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Pacific Grove-by-God

Posted on August 21, 2018 by DJB

Lone Cypress (photo credit: Claire Brown)

For several years I’ve regularly traveled for work to Monterey, California, a small coastal city some two hours south of San Francisco. So when we went looking for a west coast destination for this year’s family vacation, I suggested we check out the Monterey Peninsula. Now that we’ve wrapped up a week-long visit to Pacific Grove—next-door neighbor to the city of Monterey—we’re just coming to realize how much we’ve seen and explored in this new (to us) part of the world.

Let’s begin with the coastline, the attraction to visitors for thousands of years. I awoke every day shortly after 6 a.m. and went for walks of as much as two hours along the well-used (and well-loved) Monterey Bay Coastal Trail. Pacific Grove’s portion of this 18-mile trail, which follows the path of the old Southern Pacific Railroad train tracks, hews close to the water and rock-strewn coastline, while Monterey’s comes inland a bit to incorporate Cannery Row, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Fisherman’s Wharf. My walk often began before sunrise and was shrouded in fog. Thankfully, Carmel Coffee Roasters in downtown Pacific Grove opens at 6 a.m. seven days a week, so I was well fortified with java.

Harbor Seals at Pacific Grove

Coastline along Pacific Grove (photo credit: Claire Brown)

Monterey’s submarine canyon is in such close proximity to the shore that the bay has deep, cold, nutrient-rich water all year. This brings all types of marine mammals and sea birds close to the shore. I enjoyed watching the harbor seals lounge on the rocks and along the beach at the Stanford Marine Institute, listening to the sea lions bark from their perch along the rocks in Monterey, and tracing the flight of a wide array of birds out for their morning breakfast. I would stop and read along the way and found that Pacific Grove and Monterey have done a good job of capturing the stories and people from their diverse histories. It was on one of these markers that I learned that Pacific Grove developed an Episcopal camp-meeting history in the 1880s and that Monterey had a very diverse workforce in the commercial fishing and canning industries. That led one wag to suggest that you could tell Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey-by-the-Smell, and Pacific Grove-by-God.

Pacific Grove Panorama (photo credit: Claire Brown)

We also took advantage of the coastline for a day trip down to Big Sur along California Highway 1. This coastal road—famous for its stunning views—did not disappoint. Along the way we stopped to take in the Lone Cypress (technically on the 17-mile road at Pebble Beach), the famous Bixby Bridge, and McWay Falls, a beautiful waterfall that fell into the ocean at Big Sur. We happened to go on a simply glorious day, with no clouds or fog and a California-perfect 80 degrees.

Bixby Bridge (photo credit: Claire Brown)

DJB at the famous Bixby Bridge

Candice and DJB at the Lone Cypress in Pebble Beach

McWay Falls

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is the major tourist attraction in the area and after a visit it is easy to see why. They have crowd-pleasers (how can you resist the feeding of otters and penguins) mixed in with educational exhibits (don’t miss the live-narrated films) and secluded tanks where one can sit and marvel at the amazing creatures found under the surface of the Bay. We spent an entire day at the aquarium and felt we’d only seen a glimpse.

School of Fish at the Aquarium (photo credit: Claire Brown)

Jellyfish at Monterey Bay Aquarium

As we were leaving Pacific Grove on Saturday morning, Claire and I took in a Whale Watching tour on the Bay. It was a wonderful three hours, where we saw a humpback whale breach the water in a way that takes one’s breath away, countless dolphins looking so playful as they swam by, sea lions that came up to give our boat a close look, and sea birds too numerous to capture in a blog post. Very memorable.

Sea Lion comes in to inspect the Whale Watchers

Dolphins seen on our Whale Watching tour

A Humpback Whale Dives into the Monterey Bay

I couldn’t resist the opportunity to take the family over for a behind-the-scenes tour of our National Trust site, the Cooper-Molera Adobe, which will reopen in about a month after three years’ work to reimagine this hub of Monterey history, commerce, and agriculture. The Barns at Cooper-Molera are already busy hosting special events, and the new bakery and restaurant, along with the re-interpreted historic adobes, will soon be ready to greet the public.

Of course, this couldn’t be a Brown vacation without great food. Two Pacific Grove restaurants became favorites, as we visited both twice over the course of seven days: Passionfish and Jeninni Kitchen + Wine Bar. And after taking Claire back home to Oakland on Saturday, we had a culinary feast at Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, this time in the downstairs restaurant. (Our first visit a year ago had been to the upstairs cafe.) Here’s a description of what is intended for the restaurant, from the Chez Panisse website:

“From the beginning, Alice and her partners tried to do things the way they wanted them done at a dinner party at home, with generosity and attention to detail. The Restaurant, located downstairs, is open for dinner Monday through Saturday, by reservation only. The fixed menu consists of three to four courses and changes nightly, each designed to be appropriate to the season and composed to feature the finest sustainably sourced, organic, peak-of-their-season ingredients, including meat, fish, and poultry.”

We found it to be one of the most thoughtful menus—and meals—we’d ever encountered. It was delightful, and we were pleased to share it with Claire and her friend Blair, who joined us for parts of the vacation.

Steinbeck Monument on Cannery Row

Finally, I went on something of a John Steinbeck kick while in Pacific Grove. I’d begun to read The Grapes of Wrath on the plane ride out to California, as I’d decided this was a good time in our history to revisit this classic tale of the best and worst of America. But while in Pacific Grove, we stopped in a wonderful independent bookstore and I picked up a Steinbeck Centennial Edition of Cannery Row, the short novel/poem on accepting life as it is and putting the highest value on “the intangibles—human warmth, camaraderie, and love.” Or, as Steinbeck writes early in the novel, “What can it profit a man to gain the whole world and to come to his property with a gastric ulcer, a blown prostate, and bifocals?”

“The Nature of Parties” by John Steinbeck from “Cannery Row”

Reading Cannery Row proved to be an unexpected joy in a vacation full of joy and thoughtfulness. I’ll let Doc’s last words in the book close out this remembrance:

“Even now,

I know that I have savored the hot taste of life

Lifting green cups and gold at the great feast.

Just for a small and a forgotten time

I have had full in my eyes from off my girl

The whitest pouring of eternal light——”

The Browns along the California Coast

More to come…

DJB

Filed under: Family, Heritage Travel, Historic Preservation, Recommended Readings | Tagged: Alice Waters, Big Sur, Bixby Bridge, Carmel Coffee Roasters, Chez Panisse, Cooper-Molera Adobe, Heritage Travel, Historic Preservation, McWay Falls, Monterey, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey Bay Coastal Trail, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Pacific Grove, Vacation, Vacations | 1 Comment »

Raised on Cornbread and Recollections

Posted on April 23, 2018 by DJB

Rowan Oak, Home of William Faulkner

Earlier this month, I joined other members of the National Trust on a memorable trip from Memphis down to the Mississippi Delta. Dr. Bill Ferris, the former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and one of the nation’s leading scholars on the American South, joined us and helped set the context for what we were seeing in places such as Oxford, Sumner, Indianola, and Dockery Farms. His remarks were a masters class in the connections of place with memory, history, food, drink, literature, race, and gender.

At one point, Bill noted that a relative of his liked to say that “he was raised on cornbread and recollections.” As someone who has eaten my fair share of cornbread, often quotes my grandmother, and tells stories passed down from my father, I understood completely.

We launched our journey into the Delta from Rowan Oak, William Faulkner’s home in Oxford. Both the site and writer are reminders of the importance of recollections and history to life today. Historic sites at their best are dynamic places where past, present, and future meet in a variety of ways. I often say that “the period of significance is now” with historic sites to point to those intersections. You cannot have been in the preservation field very long without hearing the famous William Faulkner quote from Requiem for a Nun, which goes, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” That’s very true at a place like Rowan Oak, where communities of people who write and love literature, admire architecture, and enjoy good liquor and good company all visit for remembrance and inspiration. (To that last point, Faulkner has another famous line which suggests that “pouring out liquor is like burning books.” He enjoyed his Four Roses.)

At its best, memory is a poet and not a historian. But not all recollections are correct, and some are purposefully misleading, including “Lost Cause” memories told by my beloved grandmother. Perhaps the most meaningful and moving part of the trip was the 90 minutes we spent at the courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where the murderers of young Emmett Till were tried and acquitted in 1955, setting off events that led to the modern Civil Rights movement. Visitors are invited to “engage in the story of Emmett Till, explore your own story, and create a new emerging story with us.” It is important to bring this past into the present, where we are still grappling with the racism that led to Till’s murder and the murder through lynching of at least 4,000 African Americans from 1877 – 1950. In that restored courthouse, we read aloud an apology from citizens of Tallahatchie County to the family of Emmett Till. One of our National Trust Council members spontaneously used that venue to speak from the heart about his mother’s recollections as a young African American woman in the Delta who was only five years older than Till. This is a historic site that exists to tell the story of Emmett Till in order to move people forward.

Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi

Site of the Emmett Till Murder Trial in Sumner, Mississippi

You don’t have to be a historian to play a role in the telling of the full American story. I happened to be with attorney Bryan Stevenson — the dynamic founder and head of the Equal Justice Institute — last week, and was reminded of the work we all have to do when he said “injustice prevails where hopelessness persists.” If we want to build communities and a nation full of hope, it is important that we set forth a new narrative about the injustices in our lives, past and present. Historic sites, monuments, and recollections are good places to begin.

Have a good week.

More to come…

DJB

Filed under: Family, Heritage Travel, Historic Preservation, Monday Musings | Tagged: B.B. King, Bryan Stevenson, Dockery Farms, Emmett Till, Equal Justice Institute, Historic Preservation, Leonard Pitts Jr., Monday Musings, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Rowan Oak, William Faulkner, William R. Ferris | Leave a comment »

Lenten Litany

Posted on February 19, 2018 by DJB

Central Tower of the Washington National Cathedral

At yesterday’s service on the First Sunday in Lent at the Washington National Cathedral, Andrew — a tenor in the men’s choir — was the soloist for the Lenten Litany. This particular version of the litany was arranged by Canon Michael McCarthy, the Director of Music at the National Cathedral.

It is a moving seven minutes of music, to help bring the faithful into an observance of the holy season of Lent. The solo begins around the 13 minute mark.

With blessings for whatever practice you bring to the season.

More to come…

DJB

Filed under: Acoustic Music, Family | Tagged: Andrew Bearden Brown, Family, Lent, Lenten Litany, Michael McCarthy, Washington National Cathedral | 3 Comments »

Memories

Posted on January 1, 2018 by DJB

Helen Roberts Brown – Mom

For the past two decades, New Year’s Day has had memories of loss mixed in with the anticipation of the coming year. Mother passed away on January 1, 1998, and while a day doesn’t go by when I don’t think of her, the memories are especially poignant on New Year’s Day.

Thankfully, mother’s life left many legacies in her family, her church, and her community. Mom’s love of family never changed and was unconditional. She loved each one of us as individuals who had unique gifts and ways to serve. The lives lived by her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren (who she never met) and in-laws are part of her legacy. Her commitment to her faith and her church was just as strong. She was a life-long reader (as was my father) and she shared that love through her decades of service at church libraries in Tennessee. She also believed in the power of women in the church, and became the first female deacon at First Baptist in Murfreesboro. Mom served her communities in so many ways, from PTA president to her years as the children’s librarian for the city. Mom’s commitment to reading and education was one reason the Helen Brown Scholarship Fund was established by her family at First Baptist Church. For two decades now it has helped young people attend college. Most of them never knew Mom, but they are blessed by her life and legacy.

As we look ahead to 2018, I’m reminded of a few of Mom’s many strengths which will help me face this new year with confidence in the future.

Treat everyone with respect. This seems old-fashioned after the year of taunts, lies, and slander we’ve endured. However, it still has meaning today, and Mom lived this value through good times and bad. She was the PTA president the year our school in Cookeville was desegregated. Very difficult times. Mom went through that year with her values leading the way, but with an understanding of the challenges she faced. I later heard her say that there were never any problems with the children in desegregating the schools, only with the parents. I am often reminded of that when I speak about others who are different from me.

Be the person you were meant to be. From their understanding of faith, Mother and Daddy gave us a blessing of unconditional love, unconditional acceptance, release to be the person God intends for us to be, and affirmation and support as we work out our understanding of who we are meant to be. They both said it out loud, and through their lives. Their unconditional acceptance also seems old-fashioned in a world where too many are frightened by those who are different, but to me it seems so necessary for our life as family and community.

Mom and Dad, with their “Helping Hands” aprons made by their grandchildren

Money can’t buy happiness. Mother and Daddy were never rich in money, but as Mom phrased it, they were rich in love. Mom would relate to a note from my Dad about money:

MONEY CAN BUY . . .

a bed, but not sleep

books, but not brains

food, but not appetite

finery, but not beauty

medicine, but not health

luxuries, but not culture

amusement, but not happiness

flattery, but not respect

a house, but not a home

companions, but not friends.

No woman of quality has ever preferred football to baseball. My mom never said this. The line actually comes from Thomas Boswell’s Why Is Baseball So Much Better Than Football? But Mom lived this. She would watch football and basketball, but she loved baseball. She told stories of going to old Sulphur Dell park with her father to watch the Nashville Vols. I’ve acquired her love of baseball and have passed it along to my daughter Claire (another woman of quality). Looking ahead to 2018, she would join me in my optimism for the Nats!

Memories live on. I once asked the singer-songwriter Claire Lynch if she ever played her tune These Flowers — about remembering a parent who has passed on — in concert. It was during a mid-set break, and I was hoping to hear this tune, which meant so much to me, live. She replied that she didn’t play it live because it was too emotional for her. I told her I understood, and added that I would probably start crying out in the audience. So when These Flowers came up on my playlist yesterday as I was driving home from dropping Claire (Brown) off at the airport, I — true to form — started crying.

We all gathered round, and stared in the ground,

While the heavens were weeping with rain.

We smiled. We cried. We said good-bye.

And the children made handsome bouquets,

From flowers that lay on your grave.

And on the long ride home, in their warm little hands.

The blossoms were withering fast.

So we wrapped them in paper and tucked them in books,

And prayed that the memory would last.

With these flowers.

Though time marches on and memories fade,

And flowers surrender their youth.

It’s funny how old pedals pressed on a page,

Brings everything back into view.

I still picture you there, in your favorite chair,

With grand-babies held on your knee.

And its hard to believe you’re really gone.

It’s as if we have all been asleep.

What we find when we wake from the dream…

Are these flowers. These flowers.

Twenty years later, the memories do fade. But then something…like New Year’s Day…comes around and everything comes back into view. Miss you mom. Love. David

More to come…

DJB

Filed under: Family, Rest in Peace | Tagged: Claire Lynch, Family, Helen Roberts Brown, Mother, Mother's Wisdom, Rest in Peace, These Flowers, Tom Boswell | 3 Comments »

Farewell 2017, Hello 2018

Posted on December 30, 2017 by DJB

An Age of Folly Indeed! The cover photo of Lewis Lapham’s newest book on how America Abandoned Its Democracy

I was so discouraged with our country’s direction at the end of 2016, that I missed what had become an annual More to Come… year-end update. Many commentators described 2017 as a “dumpster fire of a year.” Even Dave Barry had a hard time coming up with outrageous examples that exceeded our twisted reality. The title of this year’s review by Barry says it all: “2017: Did that really happen?”

My optimism for our country’s future hasn’t fully recovered in part because I find myself agreeing with Lewis Lapham when he writes:

“If the American system of government at present seems so patently at odds with its constitutional hopes and purposes, it is not because the practice of democracy no longer serves the interests of the presiding oligarchy (which it never did), but because the promise of democracy no longer inspires or exalts the citizenry lucky enough to have been born under its star. It isn’t so much that liberty stands at bay but, rather, that it has fallen into disuse, regarded as insufficient by both its enemies and its nominal friends. What is the use of free expression to people so frightened of the future that they prefer the comforts of the authoritative lie?”

Frightened by the future…that could be a theme of so much of 2017 in America.

It didn’t always seem this way. In my 2013 year-end post, I outlined seven rules for the next third of my life, with an optimism that I could live a long and fruitful life. For four years I’ve looked at them on my computer wallpaper as I’ve logged on in the morning. Colleagues have seen them and made comments. The family has been supportive. But in thinking recently about my difficulties in keeping up with my life goals in 2017, I realized that I had lost some faith in the future. My primary goal is to regain that faith in 2018.

Celebrating 25 years of Claire and Andrew – one of the great achievements of 2017!

At work and in our family life, 2017 was a year of progress and celebration, of which I am proud and which gives me hope for the future. But careful readers know that I can demonstrate some of the lighter symptoms of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), which a quick trip to sunnier climates (think the Pomona College Family Weekend in February) usually fixes. 2017 felt like a year when SAD-like symptoms (or perhaps TAD-like symptoms, and you can fill in the “T”) came and went throughout the year.

Reading a recent article by David DeSento helped me focus on what may have been missing from my 2017: that sense of gratitude for what I have been given. A psychologist, DeSento argues that social emotions — not willpower — helps us achieve our life goals.

“What these findings show is that pride (not arrogance, but pride in the skills one has), gratitude and compassion, whether we consciously realize it or not, reduce the human mind’s tendency to discount the value of the future. In so doing, they push us not only to cooperate with other people but also to help our own future selves. Feeling pride or compassion has been shown to increase perseverance on difficult tasks by over 30 percent. Likewise, gratitude and compassion have been tied to better academic performance, a greater willingness to exercise and eat healthily, and lower levels of consumerism, impulsivity and tobacco and alcohol use.

If using willpower causes stress, using these emotions actually heals: They slow heart rate, lower blood pressure and reduce feelings of anxiety and depression. By making us value the future more, they ease the way to patience and perseverance.”

I had recently been thinking about gratefulness and thankfulness. Putting all this together, I realized that I needed to add an eighth life rule for 2018 and beyond. So…here’s a quick look at that new rule plus some thoughts on how I did in 2017 with the original seven.

1. Be Grateful. Be Thankful. Be Compassionate. Every Day. Several years ago I made it a habit to say thank you to one person each day. Even in 2017, I managed to maintain that habit. Moving forward with this new rule, I want to expand that habit to being intentional about gratefulness, thankfulness, and compassion.

2. Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life. I had a good pattern of daily exercise through 2016, resulting in weight stabilization. Unfortunately, that didn’t continue in 2017, and my weight returned. For 2018, I want to look with gratitude at the health I’ve had through six decades of life, and find ways to build on that outlook to maintain it. I’m also going to keep the cartoon in mind where the doctor asks his middle-aged male patient, “Which is more inconvenient for you? 1 hour a day of exercise or 24 hours a day of dead?”

3. Listen more than you talk. It is always a challenge when I find myself in a place of some authority (either at work or home) not to grab the bully pulpit. While David Isay, the founder of Story Corps, says listening is hard, he also notes that listening is an act of love…and act that one never regrets. Both thoughts are worth remembering.

4. Spend less than you make. 2017 was another year when I didn’t buy any new guitars! (Although I can say that I gave it some serious thought.) I’m continuing to adjust some of my expectations in order to live with much less regular income in the not-too-distant future. I’m also thinking more about what to give away and how to do that to support those who have less.

5. Quit eating crap! Eat less of everything else. Candice, Andrew, and Claire all support me in this effort, but I know I turned to comfort food more than I should have in 2017. Like the rule about spending, I want to think about how eating less is an act of gratitude that what I have is enough.

6. Play music. The world is a better place when I play music. My music is better when I play with others. That’s the goal for 2018.

7. Connect and commit. Over the years since I set these rules, we made real progress in gathering people together on a regular basis. That slipped some in 2017. In the list Candice and I are assembling of 50 things we want to do in 2018, we already have a number of connections identified.

8. Don’t be a Grumpy Old Man. Enjoy life! I tried very hard not to let my SAD or TAD symptoms show through to others…in part, because this is probably the life rule I remember every day. But there is still progress to be made…and in addition to Ursula Le Guin’s recent book of essays on growing old, I enjoyed reading yesterday’s New York Times article entitled, Want to Be Happy? Think Like an Old Person. I laughed. I smiled. I saw some traits I recognized. I saw some things to work on.

Okay 2018: bring it on!

More to come…

DJB

Filed under: Family, Random DJB Thoughts | Tagged: Dave Barry, Family, Gratefulness, Lewis Lapham, Random DJB Thoughts, Thankfulness, Ursula K. Le Guin, Year in Review | 1 Comment »

Our Year in Photos – 2017

Posted on November 21, 2017 by DJB

The Browns at the St. Alban’s Parish Christmas Day Dinner 2016

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 2017.

This has been another difficult year in our country, as we break into tribes and as the growing income inequality pushes us farther apart. We forget that the American experiment is built around ideas, not tribal groups, and that a sharing of common opportunities and challenges is important to being a citizen. That experiment survives only if we celebrate all our fellow citizens and embrace the full American story. We have not always succeeded, but we must keep trying in the year ahead.

Candice and I were thankful that Andrew and Claire were home for the Christmas break late in 2016. Some of the errands and visits were more mundane than others—such as shopping for new glasses—but this one made for a good opportunity to take a picture of our two favorite children!

Clarity is a pair of new glasses: Andrew and Claire, December 2016

In January, Candice and I were fortunate to spend the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend in New York City, where we saw the amazing musical Hamilton. It truly lived up to the hype. (Our selfie-taking abilities…on the other hand…leave much to be desired.) Andrew was also “on stage” in January as one of the three kings at St. John’s Lafayette Square’s traditional Epiphany celebration.

In line to see Hamilton in New York City

Andrew (left) as one of the Magi during St. John’s Epiphany celebration

We were back in New York State not too many weeks later. Thirty-five years ago in March, Candice and I began our life journey together. To celebrate, we had a relaxing and restorative long weekend at Mohonk Mountain House, one of our favorite places.

Celebrating our 35th Anniversary at a snowy Mohonk Mountain House in March 2017

While we were in the snowy northeast, Claire was enjoying California, her home for the past six years. She has always been our lover of the great outdoors, and during the first half of the year she went hiking and camping in the beautiful Joshua Tree National Park, visited the Grand Canyon with Southern California friends, hosted Andrew during her last couple of months in Los Angeles, and gathered together for a reunion with her Episcopal Urban Intern Program housemates.

Joshua Tree at sunset (photo by Claire)

Hiking the Grand Canyon

Claire’s reunion with EUIP Housemates

Baseball season began in April, and that can only mean one thing: Let’s Go Nats! David made it to Opening Day for the first time in his life, and Andrew went along to help kick off the new season. (Andrew ended up going to five games on both coasts, perhaps joining Dad and Claire as true-blue baseball fans.)

Old Glory at Opening Day

Celebration was in the air in May and June for all types of special family events: Mother’s Day, weddings, Andrew and Claire’s exploration of LA, and Father’s Day.

Celebrating Mother’s Day

The family gathers to celebrate life and love with Erin and Jonathan

Claire and Andrew explore LA

Drinking whiskey at Jack Rose on Father’s Day

Andrew and Claire look very stylish in celebrating a dear friend’s wedding in Sarasota

Claire was home for a month between July and August, as she transitioned from living in Southern California to attending graduate school at Berkeley. She took time to hang with Andrew, Mom, and Dad and attend a beach weekend with close friends from Pomona College.

Dad does his best to make baseball fans of the next generation

Pomona College friends reunion at the beach in Maryland

The entire family was able to come together in August for a week in Wellfleet, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. It was a nice time of relaxation, exploration, and—of course—eating well.

Finishing up a puzzle – a Brown vacation tradition

Andrew meeting author Alison Bechdel during a book tour event in Wellfleet

Fall has been a busy season, with another family wedding, Claire beginning her new adventure in graduate school, Andrew’s singing career stepping up to a new level, celebration of holidays, and traveling across the country.

David and Emily Ghattas celebrate with their cousins from around the world

Candice and DJB enjoy Chicago with David’s sister Debbie and her husband Mark

Claire – on the first day of kindergarten and the first day of graduate school. Time goes by much too fast.

David at Pink Martini Headquarters in Portland, OR

Claire – new glasses, new haircut, ready for a new home in the Bay Area

Pumpkin carving time with Andrew and Candice

Andrew sings the Mozart Requiem at the Mexican Cultural Institute for El Día de los Muertos

Dinner with Claire at Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse

Claire’s view from her back porch hammock in Oakland…life is good

Wine tasting in Sonoma

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

Enjoying one of many wonderful meals on Cape Cod

Have a terrific Thanksgiving holiday with friends and families.

More to come…

DJB

Filed under: Family, Heritage Travel, Random DJB Thoughts | Tagged: Family, family photographs, Heritage Travel, Thanksgiving | 2 Comments »

Welcoming Emily to the Family

Posted on September 4, 2017 by DJB

David and Emily Ghattas with my sister Carol (on the left) and nephew Nathan (on the right)

Candice and I spent this Labor Day weekend in Chicago at the wedding of our nephew David Brown Ghattas (catchy name, huh?) and Emily Ames. David—an engineer just like his father and grandfather—is the oldest son of my youngest sister Carol and her late husband Raouf. Emily is a wonderful young lady he met while they were both in Istanbul a few years ago. We had the chance to meet Emily at my father’s 90th birthday celebration in 2015, and have enjoyed getting to know her (and now her family) over the past couple of years.

As my nephew Joseph Brown said to me somewhere along the weekend, it is great to be getting together for weddings as opposed to funerals, and I couldn’t agree more.

Families are funny things. When you have a relatively big one like ours (five siblings and lots of nieces, nephews, and in-laws), there are bound to be some differences. The differences in ours are pretty substantial. I’ll just leave it at that. But love trumps all (pun intended), and it was great to see Carol as the radiant mother-of-the-groom, along with Emily and David looking so beautiful, handsome, and happy. Raouf’s family came from all over the U.S. (and Egypt), and it was good to see them after too many years. And David’s younger brother Nathan may win the award for best sense of humor in the whole crowd. His toast at the reception was one to remember.

David and Emily Ghattas celebrate with their cousins from around the world

It was also good to spend an extra day in the city. We saw other family in Chicago and spent quality time with the Crocker family (my other sister Debbie, her husband Mark, and their three girls along with Ashli’s daughter Kate). We had a wonderful time over meals in this culinary destination while also taking the fantastic Chicago Architectural Foundation river tour. This was my 3rd or 4th time, and it is a must-see when you come to this incredible city.

Candice and I enjoy a Chicago brunch with my sister Debbie and her husband Mark

My brother Joe and sisters Carol and Debbie join me in celebrating with Emily and David at the rehearsal dinner in Libertyville

We are delighted to welcome Emily to the family! We couldn’t be happier for Emily, David, and Carol.

More to come…

DJB

Filed under: Family | Tagged: Chicago Architecture Foundation Boat Tours, Family, Weddings | Leave a comment »

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