Three Beautiful Things 05-21-2026: At Least Forty-Five Years, Magnificent Performance of *The Four Seasons*, Popcorn Finale!

 1. So when did Vivaldi's four violin concertos, often presented together as The Four Seasons, first become a part of my life? Did I listen to them on an lp when I attended and worked at Whitworth from 1974-78? Or did it first enter my classical music bloodstream in 1981 when I saw the movie The Four Seasons? Or had The Four Seasons come into my life at NIC during one of my classical music listening sessions at the library? Did my trailermate John Soini have The Four Seasons on an lp? Did he introduce me to Vivaldi? 

I'm not sure. What I do know is that these four violin concertos have been alive inside of me for at least forty-five years and I've come to learn that The Four Seasons are among the most beloved pieces of music in the entire classical music canon. 

As Debbie and I were walking from the Camry toward Spokane's Cathedral of St. John, I wondered if I'd ever heard The Four Seasons performed live. In Spokane? In Eugene? London, maybe? 

I couldn't think of a time I had and excitement began to build in me as I anticipated hearing these concertos within the grandeur of the cathedral. 

2. Being violin concertos, each of The Four Seasons pieces featured Spokane Symphony Concertmaster Mateusz Wolski as each concerto's violin soloist. He played with verve through the storms and dances of each season and played with tenderness and sensitivity through the slow movements of each concerto.

I loved the playing of the 17 piece orchestra in support of Wolski. Aside from a harpsichord, the orchestra was all stringed instruments (violin, viola, cello, bass) and after the concert Debbie and I discovered that both of us had been deeply impressed with the performances of the principal cellist and violist. In fact, hearing all the lower stringed instruments tonight reminded me of how much I loved the parts Vivaldi wrote for them when I listened to recordings. Tonight the invigoration I'd felt in the past for these parts redoubled. From the pew I sat in, I had a direct view of both the principal cellist and violist and I spent much of the evening watching them, loving their work, while, at the same time, marveling at Mateusz Wolski's virtuosity. 

3. I didn't want to leave the cathedral. I sat for a while, letting the performance we'd just absorbed sink in and felt the awesome power of this English Gothic building enfold me. 

As is commonly the case, Debbie and I didn't say much on the clear easy ride home.

At one point, however, I blurted out that I thought eating popcorn at home sounded like a good idea. 

Debbie whole heartedly agreed and so we checked on Copper and Gibbs, I took my pills, and we each happily devoured a bowl of popcorn as a perfect way to conclude an evening of superb music played in a towering setting. 

Three Beautiful Things 05-20-2026: Living in the Light, Physical and Mental Illness, Living More Calmly

 1. At his request, I sent Stu a link to pictures Rick Taylor took at our Class of 72 40-year reunion. Those pictures brought memories back to me of the weekend a bunch of us spent together in 2009 in Lincoln City to celebrate turning fifty-five years old. 

2009 was a difficult year. I was hospitalized twice. Debbie's mother and younger brother passed away. There was more. 

Somehow, although I didn't know it at the time, in the spring of 2009, my dark experiences with mental illness came to an end.

It must have been about a year later that I realized I hadn't had any episodes over the past year of what Debbie and I referred to as me going into a black hole. In fact, my last such episode occurred around the time, in late March or early April of 2009, just before I contracted pneumonia and spent five days in the hospital. (I returned to the hospital for another stay not long after with a case of c-diff.)

I marveled today that it's been seventeen years since my last dark episode and I don't know why and no medical person I've talked with knows why those episodes ended after they'd been with me since high school. 

I'm grateful for these seventeen uninterrupted years of living in the light. 

2. I'm certain that another reason 2009 is on my mind is connected to my reading of The Mosquito. Medical and other sciences have advanced to the point that it's now common knowledge that mosquitos carry the malaria parasite and transfer in through bites to human beings. So far, this book has been about the staggering number of people who have died from malaria carrying mosquitos infecting them and how these massive numbers of death have affected centuries of military campaigns, the extinction or near extinction of indigenous people in the New World, and the value of African slaves who had developed immunity over the centuries and so could labor on plantations. 

This is all more complicated than I can sum up here, but reading so much about physical illness, disease, and death returned my mind to how it's fairly common for people to accept the seriousness of physical illness, but do not regard mental illness with the same kind of compassion or understanding, in part, I suppose, because mental illness is often not connected to something observable, like a bacteria or a virus or a parasite, but can, in fact, seem to have no cause at all. 

Back in my days of black hole episodes, if someone asked me, "What are you depressed about?", I wouldn't be able to answer them. These episodes often occurred when things in my day to day life were humming along just fine. 

Medications help. Therapy helps. Often I hear people talk about people experiencing mental illness as needing to be fixed. That's very difficult for me to hear, as if mental illness were an engine problem or clogged sink drain. 

3.  Yes, today thoughts of disease, illness, and the difficulties of 2009 occupied my mind, but so did my good fortune in the years following 2009. 

I think I can say, with certainty, that what I've enjoyed the most about living in the light has been how much more even my temperament is than it was for decades. I'm not prone to the mood swings I used to be. I don't lose my mind over trivial things. I'm quieter, calmer, more able to step back from situations, and much less prone to the strains of anxiety and fear. 

Back in September of 2009, I wrote a piece on this blog about needing to settle down as a classroom teacher. I compared my teaching style to the all out, go for broke style of playing tennis exemplified my Rafa Nadal and challenged myself to teach in the style of the more measured and calmer Roger Federer. 

Looking back, I think I partially succeeded, but old habits are difficult to change. 

I wanted to maintain my enthusiasm in the classroom, but, at the same time, I wanted to quiet down, be less kinetic and less theatrical. 

Over time, even after I retired, this attempt to change my approach to living life took hold. I conserved energy. I was easier on my nerves. I hope I became more predictable. 

It sure feels that way today. 

Three Beautiful Things 05-19-2026: Voting at the Elks Lodge, Bagels and Potato Bread, A Fantastic Zany's Pizza

1. I enjoyed the convenience of mail-in voting when I lived in Oregon, but, at the same time, I felt twinges of nostalgia for going to a church or an Eagles hall or the OSU Extension building to walk in, be greeted by a volunteer, and go to a private place and vote. I voted at a school and a senior activity center in Maryland and fully enjoyed standing in line and rubbing elbows with my fellow Maryland voters. 

Here in Kellogg, we vote at the Elks Lodge.

I enjoyed today what I've enjoyed in the past. I went to our polling site, accepted friendly greetings, filled out my ballot, and got to look at the faces of fellow voters and try to get a sense of their mood. 

I drew no conclusions. 

I also put some food items in the food pantry that sits outside the Elks. 

2. I hadn't been to Beach Bum Bakery since Debbie returned home. Today, however, I knew they had potato bread available along with freshly baked everything and plain bagels. 

I wanted bread on hand at home. Debbie prefers not having sourdough, so the potato bread was just right and I thoroughly enjoyed eating a plain bagel, not toasted, with cream cheese. I put the other five bagels in the freezer. 

Vera, who Beach Bum Bakery hired a little while ago, took my order and filled it and was friendly and engaging to interact with at the counter. She told me that I'd come in just after a morning rush. I was happy to hear that business was good this morning. 

3. A little while ago, Debbie strolled from Radio Brewing to The Lounge and along the way she stopped in at Zany's Pizza. Debbie didn't realize Zany's had opened uptown and dropped in to see what the deal was. 

This afternoon, we decided to order a pie from Zany's and both Debbie and I were staggered by how delicious and satisfying Zany's Fire in the Hole pie turned out to be. 

We both enjoy moderately spicy food and I've been eating a lot of Jalapeno peppers lately, so Debbie ordered this spicy and sweet pie topped with chicken, pineapple, red onion, and Jalapenos all complimented with a homemade Buffalo sauce. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the heat of the Jalapenos and the Buffalo sauce and the way the pineapple, red onion, and chicken balanced the spiciness with sweetness and mildness. 

We have leftover slices and I look forward to eating more of this pizza on Wednesday! 

Three Beautiful Things 05-18-2026: Bruce Larsen's Celebration of Life Draws Closer, Mosquito Power, Dinner and Yakkin' with Christy

1. With the Celebration of Life for Bruce Larsen coming up on June 13th at 1:00 at the Kellogg Elks Lodge, I'm helping Sally determine an estimate of how many people might attend so she can make a fairly accurate food order. I sent out emails today to people I hadn't heard back from after an earlier emailing, and I heard back from several people and got confirmation from seven of them that they will, in all likelihood, attend. 

Huge help and I hope to hear from more people as the week continues. 

2. I am learning more than I ever knew from the book The Mosquito about the early centuries of Christianity and the role malaria played in the fall of Rome, subsequent empire building, and the rise of Islam. It's all mind boggling that one insect and the way it transmits disease has had such an impact on the development of world history. 

3. Christy joined Debbie and me for dinner. We enjoyed a southwest chicken bowl that Debbie invented and Christy told us about her adventures and misadventures in the Boise area over the weekend.  That led us into a series of discussions about plans for the summer, family news, and a host of other topics. 

Three Beautiful Things 05-17-2026: Christy is Back With Riley, Folk and Classical Music, Debbie Improvises a Dinner

 1. Today was my last day dog sitting Riley. He showed signs of becoming a bit more attached to me today. He was more enthusiastic than he had been when I arrived and when I returned home, he followed me to the gate and whimpered a little bit when I left. Christy was on the road returning to Kellogg until about 10:00, so I spent more time with Riley in the evening and waited until he relaxed and fell asleep before I left. 

2. Debbie and I blasted over to Spokane for this afternoon's Spokane String Quartet concert. In a very good way, it was intense with the music ranging from minimalism to Nordic folk music to the explorations of Antonin Dvorak inspired by when he lived and worked in the United States for three years. 

I learned more this afternoon about how much classical music and the performance of it has its roots in folk music and hearing that connection come to life again this afternoon was invigorating. 

3. Back home, Debbie whipped up an intriguing combination of potstickers, shrimp, and broccoli seasoned with a ramen seasoning she concocted a while back. Debbie is a superb innovator and improviser in the kitchen and she totally nailed it tonight. 

Three Beautiful Things 05-16-2026: Good Day with Riley, Mind Boggled by Mosquito History, Revisiting *Ways of Reading*

1. I spent several hours today keeping Riley company over at Christy's house. Riley moved closer to me today, often lying on the floor near my feet. I'm not an animal psychologist, but I'll act like one for a second here. Riley seemed kind of stunned the first day or so of Christy's absence, but today he shook off the lethargy that came with being puzzled and moved around the house a bit more and approached me more willingly. 

Dog sitting him has been easy. 

2. For much of the day, both while dog sitting and back home, I continued to read The Mosquito by Timothy C. Winegard. Honestly, as he details the life of the mosquito and its impact upon human life going back really deep into antiquity, I have trouble grasping the huge amount of time, way before homo sapiens emerged, that not only the earth, but the mosquito has existed. 

I began to feel like I was on somewhat more familiar ground as Winegard explored the impact of the mosquito on life and on military actions involving the ancient Greeks, Romans, Macedonians,  Carthaginians, and others, but I had no idea that the devastating impact of the disease carrying mosquito shaped much of the history and development of these entities and of what we call the western world.  It's mind boggling. 

3. Debbie and I converse frequently about what we're reading. Debbie reads with a notebook at her side and writes out passages and other notes. (I did quite a bit of this today as I tried to keep timelines and other facts straight while reading The Mosquito.)

Our conversations got me thinking about my teaching life about thirty years ago. 

For two academic years (1995-97) I assigned my students readings out of a book entitled Ways of Reading. 

For an hour or so this evening, I couldn't remember that book's title, but I did some halfway creative search engine work and found the title. In the process of looking for it, I had memories I enjoyed a lot return to me of as I read other book titles of textbooks available back in my teaching days: A World of Ideas, Rereading America, The Bedford Reader, The Norton Reader, The Shape of Reason, and many others. 

What I really wanted to find, though, was the introduction to Ways of Reading. 

I found it online. 

And I familiarized myself again with a concept I have had on my mind for over thirty years now. 

Readers often read with a pencil and pen and mark what they are reading. 

This introduction turns that around and posits that, at the same time, what we read marks us. 

I began to think, yeah, what I read underlines me, puts notes in my margins, puts question marks, exclamation points, and asterisks on my inner life of memory, experience, ideas, and values and those marks invite me not just to read a text but to converse with it, question it, open myself up to ways it is impressing (or marking) me. 

Looking back, I have no idea if this concept made any kind of mark on my students. 

But as I taught from Ways of Reading, I became a student of its (back then) editors, David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky, and this evening their introduction reminded me how they inspired me to work at becoming what they call a strong reader. An active reader. An attentive reader. 

It invigorated me to revisit those two academic years, to remember the countless conversations I had with fellow instructors about Ways of Reading, and the stimulation I enjoyed thanks to the difficult and mind stretching readings Bartholomae and Petrosky included in their book. 

Three Beautiful Things 05-15-2026: Hanging with Riley, Reading *The Mosquito*, Chef Debbie

 1. I don't know if it matters to Riley that I hang around Christy's house for much of the day while she's in Boise. We don't do much together. He comes over to me occasionally and I pet him, but mostly Riley has been going to places in the living room he finds comfortable and relaxing and sleeping. I like to think he'd rather have company in the house than be alone -- I'm that way about dogs and cats. 

2. Mostly, while with Riley, I've been writing, reading, and working the puzzles I go to daily. Our next book club book is The Mosquito, a substantial book tracing the history of this deadly insect all the way back to deep pre-history. The mosquito is an extraordinarily resilient insect and a frighteningly lethal one. I am anticipating that this book will be informative, but so far it's not fun to read. (No problem.)

3. I love to cook. So does Debbie. She's been on a fantastic tear lately, fixing all kinds of delicious food. Today, she used strips of steak as the foundation for a superb beef stroganoff and served it with these great noodles she buys at Walmart. I fixed myself an excellent green salad to accompany this dish. Later in the evening, I finally made a contribution to our life of eating by popping a batch of popcorn that we both enjoyed a lot. 

Three Beautiful Things 05-14-2026: I Enter the Life of Riley, Replicating a Scrambled Egg Dish, Impromptu Book Club with Debbie

 1. I began my dog sitting stint today, so I entered into the Life of Riley. 

I don't have any funny stories to tell. 

All day long, Riley relaxed, looked out the window, slept, and just had an easy dog day. 

2. When I lived in Eugene, I used to occasionally have breakfast at a Mexican restaurant near the U of O Bookstore. I used to order a scrambled egg entree. The scramble included, as best I remember, jalapeno peppers, grated cheese, corn chips, and salsa on the side. 

I made a decent replication of that dish for breakfast this morning. 

It worked! 

3. Debbie and I had an impromptu book club discussion this evening. She's astonished by John Vaillant's book, Fire Weather. It's about the 2016 Ft. McMurray fire in Alberta. We talked at length together about fire and what huge conflagrations feed on. 

I haven't read Fire Weather yet, but I read Timothy Egan's Big Burn several years ago and I talked with Debbie some about what I thought were central ideas in his book. 

I think the two books are different from each other, but both seem to overlap in their descriptions and discussions of the ways fire behaves, what it feeds on, and how powerful fire is. 

A quick coda: we have John Vaillant's book in our home because when I told Leah Sottile I was reading my way through the booklist she published about three years ago, she almost immediately responded that I had to add two books to her list, both by John Vaillant: Fire Weather (2023) and The Golden Spruce (2005).

At our last book club meeting, Debbie and I learned that the club had read Fire Weather and some of the club members had also read Vaillant's 2010 book The Tiger. 

Three Beautiful Things 05-13-2026: Ed Had an Appointment, Winning Wednesday, No Damage (As Far As I Know)

 1. Ed had an appointment for a consultation at Northwest Specialty Hospital early this afternoon. I picked him up way early because high winds and possibly pounding rain were in the weather forecast and I'm a guy who likes to play it safe and leave plenty of times for things to go haywire and then recover. 

Nothing went haywire. 

We arrived at Dr. Sarkis's office plenty early. Ed had several pages to fill out, so our being extra early allowed him to take his time getting through them. 

Ed had a good talk with the PA and will be coming back to the hospital the last week of May for a colonoscopy. 

2. I thought a good way to relax after this consultation would be to rocket down to the CdA Casino and enjoy a meal and the fun we always have on Winning Wednesday. 

Ed and I both fully enjoyed a bowl of beef stew with a garden salad and our plan to relax was working. 

No, neither of us had much luck on the gaming floor, but the machines entertained us and we both had fun. 

3. Good news! Yes, some strong winds kicked up. It was blustery at times. Overall, though, it wasn't that bad. I had no problems driving and we both were relieved that apparently the winds didn't cause any damage or power outings. I might find out later there was damage I don't know about, but it didn't happen in our neighborhood in Kellogg nor Ed's in Kingston. 

Three Beautiful Things 05-12-2026: Body and Mind and Soul, Quietness, Improvised Bacon and Tomato Sandwiches

 1. When I check in at the transplant clinic, for the last year or so it's been a really good guy named Brandon who takes my temperature, weighs me, takes my blood pressure, checks my blood oxygen, asks me a series of questions about medicines and if I've been having any problems. 

We yakked a bit and I told him about going to the symphony and how I've been slowly reading Lonesome Dove and he told me how much he enjoys listening to cello music. 

Nurse Jenn had the day off Monday, so Brandon also checked me out and was very impressed that my exit papers were so brief -- as I wrote yesterday, no medicine changes and only a few appointments over the next year. 

"Wow!" he said, "That's great."

I responded, "It's all that Bach and Beethoven."

He answered, "Yeah. Good for the soul."

He nailed it. 

I will always be convinced that my daily efforts to be good to my soul by writing daily about three beautiful things that day, listening to great music (jazz, classical, jam bands, alt country, classic rock, yacht rock, 90s alternative rock, and more), watching movies I love, learning more about the natural world, reading substantial books, having Copper and Gibbs as companions, being invigorated at book club, spending time in communication with great friends, whether online or in person, enjoying outings with Debbie, and having scheduled time with my sisters to dine together (with our families) and go on Spokane outings to enjoy food, art, sites, museums and other positive Spokane offerings have all combined to boost my health and to nourish the connections within me between body, mind, and spirit. 

2. After such a full and wonderful day yesterday, I drew in today and spent much of the day focused on quietness. I wrote a couple of emails to the Class of '72 and began to reach out to three people about a few things that will help me when I am the host/MC of June 13th's Celebration of Life for Bruce Larsen. 

3. Debbie's been jonesing for a BLT lately and tonight she fried up some bacon and sliced tomatoes and red onion and both of us built ourselves a sandwich. We both passed on the lettuce -- BT sandwiches, I guess -- but I souped mine up a bit by spreading olive tapenade on one slice of bread and topping it with crumbled feta cheese. I also passed on the freshly sliced red onion and, instead, put pickled red onion on top of my tomato slices. 

Great simple meal.

Maybe even good for my soul. 

 

Three Beautiful Things 05-11-2026: A Very Happy Two Year Transplant Anniversary, Quick Camry Battery Service, Ooops! Back to Sacred Heart and Ice Cream

1. Two years ago this evening, a nineteen year old man's kidney was transplanted into my urinary system.

Not long after midnight, the surgeon and his team released me to the ICU and right from the get go, all signs looked good that my body had accepted the new organ and that the kidney was waking up nicely and beginning to function.

I drove to Spokane this morning for a two-year anniversary appointment with Dr. Monita Poudyal, the same transplant nephrologist who spent a generous amount of time with me in the hours before the surgery talking me through what I would experience in surgery and what I could expect in the following days, weeks, and months. 

Today, Dr. Poudyal beamed. 

She told me my new kidney was "functioning beautifully". 

We went over everything -- my recent labs, how I was taking care of myself, whether I was having any problems (I'm not), my exercise habits, my weight gain, my medications, everything. 

Her final verdict: no changes. 

Medications and dosages remain unchanged. 

She expects this kidney to function well for many years. 

On June 4th, Dr. Bieber, who is my primary nephrologist at Kootenai Health, and I will decide how often I'll have labs drawn and how often I'll see him. My guess, if memory serves me correctly, is that I'll have labs drawn every three months and see Dr. Bieber every six months. 

My next appointment at the transplant clinic is in a year. If my kidney's function and my health continue to be good, the transplant team will cut me loose and I'll be under the sole care of Dr. Bieber. 

When the results of the labs I had drawn last Monday began to parachute into my patient portal, I thought they looked awesome. Prostate normal. Cholesterol in great shape. No diabetes. My GFR looked strong. My creatinine levels looked acceptable. I saw no problems and my visit with Dr. Poudyal confirmed that I read those results correctly. 

Ah.

What a relief that this surgery was a success and that I'm doing so well as I move forward from it. 

2. Today started really great before I went to Spokane. 

I called Silver Valley Tire Center around 7:20 to report the Camry's dead battery.

Within five minutes, one of their guys came to the house and removed the dead battery. 

Ten or fifteen minutes later he returned with a new battery. He installed it. It worked(!), and I knew well ahead of my appointment in Spokane that the Camry was ready to roll. 

Great service. Great guys to work with. Much gratitude. 

3. I knew coming into today's appointment that after Dr. Poudyal and I were finished that I would be going over to the Sacred Heart lab for specialty labs to be drawn. These labs assess whether I'm at risk for organ rejection. 

Wouldn't you know it. I left Dr. Poudyal's office on cloud 9 and I was hungry and I forgot all about having those labs drawn. 

I glided up North Monroe to Zozo's Sandwich House and ordered a Hungry Hungry Hip-Pea sandwich, a combination of a mashed chickpea mixture, avocado, tomato, pickled red onion, spinach, and vegan mayonnaise along with a cup of chicken enchilada soup. 

I was about three bites into my sandwich when I suddenly remembered that I didn't have the specialty labs drawn. 

I finished my lunch and eased back up to Sacred Heart and the blood draw went quickly, smoothly, economically (!). I was back to the parking garage within and half an hour so didn't have to pay to park! 

I ended my trip to the metropolitan Spokane area at Belle and Pete's ice cream parlor and celebrated having a new battery and the great news at the clinic on my two year transplant anniversary with a scoop of Extreme Oreo ice cream in a bowl.