Strange Weekend. . .

—FROM EF— It was a strange weekend. Amazing music makers were assembled at the Kate Wolf Music Festival in Laytonville, CA, many many more than usual due to the fact that Covid had cancelled 2020 and 2021, and due to the fact that this was not only the 25th KWF but...

Fathers. . .

—From CB— This is Father’s Day, when thoughts turn to fathers, so I’ve given a rain check to my pontifications on politics, whoh are currently beyond-depressing, to muse upon fatherhood. Two thoughts. First, the nature of the role is (a) enormously important, and (b)...

I-80. . .

—From EF— Sunday, mid-afternoon, turning onto I-80 East from Highway 37, I saw the great golden hills as loose-skinned furry creatures begging to be petted, and my heart lifted. Not just because in the evening I’d hear John McCutcheon do a solo concert in Grass...

Love Me. . .

—From CB— A post on Facebook asked, “Do you say ‘I love you” to yourself?” My first response would have been something snarky, but I’m trying to lessen that impulse. The second would have been a simple “No” and then getting back to work on something useful. The third,...

One of Many. . .

—From EF— I invite you to read my book, the first in a series of three memoirs. I’ve been struggling to write this post, because the avalanche of grotesquerie in the recent news made anything else seem not only irrelevant, but repulsive. Then I got this...

Cats and Dogs. . .

—From EF— I once wrote a song called “Black Dog.” No, that’s not quite right, it came rolling out without invitation one day when we were about to leave for a long tour right after having done another long tour. I spent three days cooking and doing...

Empathy. . .

—From CB— How do you teach it? You can’t. You can only model it. It’s easiest to feel empathy with the clown. First off, we know he’s there to entertain us. His cigarettes fall out of the pack, he tries to pick them up and his hat falls off. He makes to fetch his hat...

Book Fair. . .

—From EF— I’ve been looking forward to the Bay Area Book Fair, an annual spring event where we’ve rented an exhibit table a couple of times in the past. Very few indie folks like us make big bucks, but it’s still a sweet event and I was happy to be...

Fifth Draft. . .

—From CB— I wrote earlier that I’d started a novel based on the King David story. It’s a few months later, and I’m working on the fifth draft, middle of chapter 6. Once starting rewrites, they tend to go on and on. Meantime, I’ve read two King David novels. One, by...

Rant Advisory. . .

—From EF— I was bullied pretty consistently all through elementary school and junior high, then by high school kids had other things to think about and so did I. Nowadays that old feeling is creeping back. I was amazed at how hard I cringed at seeing multiple versions...