“When autumn winds have stolen summer’s last kiss I will find you again in my dreams; over and over past thousands of Thursdays, until I can meet you under grey skies and flaming trees.”
Nicole Lyons
As the calendar pages turn and summer begins to loosen its grip on the world, many people become a bit despondent and lament the end of the long, warm days of July and August as they are replaced by the extended darkness of autumn and winter evenings.
I, however, love the shorter days of fall.
Amid all of the reactions and gifs and videos on social medial today, it was a single tweet of thirteen words from a man and writer that I respect that struck me the hardest.
My latest newsletter was just sent out where I talk about the 76ers, new hip-hop releases, all the things I’ve been writing, my favorite online writer, and, of course, the books I’ve read. Also, some other stuff, including something so so embarrassing.
“On the death of a friend, we should consider that the fates through confidence have devolved on us the task of a double living, that we have henceforth to fulfill the promise of our friend’s life also, in our own, to the world.”
– Henry David Thoreau
Today would have been my best friend’s 40th birthday.
It should have been.
Riddle me this…
In the mid-90s, Jim Carrey was in the midst of an epic run of box office hits. From 1994 – 1998, he starred (or co-starred) in eight films, all of which grossed at least $100 million dollars globally, with three of them doubling that figure and three more tripling it.
Halfway through that streak he brought his talent and star power to the film that had the highest domestic gross of 1995 – and sixth-highest worldwide – playing the Riddler in Batman Forever.
I used to be a bit of a beer snob, but even at my height I was never the snobbiest nor the most knowledgeable person around. I don’t brew my own beer. I don’t spend all of my money searching for that one special beer. And I don’t study the intricacies of it. It was mo re enjoyment than obsession.
But I do love a good beer and I know a decent amount about it, to the point that I know what I like and can have reasonably intelligent conversations about it, back when we used to gather around a table and have conversations.
My second child, my second daughter, turns two today.
My first, the oldest, is an eight-year-old that acts like she’s 14, and since there is such a large gap between number one and number two – for a very, very, very, very good reason – the past two years have been a refresher course in infant and toddler life.
“Always stay a student.”
— Frank Shamrock
The professor opened class with a simple statement.
“I assume everyone has the syllabus and all of the materials.”
Uh, I didn’t. I looked around the room and quickly ascertained that I was the only one. There was no sense in hiding.
I raised my hand to tell him. He wasn’t too annoyed. He simply said, “Open up Canvas and download it now, please.”
I said, “You got it,” but I thought, What the hell is ‘Canvas’?
The weather on the east coast is very hot and unbearably humid. My daughters like to play in the water and chase lightning bugs. We are in the midst of the summer. The calendar is about to flip to August. It sometimes feels normal.
But it’s not a normal summer. We’re all still living under a cloud of uncertainty and fear as an invisible, silent genocidal killer continues to haunt us.
And I haven’t had a complete day off since March 8th.
“Who is the best NBA player to never win an MVP award?”
