1. Bill, Diane, Val, Bridgit, and I jumped on ZOOM this afternoon. Part of our discussion was spent talking about history and how knowing what's come before us over the span of our nation's history creates some context for the Jan. 6th occupation of the Capitol building.
Later, we veered into a discussion of art, especially poetry and music, and the marketplace. We bemoaned the marketplace, lamented the inevitable influence of money. The marketplace and its appetite for profit dictates what art is readily available for us: what music we hear, what performers are accessible, what poetry gets published, and so on. At the same time, we expressed gratitude for writing groups, small music venues, small publishers of books, small magazines, Live Facebook, and other other ways, mostly under the radar, that we can experience the arts. It was also fun talking about live performances being almost always preferable to music made in studios, the power of producers, and how fortunate we've all been to hear so much superb music in coffee houses, taverns, small rooms, living rooms, and other more intimate venues.
This discussion of the arts was connected to the work Bill is doing right now to self-publish a volume of his poetry. The project has taken a significant turn in the last few days since Diane, at Bill's request, became more actively involved helping Bill edit the volume. Bill and Diane explained how Diane advised that maybe Bill's original concept for organizing the book and his initial ideas for which poems to include needed a second look. As a result, the project is moving in a different direction that Bill seems happier with, a direction made possible by Diane's honest articulation of how his original approach affected her.
These discussions were awesome.
2. Christy prepared incredibly delicious chicken enchiladas for tonight's family dinner. She also prepared a stunning shrimp cocktail for a starter. Carol and Paul provided chips and salsa, sour cream, and guacamole to augment our meal. I was in charge of cocktails and, thanks to Debbie, introduced a new vessel to drink from and a new cocktail to our Sunday proceedings. First, Debbie sent us all a silver insulated Yeti tumbler for our family dinner cocktails -- the drinks stay cold and undiluted -- the ice doesn't melt. Second, a little bit ago she told me that she's been enjoying a variation on the Moscow Mule made with tequila -- it's called either a Tequila Mule or a Mexican Mule. I found a simple recipe that includes Cointreau, which I keep on hand, and we all agreed that it was a superb cocktail.
3. I had quite a day for great conversation today. Christy, Carol, Paul, and I were all over the place this evening. We dipped in and out of the subject of the current national news, but actually gave more of our attention to wind storm stories (who has power? what trees have fallen? who served community food?) and to the histories of different people in Kellogg. When we discuss who graduated when, who is married to whom, who was married to whom, who left Kellogg when, who lives in what house where, who used to live in what house where, and so on, an onset of Silver Valley vertigo comes over me. It's funny.
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