Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea

I feel just like a
bird of paradise
my bad fortune
slippin' away

You know who's awesome? PJ Harvey.

That, for now, is all. Hitting the road for Ohio this afternoon. Patti's M Train tucked in my bag. And a backpacking book and (of course) Stegner - Remembering Laughter.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Winter

I get a little warm in my heart
When I think of winter

At my desk now, listening to Ryan's Ten Songs from Live at Carnegie Hall (11/15/2014), part of that sublime fall 2014 string of shows that kicked off that night at the 9:30 club.

Back from a work trip to the swampy wilds of South Florida. Spinning through the Everglades on airboats. The river of grass teeming with spoonbills, and cormorants ("shags"), and egrets and great blues. Gators on the banks and in the streams. A 99-mile wildnerness kayaking trail that's calling me.. Getting a case in south Florida in the winter isn't a bad deal at all..

Pushing forward into the unknown. A surreal mix of emotions - from relief to regret to joy to exhaustion and back again. We told J on Saturday. The house won't be on the market until late-February at the earliest, giving us time to sort out paperwork and repairs and logistics. And to make the transition smoothly, amicably.

Oh. One more thing. I was watching Master of None on Netflix the other night when the Arthur Russell version of A Little Lost played over the opening credits and, for a second, I was.

Monday, November 9, 2015

So Alive

Everybody sees you're blown apart
everyone feels the wind blow

It's been far too long. My last post references the trip my dad & I took on the Appalachian Trail - an incredible 4 days along Maryland's South Mountain ridge. A chance to just be. Walk. Breathe.

Then the roller coaster. Starting a chain of events that led to a long-inevitable conclusion. And feeling free and loose and confident. But raw and vulnerable. Real. Alive.

Now sitting in Compass Coffee. Organizing. Researching. Writing. A good mix of class Velvets and Jeff Magnum and hipster coffee-shop fare. Spent the morning at the Portrait Gallery with J's Kindergarten class. The questions. The curiosity. It's a truly magical age.