Regarding Roth IRA's
If you and/or your working kids haven't contributed to your own Roth IRAs yet, you should absolutely start this year. From the start, you should see it as a retirement investment account, not just a retirement savings account. Roth IRA contributions are taxed going in but not coming out, and you can take these out at any time.
Bitchy Coffee
The things I would post to Facebook today, if I weren’t no longer posting on Facebook… including today’s original #ThemeSong and #VoiceInMyHead.
Big Loss of a Big Soul
It’s hard to contemplate how such a big soul can disappear so suddenly and so completely, which I’m sure is why “Annabelle” is the song in my head today as my family returns home from a college visit to attend Mike’s memorial service…
Judy Garland's Ever Elusive Rainbow
Judy Garland first recorded “Over the Rainbow” for The Wizard of Oz with MGM on October 7, 1938. Since then, the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts ranked the song number one on the “Songs of the Century” list, and the American Film Institute named it the greatest movie song of all time on the list of “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs.” Somewhere Over the Rainbow was adopted in World War II by American troops in Europe as a symbol of the United States…
Remembering Mr. Hammond
My #ThemeSong today, once again, is Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes. It's one of my all-time favorites, and today the chorus calls to mind the life of SamHammond, long-time carillonneur at Duke University (53 years, daily(!)) and generous accompanist for Duke University String School (local elementary through high-school students, many on scholarship), who passed away recently. …
Eulogy for My 2014 MacBook Air
Yesterday, like a sign from the Universe, I accidentally killed my MacBook Air. I felt the urge to be with my 7-year-old computer as it died there on the table. The software was still working like nothing had happened, but the hardware was clearly taking its last breaths. To pass the time, I logged into my blog and began typing the following eulogy to my old inanimate friend. …
Durham Elementary Students to Return to In-person Learning 4 Days/Week (!)
My last post concerned the debate over whether Durham Public Schools should resume in-person learning in order to accommodate state legislation mandating a return to in-person instruction within 15 days (of the legislation's passing). Discussion on the topic has become heated and personal, which I find sad and incredibly frustrating. The simple question is this: After doing remote learning for nearly 12 months, why are we forcing teachers and staff back into classrooms mere weeks ahead of ensuring they are administered the vaccination we've all been waiting for?
From a Teacher in Durham, North Carolina, on the Forced Reopening of Schools
A Durham, NC, public school teacher’s take on North Carolina’s forced reopening of schools for in-person learning, and Durham Public Schools planned response.
Rain, Better Conversations, and 3-D Printed Edible Steaks
I had to take a few days hiatus to work on my entries to a Ghost, Fable and Fractured Fairy Tale contest. In the meantime, we've had rain, rain and more cold rain. This morning was no different, which is why my theme song today is Lady Gaga's Rain on Me (below). Here's a great article from TeenVogue regarding the song's 22-year-old co-writer Nija Charles's experience as a young black woman making pop music…
Edelweiss and Remembering for Both of Us (ReadAloud)
Years after the book's release, Charlotte continues her involvement in improving our understanding and communication about Alzheimer's Disease, which her husband suffered before his passing. Remembering for Both of Us is *the* book to give a child (or a parent or grandparent) who has a family member suffering from Alzheimer's Disease or Dementia. Every physician/counselor in the field should have a copy of this book in their waiting room.
Kilby Girl, Incest, Rofhiwa, Electrical Brain Stimulation, and Korean Popcorn Cauliflower
I asked my 19YO daughter to send me a theme song, and she gave me Kilby Girl by the Backseat Lovers. Though the lyrics make me wish I could remember the days when I could guiltlessly "waste all afternoon," it's a snappy little tune; and I didn't mind having it in my head today…
17 Jan 2021- 6 days off Facebook (Peter Gabriel, Watched Pots, and Edible Creations)
I came upon the Peter Gabriel song below for the first time today, when looking up the lyrics to Bon Iver's Holocene (one of my son's all-time favorites), and it melted my heart. I shared the song with my musically voracious son, who surprisingly hadn't heard it; and we agreed that it's crazy that, though hauntingly beautiful in its own right, Bon Iver's version is more well-known than Peter Gabriel's original…
16 Jan 2021: Weaning Off Facebook, Day 5 (Hamilton, the NRA, Aliens, and Psychedelics)
My theme song today is my 17-year-old son's favorite song from Hamilton (he likes all the Aaron Burr songs). It seems fitting as we wait for the inauguration of the new American President and its hopeful after math. In fact, it seems fitting for most days…
14 Jan 2021 - Weaning Off Facebook, Day 3 (Sylvan Esso and Marriage Story)
I fell in love with Sylvan Esso when I first heard Coffee, the hit from their debut album. Since then, I haven’t heard a song I don’t like, and many speak to my soul in the most happy way. It helps that most of their songs can be played in the presence of toddlers. And they’re based in Durham!
13 Jan 2021 - Weaning off Facebook, Day 2 (Coldplay and Excessively High Blood Pressure)
Cold Play’s album, Everyday Life, was released live at the Amman Citadel, Jordan, on 22 November 2019 and broadcast live around the world. The first half was performed at sunrise, and the second half was performed at sunset. It's the first and only time the album has been performed in full…
Why I'm Moving from Facebook to Blog
From this day forward, rather than posting my thoughts, concerns, and daily theme song on Facebook, I will now post them on my blog. My reasons are outlined below. It’s time I take back ownership of my thoughts, my history, and my “newsfeed”…
Voice in My Head Today: Acceptance
You need to stop doing what you think is expected of you, and start doing what you want to do in your heart (note: drugs, video-games and Facebook are definitively not included). Accept the arbitrary human rules and the fact that they are going to slow you down, and forge ahead despite the hurdles you don’t want to bother with…
When Your Relationship Is “Irrationally” Falling Apart...
I know so many relationships that have broken up this year – the Covid pandemic and the election have put tremendous stress on every one of us, and many previously ignorable concerns are bubbling to the surface as a result. My marriage has not been immune, which prompted me...
The Ironic Story Behind My Sweet Bessie Van
Eight to ten years ago, back when I lived in a South Durham Home Owner's Association (HOA), my neighbor across the street complained about the chalk drawings on our driveway, then my Obama signs, then our vegetable garden - all of which resulted in violation letters and my presence before the HOA board of directors to defend my actions…
What’s in a word?
Recently a childhood friend posted on Facebook: “If I ever did anything that you thought was racist or that offended you, I’m sorry.”
“How can you apologize for something when you don’t even know what it is you’re apologizing for?” I responded.
Since then, I’ve thought a lot about how I may have facilitated the racism that is unavoidable in our world today, and one memory keeps surfacing…