1. I took a break from updating passwords and strolled next door, collected Christy's and Everett's ballots, added them to mine, and drove to the courthouse in Wallace and turned them in.
Our votes are in!
2. Over at the Billy Collins Poetry Broadcast, it was Whale Day. Today, his publisher released Billy Collins' latest book of poems, Whale Day, and the broadcast was a celebration of the book coming out.
Even though this segment of the broadcast didn't play very clearly on my tablet, my favorite part of the celebration was at the end. Suzannah, Billy Collins' wife and the producer/director/make-up artist/lighting director/etc. of the broadcast made it possible for viewers of the broadcast from both sides of the Atlantic to appear on screen. The Collinses greeted each of them warmly and received their congratulations and gratitude graciously. One man in England had his kitten in his arms while talking online (I loved it) and a woman in Ireland brought me to tears when she sang a verse of an Irish song. Billy Collins is Irish and, he too, seemed touched by her singing.
3. The day just kept improving as late afternoon became evening, I poured myself a gin and tonic, and listened to Bill Davie perform Tree House Concert #23 at 7 p.m. He opened very strong with one of my very favorite of his songs, "King of the Art", a song that often plays in my head and wakes me up at night -- I enjoy that. Bill also blended two exquisite covers into tonight's concert. Both moved me: John Hartford's "Gentle on my Mind" and Tom Petty's "Wild Flowers". He took a generous poetry break and read several of his poems, a handful of Gregory Orr's works, and poems by Lucille Clifton.
Back in May, 2006, Lucille Clifton visited Lane Community College. She gave a reading and she agreed to join with some students and faculty for a luncheon together. She was especially gracious and generous with the students during lunch, listening attentively to their questions and comments and answering them with seriousness and gravity, as if she were being interviewed on some big time radio show like Fresh Air. I remembered, too, how I'd been asked to introduce Lucille Clifton at her reading, a most enjoyable task.
Bill's concert ended. I was pumped and ready for more artistic stimulation.
I watched all but about twenty minutes of the third episode of Ken Burns' series, Jazz. It focused on the emergence of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington and also explained how the jazz movement migrated out of its city of origin, New Orleans, and began to be performed, danced to, and loved in northern cities like Chicago and New York.
A limerick by Stu:
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