old friends

 

dave.paul

I wondered how I would do yesterday. Tuesday in Easter week found me and Eileen sitting in our living room chatting with old friends, Dave Barber and Paul Wizyinajtys (wizz ah night us). Paul is the one with the beard. They have been given a honeymoon trip for their recent marriage in the 39th year of their relationship by friends.

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They are staying down in South Haven about 30 minutes away. It was no surprise that the four of us picked up our friendship and conversation with ease despite not seeing each other that much.  I hope Eileen and I convinced them to avail themselves of our guest bedroom and come for an extended visit here. They seemed interested. And they are both retired, but still actively pursuing a life-long artisan/artist venture.

Image may contain: 1 person, sitting and beard

We went out for a nice Laotian lunch then visited my Mom and came home and chatted until it was time for Eileen and me to leave for Grand Haven. I had a 7 PM rehearsal for Sunday’s Messiah Sing Along. Eileen had arranged to have coffee with a new friend who lives in Grand haven.

The rehearsal ran for two and a half hours. I was surprised at how relaxing I found it. It’s kind of a treat to work with  my buddy Nick Palmer and also to play continuo, something I love doing. Baroque continuo is, to my mind, sort of like playing rhythm guitar. The bass line and the pluck of the harpsichord give a subtle punch to the music when it’s lively. It comes a bit more to the fore in the recitatives. The strummed chords again are like strumming a guitar while the singer sings in free fashion.

Anyway, it was a nice quiet surprise that at the end of the evening I wasn’t as exhausted as I am after leading a rehearsal or a service.

Aircraft Carrier Wasn’t Sailing to Deter North Korea, as U.S. Suggested – The New York Times

This article is on the front page of the NYT (whatever that means these days… lead article?). If you read it carefully it seems to me to describe more fumbling by the people in our government.

 After Turkey last Sunday, France is voting this Sunday. PM May of England has announced a vote this year about Brexit.

The Violent Clashes In Berkeley Weren’t ‘Pro-Trump’ Versus ‘Anti-Trump’

They were, instead, anti-fascists versus white nationalists. Yikes.

Right and Left: Partisan Writing You Shouldn’t Miss – The New York Times

This link is from yesterday. I looked through it. I’m planning on reading some of the following articles (oops. they’re all  from the left. sooprise sooprise).

The Real Madman | by Masha Gessen | NYR Daily | The New York Review of Book

I am warming up to this intellectual.  The NYT compilation article quote got me interested:

“Trump has become the real version of the man Putin plays on television — an unpredictable, temperamental, impetuous man who will push reality past the limits of the imagination.”

Tomgram: William Astore, From Deterrence to Doomsday? | TomDispatch

The future is crazier than ever.

 

 

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