago White Sox – US Cellular Field (I’ve seen it from the outside, but haven’t made a game)
  • Cleveland Indians – Jacobs Field (I drove by this on a game day last year, but had to give a speech while the opening pitch was taking place. I’ll work on my priorities in the future.)
  • Detroit Tigers – Comerica Park (Another park I’ve seen but haven’t made a game.)
  • Houston Astros- Minute Maid Park
  • Los Angeles Angels – Angel Stadium
  • Los Angeles Dodgers – Dodger Stadium
  • Miami Marlins – Marlins Park
  • Minnesota Twins – Target Field
  • New York Mets – Citi Field (I thought I was going to catch this one earlier this year on a New York trip, but it didn’t work out.  This is an easy one, as often as I’m in NYC.)
  • New York Yankees – Yankee Stadium (I know – how can I not have made it to Yankee stadium yet?!  Just goes to show I’ve never been a big Yankees fan)
  • Pittsburgh Pirates – PNC Park
  • San Diego Padres – Petco Park
  • Tampa Bay Rays – Tropicana Field (If all goes as planned, this will move to the “visited” list the week of August 20th)
  • Texas Rangers – Texas Stadium
  • Toronto Blue Jays – Rogers Centre

If I’m able to make it to Tampa this month, I’ll have 14 out of 30 ballparks…with a month to go in this season plus three additional years to meet that 2015 deadline.  Yikes!  I need to pick up the pace.  So let me know if you believe in the Church of Baseball and want to join me at any of the 16 still on the list.  Time for a road trip!

More to come…

DJB

Eating Local

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With a great deal of travel on my schedule for June – November, I’m trying to focus on what’s wonderful about leaving home.

So this will not be a post about the state of the airline industry in the U.S.

Instead, I am thinking about food. Local food to be exact.

Regular readers will know that I like to avoid chains and hotel restaurants when I travel, seeking instead the local landmark. I’m only two days into this week’s trip to the west coast and I’ve already hit my “go local” stride.

Lunch on Tuesday came from a wonderful cheese and sandwich shop named Cheese Plus which features tasty sandwiches with locally themed names such as the Willie Brown Duck (named for former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown), Crissy Field, and Castro’s Cubano.  I had the Happy Thanksgiving, which – along with the brisk city breeze and temperatures in the 60s – made me wish for the fall.

After a drive to Sonoma County to view a site where we’re working, and especially after a temperature rise of what seemed like 30 degrees, thoughts of fall were gone and we were looking for something cool. My colleague Anthony directed us to a California institution – Foster’s Freeze – in Sebastopol, and we satisfied our cravings for soft serve ice cream in a historic setting (for those of us who think of old fast food places as historic).

My luck continued for dinner. Based on Anthony’s recommendation (as he had done such a great job in finding Foster’s), a colleague and I tried a small neighborhood eatery, the Mission Beach Cafe, and had a wonderful meal featuring fresh local and organic ingredients.  A restaurant with great food PLUS an acoustic music track in the background that included Alison Krauss and the Soggy Bottom Boys is A+ in my book!

I do bring some local food traditions to my travels as well, and when I’m in San Francisco I always stop by Roxanne Cafe for breakfast when I’m around Nob Hill. This trip was no different. Wednesday morning found me ensconced in this small neighborhood cafe having my eggs and reading the newspaper on my tablet.  The walk down the hill to breakfast is easy. Life is good.  Heading back up the hill after enjoying a simple breakfast? Not so easy.

Wednesday lunch was a real treat as my colleagues and I were at Fort Baker, the old army post turned hotel and institute. Lunch at the Murray Circle Restaurant not only featured fine food, but it isn’t every day you get to gaze out the window and see the Golden Gate Bridge peeking in and out of the fog.

We have seen some remarkable preservation work – and challenges – this week. In the process, we’ve learned from some very smart people. Finding new local eateries along the way helps ground us in this place and this moment…and that’s a very good way to work when you’re all about saving the authentic and the original.

I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

More to come…

DJB

G.A.S. continued: Or how I ended up with another guitar

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I hadn’t planned to buy another guitar.  Seriously.

But sometimes good things happen when you least expect it.

I HAD planned to try to meet the maker of my Running Dog guitar on my next trip to Seattle. Since I bought it used from a guitar shop in Amherst, Massachusetts, I didn’t know Rick Davis, the builder who made my parlor style instrument back in 2001. But after playing it for a couple of years, I wanted to meet the guy who built such wonderful small guitars with the beautiful tone.

A recent trip to the west coast gave me the opportunity to stop by Rick’s shop in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle (aka, The Center of the Universe). Rick shares his shop with his partner, Cat Fox, and they couldn’t have been more welcoming. Rick told me the provenance of my 2001 Parlor guitar.  I learned he was the subject of Tim Brooke’s 2005 book Guitar: An American Life.  And I played a beautiful 2011 Ought-3 model. (I also noodled on a baritone guitar, although I really didn’t know what to do with it – I’m not that good a musician.)

But the Ought-3 – which is sized between my dreadnought and parlor guitars – stayed with me. The neck, as I’ve come to expect from Rick’s guitars, fit my hand like a glove. A 1 3/4″ width at the nut made it perfect for fingerpicking. The warm tone comes up to the player through the soundport, in a way that I had never experienced. The beautiful Camatillo rosewood back and sides along with the quirky Hippocamus head stock turned it into a work of art.

I went back to my hotel, but couldn’t get the guitar out of my mind. I posted a note to Facebook, and my guitar-playing cousin weighed in urging that I go for it. Candice and I talked — first by email and then later by phone. She knows how much I have loved playing the parlor guitar, and she was incredibly supportive. In the end, we decided to take Hershey’s advice and go for it.

When I called Rick to tell him I wanted the Ought-3, he said, “Come over and play it some more before you decide.” Most of Rick’s guitars are custom-designed and built, so he wanted to make sure this was the guitar for me. He graciously agreed to meet me the next night after I finished an early dinner, and I sat in his shop and played for an hour or so. Now it can be nerve-wracking to play for a builder (who is also a guitarist), but Rick encouraged me to relax, commented on a Doc Watson tune I played, and told me more about this guitar. Before the night was over I had bought a new guitar and got a ride back to the hotel from its builder.

My new Ought-3 arrived last Friday, and I’ve played it constantly since then.  Here’s how Rick’s website describes the model:

“Running Dog’s Ought-3 is based on the 000 of the 1930s. The longer scale length gives the Ought-3 more power and projection while retaining the resonance of the 12-fret neck. The Ought-3 name comes from both the Martin 000 and from the first year I built one, 2003.“

And for you gear heads, here are the specs:

  • Soundboard: Bearclaw Sitka spruce
  • Back & Sides: Camatillo rosewood
  • Neck:  Mahogany
  • Binding:  Maple
  • Purfling:  Poplar (dyed)
  • Bridge and fingerboard:  Ebony
  • Width: 15″
  • Scale length: 25.4″
  • Width at nut: 1 3/4″

Options: Venetian cutaway, Soundport, Redwood burl rosette, and the “Hippocampus” seahorse inlay.

As I played it this weekend, Candice and I both marveled at the tone.  It has been great to get to know this guitar – and I’m looking forward to having it teach me more music for a long, long time.

If you are wondering what G.A.S. stands for, it is shorthand for “Guitar Acquisition Syndrome.” I love each of my guitars for different reasons and to play different types of music. But I will admit that I had to put new strings on my other guitars knowing that I’d never pick them up anytime soon if I the strings were old.  Not to worry…I’ve played all three this weekend

But that Ought-3…perhaps it should be the Ahhhh-3. What a wonderful guitar.  Thank you Rick!

More to come…

DJB

(Photos from Running Dog Guitar)

Shark attack in downtown Silver Spring!

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As I walked to the gym this morning I saw cranes around the Discovery Building. My hopes were confirmed on the way home: SHARK WEEK!

Three times since Discovery Communications moved around the corner from us in downtown Silver Spring, a giant, inflatable shark has shown up swimming through their landmark building to celebrate Shark Week.  A friend who works for Discovery told me that they call him “Chompie.”

Throughout the day I wandered over to Discovery to check on the progress of Chompie’s arrival in our fair city and I’ve posted photos below of everything but the dorsal fin. (I don’t have access to the top floor of the NOAA building, which is about the only place short of an airplane where one can appreciate the entire ensemble.)  A job foremen told me today that each element has two tubes that continuously pump in cold air to keep it inflated.  They didn’t bite on my suggestion that they put a Nats cap on Chompie this year to recognize the good season that Roger “The Shark” Bernadina is having for the hometown Nationals.

In any event, enjoy watching Chompie come to life.

More to come…

DJB

The Steel Wheels: Rolling Through The Hamilton

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Washington, DC can be a tough place.

But from the opening chords of Shady Grove to the final notes of Working on a Building, The Steel Wheels had the enthusiastic crowd at The Hamilton in the palm of their hands on Thursday evening in downtown Washington.

I first heard this band live at Merlefest 25 in April, and was blown away by their musicianship, tight vocals, and energy.

All of that and more was on display last evening in the intimate and beautiful music venue The Hamilton.

Singer Trent Wagler has a very distinctive voice and a writing style that continues to grow and mature as you listen to the band’s offerings on CD. He also fires up the energy that is a hallmark of this group.  Jay Lapp on mandolin and guitar along with Eric Brubaker on fiddle played off Wagler and each other perfectly throughout the show.  Their rhythmic dancing and bobbing reminded me more than once of the Soggy Bottom Boys performance on stage in O Brother, Where Art Thou?  – and that’s a compliment since it is one of my two favorite movies of all time. Bassist Brian Dickel holds down the low end and adds the occasional harmony when the group moves into quartet mode.

There are so many things that work well for this group, but the great singing makes it all come together.  This is one tight quartet, and their voices – each with a unique twist – work to make a sound that is greater than the sum of its parts. The musicianship is terrific and the arrangements are inventive. The energy never flags and I was exhausted for them at the end of the show. Finally, the songwriting is really first-rate.

A word about the venue as well.  Open for less than a year, this was our first time to visit The Hamilton and it is a real treasure for DC.  In one visit it became my new favorite place to listen to music.  I wish I could go back tonight to catch Tony Trischka, but we’re definitely booking a Gospel Brunch there soon, and on August 5th I hope to see another favorite steel-themed band:  The SteelDrivers. The room is intimate in feeling, the sound system is superb, and the wait staff is very friendly.  Well done!

Last night’s show included a lot of music from recent albums, including the new release Lay Down, Lay Low which is a terrific CD.  I’ll end with two videos from the Live at Goose Creek CD: the tunes Spike Driver and Nothing You Can’t Lose.

Enjoy!

More to come…

DJB

 

 

Everyone Loves a Parade

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Few things top a small town parade on July 4th.

Especially when the small town is Takoma Park, MD – home to one of the quirkiest and liveliest parades around.

Takoma Park has – to put it mildly – a progressive bent. I’ve written about these sensibilities, and their wonderful July 4th parade, before in More to Come.

So besides the obligatory Uncle Sam, the antique cars, and the politicians, this July 4th parade has a few things you’re unlikely to see in your average small town salute to liberty and independence.

Like the precision grill team.

Some of the entries are just silly. (This is a parade that gives out a “Wacky Tacky Takoma Award!) In the past, the Takoma Park parade has featured a precision drill team of environmentally friendly reel mowers.  Those good folks were missing this year, but in their place was the precision grill team.

Outfitted with their aprons, beaters, and spatulas, they marched along with the local organic food market, holding signs that asked, “You want a piece of this?”  Candice, Claire, and I – who took the short Metro ride to Takoma Park and claimed our traditional shady spot on Maple Street – all laughed at the silliness.

Takoma Park also has an abundance of steel drum units and brightly dressed dancers. Claire swore she knew the popular songs the drum units were playing. To my ear they all sounded alike, but set your feet to dancing nonetheless.

But the real fun begins with the political theatre that’s always in evidence in Takoma Park. This year there was a satire on the Tea Party, and many references to Mitt Romney’s poor dog Seamus and his ride to Canada on the roof of the car.

So enjoy some more pictures from the parade…and have a Happy 4th!

More to come…

DJB

Cleaned garage

The satisfaction of a well-cleaned garage

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I’ll admit it right up front:  it is weird but few things satisfy me like my twice-yearly garage cleaning ritual. There is a joy in realizing that you don’t really need all the junk you’ve stuck in every nook and cranny over the past six months. I like clearing the cobwebs metaphorically and physically.

So I was looking forward to digging in the mounds of trash today (i.e., Andrew’s boxes crammed with junk he’d “packed” before coming home from college for the summer).

Normally I do this project all by myself. I plug in the earphones, turn to the Americana playlist, get in the zone with The SteelDrivers or Tedeschi Trucks Band, and wrap it all up three or four hours later.

But this year Candice said she wanted to help. Hmmm. That could be great. Or not.

Candice and I had been married for 2-3 years when we began working on the first historic house we renovated together. Not knowing that much about the other partner, we decided to “share” the work. Bad idea.

I was never able to take all the paint off the baseboards in a way that satisfied Candice’s sense of detail. Her speed in stripping the old wallpaper off could best be described as glacial. We snipped at each other, and it looked like we were headed toward joining that great list of couples who began renovating a house and end up in divorce court.

Luckily – on all sorts of levels – we quickly decided that I was “big picture” and Candice was “detail” and we’d divide the work along those lines. She could strip those baseboards until the cows came home while I could pull down wallpaper with abandon in room after room.  It got us through two completely renovated houses, so we knew it worked. Ever since, when we have a job to do together we try to divide the work accordingly.

I was worried that with both of us involved with the garage,  today’s cleaning project was going to get bogged down in a discussion of whether to keep that old oil lamp that her brother gave us. (On that part, I was right. It did get bogged down over that item. I lost. The lamp stayed.) But I started the project first, began in one corner, and got into my Zen state before Candice came down and began on the opposite end by going through Andrew’s boxes.

And I was on a roll. I went without the earphones and music today, so I was in the moment, “doing one thing at a time” (which is a simple definition of Zen.) Chop wood.  Carry water. (Candice will faint when she reads the first part of this paragraph.) We started at 11 in the morning, and I looked up at 1:30 in the afternoon and “my” side was finished and looking pretty damn good.

Then I lost my way.

After lunch I moved over to help Candice with “her” side. (I’d only made the distinction when I realized that I was going to complete the side where I began hours before Candice wrapped up her work.) And that’s where the troubles began.

We’re the only family I know that has two perfectly good desk chairs that sit unused in our garage. We also have two old chairs that we bought at auction from the old Masonic temple in Staunton which – if I were a betting man – I’d bet will never hold a person in them again. They all stayed. We have more picture frames than the Frame Gallery. Books…don’t get me started on books! I’m the main culprit in terms of acquisition but I will get rid of books that have little or no chance of ever being cracked again by anyone on the face of the earth. Suffice it to say, we have a lot of books in our garage.

All of these things are being held for a mythical “second house” that we’re going to buy sometime in the future.  Our 89-year-old neighbor came over to check on our progress and when Candice mentioned that we were holding some of these items for a second home, he replied, “Oh yeah, our house in Rehoboth is chock full of our stuff.  Every closet is packed with old pictures.”  Candice thought this was a great idea. You can’t make this stuff up!

But I quickly gained my equilibrium, and we plowed through to the end. Because we have so many pictures, we now have the children’s grade school art work hanging in the garage. Claire – whose total contribution to this project was to empty the dishwasher this morning – saw the pictures hanging on the wall and said she thought it looked dumb. I told her we did it to embarrass her when she brought friends in through the back door. She thinks her parents are screwy. I think we’re pretty clever in that Candice and I figured out a way to work together and get a laugh out of the process.

So now the garage is cleaned for another six months. The boxes in the left part of the picture that appear to be out-of-place are actually Gourmet magazines waiting to be taken upstairs to be added to Candice’s collection that goes back to the 1960s. (I kid you not.) And Candice and I – while sore as hell – are basking in the satisfaction of a well-cleaned garage.

And how did Claire’s day work out, you ask? After the strenuous work on the dishwasher, she went to a movie, lunch with two friends from grade school, and now she’s out with a friend from Pomona at a Rascal Flatts concert at some place called Jiffy Lube Live. (You really can’t make this stuff up!) Andrew just sent me a message from Barcelona, saying he’s found the city he wants to live in.

My kids just think they live the good life.  Ha!  I have a well-cleaned garage.

More to come…

DJB

Image: The garage, with everything in its place.

Remembering Don

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Temple House of Israel in Staunton VA

Temple House of Israel, Staunton, VA

It is the kind of email you never want to receive: a long-time friend was injured in a serious car accident on Monday. Wednesday he was taken off life support. Funeral on Friday.

So Candice and I left early this morning to drive the three hours to our old Shenandoah Valley home of Staunton to remember Don, mourn his death which came too early, and celebrate his life with his wife Ruth, son Philip, and many other friends.

The service began in the beautiful Temple House of Israel, designed in 1925 by Staunton architect Sam Collins in the Moorish Revival Style. The haunting Jewish melodies sung by a trio of women rolled around the wood, plaster, and tile interior.

Rabbi Joe Blair nailed Don in the eulogy.  There was much laughter and more than a few tears.

Don was one-of-a-kind.  He loved telling jokes while sitting around a table filled with wine, food he had cooked, family, and friends. I had my first pomegranate one evening after Don sliced the fruit and passed it around for all to enjoy. I can still taste the wonderful garlic from Don and Ruth’s table.

Don loved classical music, so I was surprised one evening when I walked in his house and heard the David Grisman and Andy Statman Songs of our Fathers CD coming through the speakers. We began talking about the Jewish melodies and mandolins and one thing led to another.  All of a sudden Don announced that he had gone to high school with Dr. Banjo!  “You’re kidding,” I replied, “You went to school with Pete Wernick?” Yep, said Don, matter-of-factly. Then he proceeded to talk some bluegrass for a while.  As the rabbi said today, Don had an amazing ability to remember a sometimes annoying amount of information – even for music that would have been obscure for most Jewish kids from Brooklyn.

Don loved his family and teaching.  The rabbi told stories today to illustrate both. When Ruth was losing her hair in a successful battle with cancer, Don told her not to worry because he had married her, not her hair. When asked how long he had been married, Don would invariably reply, “Not long enough!”  Don also loved his physics students at JMU, “except for those pre-med students who were only taking physics because they had to.” In those cases, Don would say “I saved a lot of lives by failing them.”

Don died much too young, but by being an organ donor he gave the gift of life on Wednesday to another patient at the University of Virginia medical center.  That’s not the only way his life continues, but it was a comforting thought today.

Rest in peace Don. You lived a good life and have a whole community you touched in ways you could have never realized.

More to come…

DJB

You Know Your Team Has Had a Rough Day…

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You know your team has had a rough day when the President’s Race is the best thing on the “Nats Highlights” reel at the end of the day.

Yes, Thomas Jefferson wiped out George, Abe, and finally Teddy with a series of pretty impressive body checks before crossing the finish line at the head of the pack. But on a beautiful Father’s Day in Washington, the home-standing Nationals couldn’t match  Tom’s effort and come up with the timely hits they needed.  Unfortunately, they also  made a couple of uncharacteristic blunders that led to a 4-1 Yankees win and a sweep of the weekend series.

But I was enjoying the weather, the sell-out crowd…and my daughter Claire. So all-in-all it was a pretty wonderful day.

And as is true with any day at the ballpark, you’ll always see something you’ve never seen before.

Today (besides Tom wiping out Teddy just before the finish line), it was fun to watch 19-year-old phenom Bryce Harper rap out a double…

…and then spend the next minute or so chatting with first-ballot Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter on second base. I don’t know if they had met before (Harper was 0-7 in yesterday’s 14-inning marathon, so I know Harper and Jeter didn’t run into each other on the base paths in that game). The body language of the two seemed to indicate that they were taking advantage of the moment to introduce themselves. A friendly pat on the rump from Harper as Jeter headed back to short and Jeter’s returning the gesture with a small wave of his glove led me to believe that the respect was flowing both ways.

So even with a loss, the Nats remain in first place by 4 games. If you had told me our Nationals would go 6-3 in the first 9 games against the American League East, and would be leading their division on Father’s Day, I’d have taken it in a heartbeat. Enjoy a couple of other photos from a beautiful Father’s Day.

More to come…

DJB