Three Beautiful Things 03-30-2022: Leaving Portland, Top Notch Yakkin' at 16 Tons Cafe, Hammerhead and Frog's Wort

1. Slowly, surely, carefully, deliberately Debbie and I gathered our clothes and a few other things and packed up the Camry, bade Patrick and Meagan farewell, and rocketed down I-5 to Eugene.

2.  We almost walked into Market of Choice to purchase some coffee, dairy products, and a few other things, but at the last second we decided to go almost next door to the 16 Tons Cafe and each have an 8 oz pour of Block 15's Sticky Hands IPA.  The woman who poured our beer immediately recognized Debbie from when Debbie did that long term sub job here in Eugene and told Debbie how much a former employee adored her. Then 16 Tons owner, Mike, appeared and we hugged Mike and were happy to see each other, but he was busy with owner responsibilities and we settled into a table.

A man sat one table over reading and Debbie asked him what he was reading and it turned out he was reading a book by Dick Gregory. Dick Gregory has spoken at Debbie's high school. He had given a talk at Whitworth when I was a student there. Our new friend, Dee, was in a position in around 1980 to bring Dick Gregory on campus. Well, before we knew it, we got into a long conversation with Dee. We had mutual friends and acquaintances -- it was particularly fun to talk about his friendship with retired LCC instructor, Bill Powell. We swapped stories, experiences, and thoughts. 

Our visit to Eugene is off to a fantastic start!

3. I dropped Debbie off at Charlemagne and headed down to the High Street Brewery and Cafe for a pint of my favorite beer, Hammerhead Pale Ale. I was hungry and also ordered a three cheeseburger sliders and a small order of fries. I relaxed, tired from driving, but soon I headed over to Cornucopia where Debbie was yakkin' with her pal and former teaching partner, Jana. I waltzed in, said hi to Debbie and Jana, and bellied up to the bar. I ordered a pint of Oakshire's Frog's Wort Pale Ale and very slowly drank it. 

Cam was working the bar. He's gregarious, a great guy, and loves conversation and managed to squeeze in some time to tell me about stuff he's been up to. Mostly, I watched the scene in the southwest corner of the bar. I don't know any of these Cornucopia regulars, but I recognized them from past visits. I could tell from watching their enjoyment of each other and from their laughter and the way they hugged when someone had to leave, that their scene was similar to what I experience at the Inland Lounge -- inside jokes, repeated stories, expert commentary on music and the local events of the day, and some alcohol to loosen things up a bit. Only one guy drank too much and when he pranced around the establishment lifting his shirt up, he was told to go home. He did so without incident and seemed hazily cognizant that he'd crossed a line of acceptable behavior. 

On our way to Anne's, where we are staying, we made our quick grocery stop at Market of Choice -- and stayed out of 16 Tons Cafe!  Anne warmly greeted us upon our arrival and so did one of the best dogs I've ever known, the friendly and loving Poppy. 

I retired to bed early and listened again to the Dave Bromberg hour of Jeff's latest Deadish radio show. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-29-2022: Bagel Morning, Hike on Powell Butte, Dreamin' with Bob Dylan

1. I started today enjoyably by motoring over to Spielman Bagels again, sitting outside, and daydreaming while I ate a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese and sipped on a cup of coffee. 

2. A little bit later, I drove out to Powell Butte about twenty-five minutes east of where we're staying and took a short hike part way up the Cedar Grove Trail. My huffing and puffing on this easy to moderately challenging trail told me that I must return to the trails and walk and hike. If I lived in SE Portland, I'd head out to Powell Butte regularly. The trail I was on today was groomed, wound through stately cedar trees, and was one of a number of trails at this site. 

3. Back home, I plunged into the Bob Dylan world of dreams. I listened once again to the Hard Rain and Slow Trains podcast episode focused on Dylan's song, "Series of Dreams". Sitting in Patrick and Meagan's apartment was a much better environment for my second listen than listening to it in the Camry on the road had been. The song itself started to get inside of me and was present in my own dreams later on when I retired for the night. Once I finished this episode, I turned to the archives of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour and listened to Episode 59. Its theme was Dreams. Bob Dylan's informative yakking about dreams was fascinating and, as always, his song selections were various and fun, ranging from Dinah Washington to Tom Waits, from Charles Mingus to the Loving Spoonful. I must dip into that Theme Time Radio Hour archive more often. It was a blast when I used to listen to that program on Sirius/XM radio, but I didn't hear every episode and it's great stuff. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-28-2022: Spielman Bagels, Accidental Portland Tour, Four Hours of *Deadish*

 1. Debbie and I just don't make solid plans. So it's hard for me to say that plans change. That said, we thought we'd be in Eugene by now, but we aren't! We will leave Wednesday morning (well, at least that's the "plan"). As a result, we stayed at Patrick and Meagan's today, relaxing.

This morning, I drove about ten minutes away to Spielman Bagels. I love bagel shops. Hardly a day goes by that I don't wish I lived near one in Kellogg and I often indulge in nostalgic memories of going to the Bagel Bakery in Eugene (until it closed) and to Bagel Place in College Park, MD (now also closed). The Spielman shop on Division St SE is perfect. It's got a natural wood feel. It's not slick looking. It's not like out of The Jetson's. It's not metallic. Maybe in recent times we'd say it has a hipster feel to it -- I prefer to think of it as feeling down to earth, not fancy, youthful, but inviting to old people like me -- in short, I liked the vibe a lot.

I ordered a blueberry bagel with a thin spread of cream cheese and a coffee and sat at one of several outdoor tables and blissed out. I also bought bagels to go: a couple everythings, a sesame, and a plain along with a half pint of Spielman cream cheese. 

I'll return on Tuesday.

2. On my drive home, I spaced out the left hand turn on Milwaukie SE to return to the apartment. I sighed, told myself just to enjoy wherever the streets of Portland led from this point forward, and went on about a 40-50 minute drive. I accidentally drove downtown on 4th St. SW and observed some of the effects of Portland's nights of protest and property damage in the summer of 2020. I drove into Chinatown, crossed the Steel Bridge, made my way to 99E and eventually wound my way back to the corner of Powell Blvd SE and Milwaukie SE and delivered the carry out bagels to Debbie and Patrick.

3. Debbie and I both napped this afternoon and we retired for the night early in the evening. I had a great time napping with Jeff Harrison's March 24th edition of Deadish playing through my ear buds. I listened to the whole two hours again when I retired for the night later on. He featured the music of Dave Bromberg for the first hour. I loved it. The second hour featured selections from the Grateful Dead's 03-24-1973 show at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.  Jeff's played "Here Comes Sunshine", "Playing in the Band", "Dark Star", among other songs. It was a really enjoyable hour of great songs and some wonderful jamming.

I fully expect I'll return to this episode of Deadish again night after night to help me fall into a relaxed and blissful sleep.

Three Beautiful Things 03-27-2022: Breakfast with Bones, Blowouts on TV, LoRell's Chicken Shack

1. I went through my morning routine and then bolted out the door and rocketed in the Camry a couple of miles or so south of Patrick and Meagan's place and met up with Terry Turner for a delicious breakfast at Harney Street Cafe. I ordered a breakfast special: sausage gravy eggs Benedict, served on two flaky, perfectly baked biscuit halves with home fried potatoes and fresh fruit. Terry had never been to this cafe, liked the looks of the menu, and I'm here to say he made an outstanding choice and we ate most enjoyable food and did some top notch yakkin'.

2. Next move: go to Terry's house and settle in to watch Kansas play Miami and North Carolina play St. Peter's. We also kept an eye on the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play golf tournament.

Terry served me two excellent beers: a really tasty and well-balanced pale ale from 10 Barrel Brewing called Reel Good Ale and Terry contributed to my campaign to SAVE THE PORTER when we split a bottle of excellent porter from Ancestry Brewing.

We had a great time yakking. As far as basketball and golf went, though, it was a blow out day. Kansas came out of the locker room at half time and crushed Miami, 76-50 and, from the get go, North Carolina dominated St. Peter's and defeated them, 69-49. If we wished for a little more suspense in the golf match between Scott Scheffler and Kevin Kisner, Scheffler dashed those hopes. Scheffler immediately put Kisner in a deep hole and cruised to a 4&3 victory and, by doing so, became the top-ranked golfer in the whole wide world.

3. I left Terry's around 3:30 and met Debbie, Patrick, and Meagan at the Foster Road Food Truck/Cart pod. It was a gorgeous time to eat out of doors. The temperature was perfectly mild and quite a few of the trucks/carts were open for business. I came into the pod hungry for chicken. My first choice would have been chicken and yakisoba noodles at a food truck that was closed, but soon I found LoRell's Chicken Shack and ordered a special: five chicken tenders prepared Chicago style with fries. I'm not sure what Chicago style is, but these tenders were awesome: crunchy exterior, juicy tender meat inside, and the pieces were dressed with a hot sauce. I ordered a mild hot sauce and that was just right for me! The fresh cut fries were really tasty, too.

Back at the apartment, I took a refreshing nap and, not long after I woke up, lo and behold, Patrick fixed another batch of blended margaritas and I enjoyed a couple of them and joined in with everyone else for an evening of Steely Dan, stories, smart aleck quips, laughter, and a fun evening together before going to sleep for the night. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-26-2020: Out the Door, "Series of Dreams", Bliss at Patrick and Meagan's

 1.  Our old age, inertia, slowness, indecision, and fear of forgetfulness came into play this morning as it took Debbie and me until 10:30 or so to finally feel like we had what we wanted packed and had the house clean enough to leave. But we did it! We hit the road. (And I had intended to bring my vaccination card, just in case, since I plan to go to a concert April 2 in Eugene -- but I forgot it and Christy will send me a picture of it.)

2. We stopped at Ritzville Starbucks for coffee and gathered our wits for a few minutes. From Ritzville to Kennewick, we listened to Thursday night's episode of  Hard Rain and Slow Trains. Dan Mackay focused the entire show on Bob Dylan's song "A Series of Dreams". The song recorded for but not included on Oh Mercy, but later appeared on Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 and on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3. 

Dan explored the structure of the song's lyrics, which didn't remain stable, played several musicians covering the song, and played different versions of Bob Dylan's performance of the song, both recorded and live. 

I'd never heard or listened to "Series of Dreams" before and the more I heard it, the more I enjoyed it and drove across down US 395 and across I-182 and then I-82 very happy that Dan selected this song for March's version of "May Your Song Always Be Sung". 

3. After a gorgeous drive along the Columbia River, the humps across the river coming slowly alive with pale green growth, we arrived at Meagan and Patrick's apartment and enjoyed a superb night! 

I was barely in the house before I got to SAVE THE PORTER! I set down my bags and popped open a bottle of Nut Crusher Peanut Butter Porter from Free Ride Brewing poured into a glass -- and I liked it a lot!

Before long, Patrick put his mad skills at the Vitamix machine to work and blended us all a most delicious blood orange margarita. (And later, a second orange one.) 

We listened to songs, old and new by Bob Dylan, yakked, and before long a food delivery arrived.  

It was a thick, perfectly baked sausage, ricotta, calabrian chili, aged mozzarella, red sauce, pecorino Romano, basil square Sicilian-style pizza from Ranch Pizza nearby.  We also had a radicchio Caesar salad to share and we all were transported into a blissful state by the pizza and the masterfully mixed margaritas. Our conversations were stimulating and compelling and we enjoyed a flawless evening together. 

By the way, I love Patrick and Meagan's apartment --it's roomy, handsomely appointed, comfortably furnished, and a very easy place to be. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-25-2022: Delay, Some Fun Hoops, "It Isn't Pretty!"

 1. Leaving today for Portland just didn't feel quite right. So we delayed our trip. A day? Two days? We just don't know.

2. Yes, it was fun watching the parts of the St. Peter's/Purdue game that I saw and watch St. Peter's, an unknown team from a small Jesuit college in Jersey City, New Jersey defeat the mighty Boilermakers. It was less fun for me to watch Kansas defeat Providence because Providence had become one of my favorite teams to watch over the season. The other two games today were really fun. North Carolina and UCLA played a fun, clean, athletic, dramatic, fast-moving game and the fun of seeing both teams play so well, so hard, and have so much fun eclipsed any care I had for who won. As it turned out, North Carolina prevailed, 73-66, thanks largely to an enormously entertaining second half of sharp shooting by Tar Heel guard, Caleb Love who scored 27 points. And if entertaining basketball is something you enjoy, I recommend that you watch the Miami Hurricanes in this tournament. They zip the ball quickly to one another, love to run the floor, play scrambling and disruptive defense, and play with joy and enthusiasm. Their spirited play prevailed this evening as they defeated Iowa State, 70-56. 

3. We didn't leave for Portland today, but slowly, surely I packed my suitcase, suddenly remembering at different points during the day something I'd forgotten to pack earlier. Oh, yeah! My shaving stuff! Okay. Be sure to pack my nighttime mouth guard. Do I have the cords gathered so I can keep my phone, tablet, and laptop charged. What books do I want? I can hear inside myself the words of Dr. Rick, the guy on the Progressive commercial who tries to help new home owners not become their parents: "It isn't pretty!"

.

Three Beautiful Things 03-24-2022: Chicken Fried Steak, Arkansas Hounds and Defeats the Zags, Focus and Memory

1. I rocketed the Sube over to CdA and back mostly to put over fifty miles on the tires that had just been put on the car.  I dined at the Breakfast Nook and satisfied a hankering I had for a chicken fried steak and hash browns, neither of which I'd eaten for months. I made a quick trip to Pilgrim's Market to return plastic six and four can beer holders and to buy some dried apricots. I returned to Kellogg, got the wheels retorqued, and when I got back home I took a luxury nap, the perfect follow up to that chicken fried steak and hash browns. 

2. Around 4:00 I settled in to watch Gonzaga play Arkansas in their Sweet Sixteen NCAA men's basketball tournament game. Arkansas defeated the Zags, 74-68. I observed two primary keys to Arkansas' success. First, Arkansas played muscular and swarming defense. I was particularly impressed with the way the Razorbacks' Au'Diese Toney defended Andrew Nembhard. That the harassed Nembhard couldn't (or didn't) hit his floaters from in the key and then stopped even getting into the key to take that shot eliminated an important facet of the Zags' offense. In fact, Arkansas pretty much took Nembhard and his running mate Rasir Bolton out of the game. Combined, Nembhard and Bolton only made 5 of 21 shots and only contributed fifteen points. Arkansas devised a game plan that I read about to suppress Gonzaga's guards and carried it out most effectively. Arkansas' defense executed another strategy the team has been carrying out all season. They planted defenders in front of Zags driving to the basket and absorbed offensive fouls, significantly disrupting Gonzaga's offensive schemes.  

I thought the other key to the game was that Arkansas got Chet Holmgren in foul trouble. He only played 23 minutes and fouled out of the game. I've read some analysts and Zags' fans question at least a couple of the foul calls on Holmgren. I don't comment -- ever -- on officiating and don't have anything to say about those calls. All I have to say is that I thought the amount of time Holmgren had to spend on the bench hurt Gonzaga. 

3. I spend more and more time these days trying to get out in front of my forgetfulness and trying to stay focused.  Debbie and I are getting ready to travel to Portland and Eugene and the only anxiety I feel about this trip is that I'll forget to pack something. I made a list today of what I want to take with me, hoping I didn't forget to list anything. I started packing and put my medicine in my suitcase first thing so I won't forget it. Now I just hope I remember where I put the list as I return to getting myself organized and ready to go.

Three Beautiful Things 03-23-2022: Job Scheduled, Quick CdA Trip, More Bob Dylan Podcasts

1. Our home will have a new heating/cooling system on May 19th. I got that scheduled today.

2.  With the regular tires switched back onto the Camry, I needed to drive fifty to a hundred miles and then have the wheels retorqued at Silver Valley Tires.  I shopped at Fred Meyer in Cd'A. Now I have a new pair of slippers, a container to store unused cat litter, and snacks for our drive to Portland on Friday. I filled up the gas tank. I usually have a beer in CdA, but today I wanted to get back home and didn't treat myself. 

3.  On my way to Cd'A and part way back, I listened to the 07-01-2021 episode of Hard Rain and Slow Trains: Bob Dylan and His Fellow Travelers entitled, "The Poetry of Bob Dylan". Dylan himself distinguishes between song writing and poetry writing, resisting the idea that his songs are poetry. Hearing host Dan Mackay quote Dylan's musings about this distinction stimulated me. I very much enjoyed spending an hour in the Camry hearing Dylan, Dan, and people Dan knows (including Jeff Harrison) read selections of Bob Dylan's poems. It was all new to me.  I know I didn't absorb it all -- but, it's a start. 

Later, I gathered up Copper and Luna and once we got settled into bed, I listened to another Hard Rain and Slow Trains episode. It aired on 10-22-2020 and was part two of a multi-episode series called "All Those Who've Sailed with Me"and featured Dylan's bands over the decades. This episode featured bands from 1975-81 and featured music from Little Feat and also the Alpha Band. Once again, this podcast took me into new territory, introduced me to music I was unfamiliar with. It also got me thinking more about and reading up a little bit on Bob Dylan's trilogy of Christian albums recorded from 1979-81, especially as I listened to Dylan's song, "Saved" from his album of the same name. 

Hearing "Saved" got me thinking that one of these days I think I'll listen to these three Christian albums. Up until now, I've completely ignored them. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-22-2022: Comfort, Yakkin' for Hours, Copper and Luna in the Living Room

1. Debbie and I always have things about our life together on the table. We've had improving our houses's heating/cooling system on the table ever since we moved here. It's off the table now. We are going for it.

2. We arrived at our decision over a couple of excellent IPAs: Heretic Brewing's Evil 3 and Revision Brewing's Pour Decisions (!). It didn't take long to make our home improvement decision and soon, with the help of popcorn, our conversation wandered all over the place -- we talked about Bob Dylan, song writing, song writers, our experiences with multi-cultural education, current political realities; we talked about geography, disappointments, new understandings we've arrived at as we've aged, and our upcoming trip to Eugene. It was a good, several hours long session of good, serious yakkin'. I'm used to yakkin' like this with Debbie at Radio Brewing or, in Eugene, at 16 Tons or Cornucopia or in the now lost days of Billy Mac's.  It was fun to have one of these fruitful rambling sessions in our living room. 

3. Copper and Luna enjoyed some bonus time in the living room early this afternoon. Debbie took Gibbs upstairs and she took a nap. Luna loves the ottoman. It's in front of our living room's picture window and is a good sun bathing spot. Luna curled up and relaxed there. Copper perched himself on the arm of one of our living room chairs. From there, he could look out the window, be close to me (but not too close!). Every once in a while, though, Copper jumped down from the chair, came over to me, put his front paws on my chair, and let his body language tell me he wanted to be petted. He does this with me in the Vizio room, too, but he never jumps up into my lap. Sometimes he seems on the verge of joining me in a chair, but he always retreats. At night, however, Copper sleeps against my legs. He makes contact that lasts all night, so he's closed the gap while we sleep, but not when we are awake. 

After a while, Debbie and Gibbs came back to the living room and Copper and Luna dashed into the safe confines of the Vizio room and rested in their appointed places, happy to have had their relaxing time in our living room. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-21-2022: Auto Tires Switched, Morning Glory Muffins, Black Bean Stew and Family Dinner

1.  After I loaded up the Sube with both cars' spring/summer/fall tires, I drove the Sube down to Silver Valley Tires, walked home, drove the Camry down, walked home, and waited for a phone call. Silver Valley called, telling me the cars' tires were switched. I walked back down to the shop, picked up the Sube, put the eight snow tires in the garage, walked back to SVTires, and picked up the Camry. 

Getting stuff like this done makes very happy, happy beyond reason.

2. While I waited for the cars, I baked Morning Glory Muffins, featuring apples, carrots, a tiny bit of zucchini, roasted coconut flakes, roasted chopped walnuts, and raisins along with the usual flours, brown sugar, eggs, and baking powder and soda. I made big muffins, six of them, for family dinner and I was very happy with how they turned out.

3. I also took responsibility for tonight's family dinner cocktail and main dish.

I made us all a Sazerac, using cognac instead of bourbon or rye whiskey. For each drink, I poured absinthe in a chilled glass, added ice, swirled around the absinthe, and dumped out the ice and leftover liquid. I poured some simple syrup into the bottom of the glass, put cognac with ice in the cocktail shaker, got the cognac cold by shaking, poured it over the simple syrup, added a few dashes of Peychaud's bitters, and rimmed the glass with a lime peel and dropped the peel in the glass. 

This drink made everyone in the family happy.

Earlier, I had poured sherry and olive oil in the Dutch oven and added chopped onion, carrot, and celery. I cooked them until tender and added minced garlic and let that cook for a minute or so. Next I added a bunch of stuff to the pot: black beans, frozen corn kernels, vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, some tomato paste, honey, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. I squeezed the juice out of two oranges and added that. I brought the stew to a boil, covered the pot, let it simmer for about 45 minutes and then stirred in cilantro, and let it cook some more, at a very low heat, until we were ready to eat. 

I was really happy with this black bean stew.

We hadn't gathered for family dinner since February 28th.

It was fun to enjoy Murray's cheese and crackers with our Sazeracs, eat our stew and a muffin, drink Zag red wine or rose wine,  and snack on chocolate after dinner. 

We talked about a lot of different things having to do with friends, the school district, books, the Zags, and a variety of other things. 

We had a boisterous night!

Three Beautiful Things 03-20-2022: NCAA Tournament Seeding, ZOOM Time, Red Stripe Black Butte Porter

1.  It would be easy to ramble on about today's NCAA men's basketball tournament action, but I'll just make a blanket statement and then tip my hat to the Texas Christian Horned Frogs. 

Blanket statement: I have no argument with how the committee seeded the teams in this tournament. Others with more analytical minds than mine might have quibbles, but I don't. 

What I think is true, though, is that, overall, the margins of difference in how higher seeded teams perform vis a vis lower seeds are very small. That's the nature of college basketball right now. Traditionally, you'd think there would be a significant gap between say, a #1 seed (Gonzaga or Arizona) and a #9 seed (Memphis or Texas Christian), not to mention between a #2 seed (Auburn) and a #10 (Miami). 

Not this year and the fact that lower seeded teams can play so competitively with higher seed teams -- and even beat them -- made this first weekend of the tournament a blast to watch.

In particular, I'd like to single out the gutsy, impassioned, raw-boned, energetic play of the Texas Christian Horned Frogs in their overtime loss to Arizona. Like other lower seeded teams, the Horned Frogs have a talented team, but not as many highly skilled players as more elite teams. But, boy howdy!, do they ever defend hard, crash the boards with enthusiasm, work and work and work to make opponents uncomfortable, and play with tenacity. 

Arizona defeated TCU, 85-80, in overtime. But, much like Gonzaga the night before, Arizona got pushed hard by ninth seeded team. 

I loved watching them play so hard. As their post-game anguish revealed, they gave all the energy they had to this game. They suffered a really painful loss.

2. In the midst of all this engrossing college basketball action, Bill, Diane, Bridgit, and I jumped on the ZOOM machine and became involved in engrossing conversation.

Much of our yakkin' centered around a crucial realization Diane arrived at and a decision she made regarding her retirement. I won't go into details. Diane took us into her confidence. Blabbing would violate that. I will say, though, that Diane came to an understanding of herself and her workplace that was liberating and that, in my view, has a lot of potential to contribute mightily to her happiness and well-being as she leaves her job and settles into retirement itself.

3. I like mixing beers and I like mixing cider and beer. This afternoon, I blended Deschutes Black Butte Porter with Red Stripe Lager. It worked for me. It was a bit unusual to combine the apple-y mild sweetness of the Red Stripe with the toasty, dark chocolate flavors of the porter, but I've drunk plenty of apple ciders blended with stouts and porters. The apple flavors are much more forward when I blend cider with dark beer. The slight sweetness of the Red Stripe was more subtle and I enjoyed that as far as flavor goes, the porter was more forward. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-19-2022: Oregon Duck Fans Know Shaheen Holloway, I Was Wrong Twice!, Movie Trailers

1.  It came back to me today. In March, 2000, the Oregon Ducks earned just their second berth in the men's NCAA basketball tournament since 1961.

I remember being really happy for the Ducks' achievement. 

I also remember feeling uneasy. 

After all, the tournament committee sent the 7th seeded Ducks all the way back east across three time zones to Buffalo, NY to play the 10th seeded Seton Hall Pirates who arrived in Buffalo from just 350 miles away. 

The game was a nail biter and things looked good for the Ducks when Fred Jones hit two free throws with 8.7 seconds left in overtime to put the Ducks ahead by a point.

Seton Hall inbounded the ball to Shaheen Holloway. 

Wait!  

Do you recognize that name? 

Yes, sir, it's the very same Shaheen Holloway who 22 years later is now the coach of the St. Peter's Peacocks, the very same 15 seeded St. Peter's Peacocks who defeated the 2nd seeded Kentucky on Thursday and who defeated Murray State today to advance to the Round of 16, this year's tournament surprise team.

Duck fans would rather not be reminded of Shaheen Holloway.

On March 17, 2000 Shaheen Holloway raced the length of the court, lifted a shot high off the backboard with 1.9 seconds left, and it dropped through the cup, securing Seton Hall's dramatic first round win. 

Duck fans remember.

2. It's not exactly headline news when I'm wrong, especially when it comes to what I think is going to happen in any college basketball game.

If I'm ever right, I'll own that. 

Today, though, I was wrong twice. 

I thought two different teams were sunk, finished, headed toward losses, but both teams ended up winning their games.

With ten minutes left in the game and a twenty-five point lead, North Carolina seemed on their way to an astonishing win over Baylor.

Then the Tar Heels collapsed.

The downward spiral began when the Tar Heels' leading scorer, Brady Manek, threw a retaliatory elbow above Jeremy Sochan's shoulders and got ejected from the game.

Later, the Tar Heels' primary ball handler, Caleb Love, fouled out.

Baylor pressed, pressured, harassed, and discombobulated North Carolina and by the end of regulation they pulled even -- did I mention that Baylor was 25 points down with 10 minutes to play? -- and sent the game into overtime.

I figured Baylor would steamroll North Carolina in the overtime period, but, no, North Carolina hit some crucial shots from the field, Baylor went cold, stalling their momentum, and the Tar Heels survived their disintegration and triumphed, 93-86.

Later in the evening, Gonzaga and Memphis squared off and, once again, I was wrong.

With their starters' height, strength, agility, quickness, and leaping skills, Memphis blasted Gonzaga in the first half and rocketed out to a 41-31 lead.

I didn't have the guts to text out to Byrdman, Stu, and Terry T what I was thinking, but I'll confess now that I thought Gonzaga was finished. I thought Memphis's physical superiority in the first half would continue in the second half and I didn't think Gonzaga had answers. I didn't think they'd effectively respond. 

Looking as honestly as I can at myself and what I thought, I underestimated Gonzaga's fortitude and resolve.

I genuinely did not think Gonzaga had it within themselves to come back and win this game, but I was wrong.

For starters, Drew Timme played the second half with a fire in his belly that I don't remember seeing before. He went on a scoring tear, hitting shots inside from a variety of angles, burying a couple of mid-range jumpers, and even splashing a trey, a rarity. 

Memphis's athletic interior players got into foul trouble. Gonzaga appeared to be the better conditioned team. I thought some Memphis players looked gassed as the Zags' fast pace of play seemed to tire them out. Memphis' coach, Penny Hardaway, decided to hoard his allotted time outs rather than stop play give his winded players a chance to rest. We'll never know if using one of his time outs earlier would have helped Hardaway's Tigers. 

As the second half proceeded, Gonzaga's guards hit crucial shots. Timme, Andrew Nembhard, and Rasir Bolton complemented each other, the Zags' attack broadened, and the two guards made critical free throws down the stretch.

The Zags won, 82-78.

3. After watching tons of basketball today, I turned to YouTube and IMDb and watched some trailers of movies related to Greenwich Village and, more specifically, Bob Dylan. I look forward before too long to watching Inside Llewellyn Davis for the first time and returning to viewings of I'm Not There and Rolling Thunder Revue. I'll look into other related movies as well. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-19-2022: Living in the Past with Dylan and the Dead, Basketball Feast, Care for Copper

1. I started my Friday with the bliss I usually experience on Thursday. I was busier than usual with domestic demands Thursday evening, so I waited until first thing Friday morning to listen to Dan Mackay's radio show, Hard Rain and Slow Trains: Bob Dylan and His Fellow Travelers and Jeff Harrison's Deadish. 

I don't know if there's such a thing as the Bob Dylan origin story, but once a month for the year of 2022, Dan devotes a show to what Bob Dylan was doing month by month in 1962, the year his first record album was released. Today I learned as much as I've ever known about Dylan's experience as a 19/20 year old with seasoned blues veterans Big Joe Williams and Victoria Spivey.

Dan's show helps me bit by bit come to know Bob Dylan's career better. This morning I arrived at a new and much better knowledge of Bob Dylan's debt to the blues and his work as a bluesman. I wish I could elaborate on this more fully -- and maybe one day I'll be able to. 

For now, I'll just say that Dan's March 17th program made it clear that if there is such a thing as the Bob Dylan origin story, it's steeped, in part, in the blues, in acoustic blues and the history of the blues.

I love how Jeff opened Deadish on his March 17th show by playing Grateful Dead version of four songs that appeared on Bob Dylan's first album, including a 1962 recording of Jerry Garcia singing a beautiful and mournful a cappella version of "Man of Constant Sorrow" and a moving version of "Peggy-O". I loved these covers, the connection back Dan's show, and experiencing how, like Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead owe so much to the traditional folk and blues music they inherited.

Jeff's show started beautifully and continued to be so. He featured some fragments of jam sessions from 1975 in Bob Weir's studio that I found dreamy and fun. I also enjoyed the songs he played that featured Pigpen and he managed to squeeze in much of a great show the Grateful Dead performed at the Carousel Ballroom on March 17, 1968 that featured some fiery jams and that helped deepen my acquaintance with several Grateful Dead songs from that time period. I hope to return to Jeff's show, listen again, and deepen my acquaintance with "The Other One", "New Potato Caboose", and "Caution" in particular. 

2. NCAA men's basketball dominated my day -- and, again, I won't even try to recap all that happened over the sixteen games that were telecast today. The most fun games, for me, by far, featured teams from lesser conferences giving teams from Power 5 leagues some fierce competition. UT- Chattanooga came within a whisker of defeating Illinois. Colgate played Wisconsin tough and only lost by seven points. Davidson gave Michigan State a very difficult time, like Chattanooga gave Illinois, and only lost by a point. Inevitably, as the tournament progresses, these teams that get no national coverage during the regular season fall away and I always hate to see them go. 

3. Copper has been out of sorts lately. It's not medical -- his recent annual checkup at the vet was sound. Because he can't be out in our common living area when Gibbs is there, he has to spend most of his time behind closed doors, either in the bedroom or the Vizio room. I spent the entire day with Copper and Luna today in the Vizio room. When she's behind closed doors, Luna does much better than Copper, and Luna was great today. I thought Copper was much more content in the Vizio room with human company all day. He rested, used the litter box, and came over to me a few times for some closer attention. He's a sensitive cat, but unlike Luna, who attaches herself to me all through the day, Copper maintains physical distance, but enjoys being approached and petted, given attention. Most of all, Copper likes to be where I am, so when Gibbs is in the living room and kitchen, I'm going to spend much more of that time in the Vizio room or the bedroom so Copper has as much companionship as possible.

Three Beautiful Things 03-17-2022: Enjoyment of the Games, Preparing Corned Beef Dinner, Miracle of Texting

1. I'm not even going to try to recap today's sixteen basketball games as the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament got going today. I'll say that the game that made me happiest was injury-crippled Creighton's overtime win against San Diego State and the one that most astonished me, like every college basketball fan, was St. Peter's OT win against Kentucky. 

I had a terrible day as a gambler (my Iowa and UConn Sports Book tickets are dead) and as a bracket filler outer. 

No problem. 

I'm into it for the enjoyment of the games, the excitement of the moment, no matter who is playing, no matter who wins or loses. 

2. I didn't only watch basketball today! The other day, Debbie bought a small chunk of corned beef, some potatoes, and a cabbage and asked me to cook them for St. Patrick's Day.

After a trip to Yoke's and the liquor store, this afternoon I sliced an onion and crushed four cloves of garlic, put them in the bottom of a Dutch oven and laid our slab of corned beef on top of it. I then covered the meat with Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen beer and a little water. I brought the beer to a simmer on the stovetop, put the lid on, put the Dutch oven in the oven at 300 degrees, and started the three hour slow cooking process of braising the meat. 

I turned the meat over after 90 minutes.

With an hour to go, I put Yukon potatoes in the braise, and 30 minutes later I added in wedges of cabbage.

As the timer wound down, I mixed brown sugar, whole grain Dijon mustard, smooth Dijon mustard, Jameson Irish whiskey, black pepper, and ground cloves together and made a glaze for the corned beef.

I removed the corned beef from the braise, dabbed it dry, scored the meat's fat cap, and applied the glaze to the top and sides of the meat.

I broiled the meat until the glaze bubbled.

I put more glaze on and broiled it again for a minute or two.

I glazed the corned beef one more time and broiled it again.

I put the potatoes and cabbage in a bowl.

Debbie sliced the meat.

Neither of us had ever eaten glazed corned beef before.

It was awesome. The Hefeweizen braise gave the cabbage and potatoes a unique and delicious clove and slight banana flavor. It worked. Everything fell into place with this somewhat experimental dinner and I'd love to try it again some time.

3. I enhanced my pleasure of watching today's basketball games by being connected by text messages to Terry and Lars, who were watching games in person at the Moda Center in Portland, exchanging a few quips with Terry's sister, Sharann Watson, co-commissioner of the bracket pool I'm in, and with Byrdman who was on top of all the action. 

It was almost like we were in the Vizio room together, swapping insights and observations and making each other laugh. 

*By the way, if you have become accustomed to reading about my Blissful Thursdays each week on this blog, I had domestic chores and cat care duties this evening that prompted me to decide to listen to Dan and Jeff on Friday morning. So, this week, I am delaying my bliss from Thursday evening to Friday morning! 

Three Beautiful Things 03-16-2022: Passport Application, Planning Dinners, First Four Pleasure and Excitement

 1. I slowly, methodically, and nervously filled out my passport renewal application and will mail it tomorrow. I am a puddle of cold sweat when faced with a form to fill out. I hope by taking it so slowly and watching 400 YouTube videos helped me fill it out correctly.

2. Debbie and I figured out our St. Patrick's Day dinner and have a pretty good idea of what we'll serve this coming Monday for family dinner.  It's always a relief to get such plans made.

3. I didn't expect much when I turned on the First Four tilt between Wagner and Wright State, but were my low expectations ever wrong! Wright State put the clamps on the nation's leading scorer, Wagner's showboating extrovert Peter Kiss. Yes, Kiss ended up scoring 28 points, but he heaved up 25 shots to do so and padded his scoring output late in the game after Wright State had pulled comfortably ahead. 

Two Wright State Raiders, Tanner Holden and Trey Calvin led the Raiders' offense. Holden reminded me of 1978 Kentucky star Jack "Goose" Givens. Like Givens, Holden is a southpaw and scored the vast majority of his points on mid-range jumpers and free throws, converting a high percentage of his attempts and scoring 37 points (4 shy of Givens' 1978 NCAA Championship game effort). He might have hit that 41 point mark, but his teammate Trey Calvin complemented Holden's outburst with 21 points of his own.

In the end, Julie (Fether) Rockwell's alma mater, Wright State, defeated Wagner 93-82 and now face the daunting task of playing Arizona on Friday.

If you'd like to experience through words the excitement of Notre Dame's 89-87 double OT victory over Rutgers, I suggest you track down professional scribes who have summed up this game elsewhere. The task is out of my reach. 

All I can say is that I loved watching both teams, loved their energy, tenacity, and courage in big moments.

Honestly, I had two responses to this game as it progressed, and especially as the two overtime periods got underway. 

1. I didn't want this game to end.

2. I didn't want either team to lose.

Let's just imagine for a moment that this game foreshadowed the kind of intense, mutually respectful competition between evenly matched teams that we might see in the next three weeks as the NCAA Tournament moves forward.

If it did, buckle up because Silverwood's Timber Terror is a placid drive around Coeur d' Alene Lake compared to the hills, valleys, twists, corkscrew turns, and excitement that could lie ahead as these tournament games get underway. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-15-2022: Chillin' at the Turf Club, Yakkin' with Lars at Bolo, Checkin' Out Stormin' Norman's

 1. I hopped into the Camry, plugged a downloaded file of Terry Gross interviewing Masha Gessen on a recent Fresh Air episode into the sound system, and blasted over the hill to Coeur d'Alene, gassed up the car at Costco, and swung by Byrdman's house. 

I drove us to Northern Quest where we dropped in on Caesar's Turf Club Sports Book and wagered a few bucks on a few different teams to win the men's NCAA basketball tournament.

We had a blast. We relaxed in the huge comfortable chairs in the Turf Club, each grabbed a pint of Hop Valley's Bubble Stash IPA, yakked about hoops, watched sports coverage on the huge tv screens in front of us, and, eventually went up to the counter and made our wagers. 

For the record, I will enjoy an increase in income if Texas Tech, Iowa, Villanova, or UConn wins the men's tournament. Ed and I teamed up on the UConn bet and are invested in the Huskies as partners.

2. After relaxing and spending a little money at the Sports Book, I rocketed the Camry out to Bolo's Bar and Grill in Spokane Valley.  Byrdman and I met up with Lars. It was Taco Tuesday at Bolo's and Byrdman and I each ordered the three taco special and enjoyed a pint of No-Li's Big and Juicy IPA. We had a blast yakkin' with Lars about retirement, news in our lives, and Lars' upcoming trip to Portland to join Terry Turner and Glenn Bennett to watch men's NCAA basketball tournament games at the Moda Center on Thursday and Saturday.  

3. Byrdman and I were fired up after yakkin' with Lars. We rolled into CdA and decided to have a last pint at a recently opened joint we'd never tried before. We bellied up to the bar at Stormin' Norman's Shipfaced Saloon on Fourth Street, just north of CdA Avenue. We both enjoyed Stormin' Norman's. Our first impression was pretty awesome because Free's "All Right Now" was playing on the sound system as we walked in and it was all classic vinyl hits throughout our visit. We each ordered a pint of Bodhizafa IPA from Georgetown and slowly enjoyed our beer and yakked more about all kinds of stuff, including some solid discussion of LA Lakers history. Two guys in Stormin' Norman's brought their dogs in the saloon, both awesome, and Byrdman and I yakked for a few minutes with the owners and bid the dogs farewell as we left. 

On my drive back to the Silver Valley, I listened to an interview I'd downloaded featuring Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues and learned a bit of his history pre-Moody Blues. I didn't finish it so it's waiting for me to return to the Camry for another road trip and some more listening. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-14-2022: Cameron Smith is Stellar, Dinner with Diane, Forgiving My Hoop Failures

1. I spent much of the day being thrilled by Cameron Smith's dramatic win today in the Players Championship golf tournament. Cameron Smith did everything: he putted masterfully, had two multi-hole birdie streaks, duck hooked a drive in deep jail and recovered, miraculously saving par, hit a stunning shot to within three feet on the treacherous 17th hole's island green, smacked a rescue shot off the pine straw into the drink, and made the bogey he needed, out of the water on the 18th to secure his victory.  

2. Debbie invited Diane over for dinner and we dove into that shepherd's pie I made yesterday. It was delicious. 

3. Stu performed a student teacher observation at Gonzaga Prep today and it was fun remembering when the Kellogg Wildcats visited G-Prep in December of 1970 and got waxed. It was a miserable basketball season for both Stu and me, but, now, over 50 years later, I look back on it and don't feel the misery any longer and have to chuckle at my whole mostly failed career as a Kellogg Wildcat hoopster. Like other areas of failure in my life, I really didn't know what I was doing -- but, I sure didn't see that at the time! 

Three Beautiful Things 03-13-2022: Cooking Shepherd's Pie, Today Was IPA Day, I'm a Joke at Bracketology (and It's A-OK!)

 1. Christy assigned Debbie to make a vegetarian shepherd's pie for Monday's family dinner, but Debbie and I switched assignments. I had fun chopping and sautéing vegetables, mashing potatoes, using clam stock to cook lentils and using it again to make the shepherd pie's "gravy". I stored everything in the refrigerator to assemble into a shepherd's pie for Monday, but later in the evening Debbie and I received notice that dinner is canceled because of illness in the family. 

2.  I had fun slowly, deliberately working on food preparation. I also had fun slowly, deliberately drinking three different beers I split with Debbie. To begin, I popped open that powerhouse crowler of pFriem's Triple Hazy IPA and Debbie and I very slowly worked our way through its 32 ounces of juicy, orange sherbet-y, kind of boozy warmth together. It took us quite a while to finish off this crowler out of respect for its 10.5% ABV. 

Having finished the crowler, we then split a pint of another Triple Hazy IPA, a favorite of ours, called Pour Decision from Sparks, NV's Revision Brewing. I cooked. Debbie watched programming on Acorn TV. We yakked a bit. I cleaned up the kitchen. We ended our several hour session by splitting a pint of Modern Hipster IPA, a Double Dry Hopped IPA brewed at Evil Twin Brewing, North Haven, CT. 

Taking our time, savoring these beers, enjoying the variety of juiciness these IPAs served up was really fun and relaxing.

3. I will fill out a men's basketball bracket sheet for the NCAA Tournament again this year and submit it to Sharann and Doug and, once again, sit back and watch it fall apart. It's mind boggling. So many teams are good. A single elimination tournament brings so many variables into what might happen in any given game so that luck, the way referees call a particular game, teams being unfamiliar with each other with short time spans to prepare for their opponents all complicate the process of picking winners. It would be so much easier if skill and talent were the only factors determining whether one team defeats another, but that's not the case in this best of all sporting events. So, I'll bravely, humbly fill out my bracket sheet, have zero expectations of success, and enjoy the games once they get underway on Tuesday. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-12-2022: Lunch at Capone's, Byrdman and a Beer Mission at Growler Guys, On the Road with Jeff and Dan

 1. Debbie and I like to have a plentiful stash of double and triple IPAs (hazy if possible) on hand in the icebox, but, to our knowledge, no one in the Silver Valley sells these beers. So, from time to time, I go to Pilgrim's in CdA and stock up and I had fun doing that today. I'd planned to have a late breakfast at the Breakfast Nook before I shopped for beer, but discovered it's a weekday cafe now, closed on weekends. 

So I sauntered into Capone's in Midtown, bellied up to the bar, and ordered a MickDuff's La Cervezas. It didn't quite taste right to me and, after about three sips, I figured out why: I like Cervezas beers with lime. So, I requested lime, squeezed it in my beer, and that simple move completed the beer's taste profile (for me) and the beer tasted really good with my Swiss cheese burger and fries.

2. I had fun selecting beer at Pilgrim's. I talked to Paige, whom I used to yak with when she worked at Radio (she works at Pilgrim's now). I also picked up some Bitchin' Sauce and some produce. I then headed over to Growler Guys, not only to have a couple of beers, but to text Byrdman and see if he wanted to join me. 

He did.

I had a mission at Growler Guys. I knew they had pFriem's Hazy Triple IPA on tap, so I ordered a 10 oz pour, knowing if I thought it was pretty good that later I'd order a crowler to take home. I liked it and I ordered a crowler.

Byrdman and I yakked about college hoops and he told me about all the people he saw at Larry Ross's memorial and the get together afterward at Noah's Loft. It was a great session, worthy of a second beer.

When I returned to the counter to order, I wanted to come down the ladder a ways and not have another high octane 3IPA.

I ordered an 8 oz pour of Golden Ale from Zolupez Beer Company in Ogden, UT. 

It tasted unlike any Golden Ale I'd ever drunk. It was lemon-y with a mango presence. 

Turns out Zolupez Beer Company makes both Golden Ale and IPA in the cerveza style. I discovered this when I looked up Zolupez Beer Company online. 

So, I'm most familiar with cervezas as a kind of lager beer.  Little did I know that there was such a thing as a Cerveza Golden Ale and I'm really happy that I wanted a lighter beer to finish at Growler Guys and ordered this one. The lemon peel presence in this beer made squeezing lime juice in it unnecessary. 

3. Debbie and I drive the Camry mostly as a road car and since I was hitting the open road (!) to travel between Kellogg and CdA today, I traveled in style in our new car.

I can do some in-car listening in the Camry that is not possible in the Sube.

So, I plugged my cell phone into the Camry sound system and went to the archive of KEPW-FM and listened to the last hour of Jeff Harrison's Deadish show from March 9th. Jeff played all Steve Kimock music over that last hour and I loved listening to it again.

So far, on Hard Rain and Slow Trains, Dan has put together three episodes built around musicians Bob Dylan played most often on his Theme Time Radio Hour show (2006-09). 

I had listened to Dan's third installment at home and, today, as I journeyed back to Kellogg, I listened to his second installment. I didn't quite finish it on the road, but after meeting Debbie and having some Chinese food at The Lounge, I returned home, listened to the rest of that show and then listened to the first such episode Dan produced. 

I think Dan's idea is ingenious. He builds his Theme Time shows around the musicians Dylan played most often on his radio program. Dan plays bits from Theme Time of Dylan talking about each musician, of introducing them, and then Dan plays songs by those musicians that Dylan did not play. 

I really hope Dan will return producing more Theme Time episodes, episodes he calls "Maybe She'll Pick Him Out Again".  

I haven't heard them all, but I loved ever hour of Theme Time Radio Hour I listened to and I've had a blast listening to how Dan so inventively created the three episodes (so far) focused on Dylan's show. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-11-2022: Relaxin' at The Lounge, My Favorite Red Stripe Lager Memory, Look Out for Villanova

1.  Ed and I met at The Lounge soon after it opened this afternoon. I enjoyed a couple of the Champagne of Bottled Beers and yakked with Ed, Cas, John Seavy, Debbie F.,  and Bucky. The Moores arrived and I shook hands with Butch and Brian and shared warm greetings. Ed and I stuck with our plan to have a couple of beers and then head out. Jake was coming in as we left. Byrdman and Lloyd B. arrived later. I was sorry I missed them. 

BUT

2. Back home, Sue D. had arrived to knit with Debbie. She brought a six pack of Red Stripe Jamaican Lager with her. I love that beer. It had been a long time since I'd had one, but the second I tasted it I was transported back to Arlington Heights, IL and that moment in August, 1998 when I met Debbie's brother, David (RIP), for the first time and he wedged a Red Stripe's bottle cap between his wedding ring and ring finger, popped open the beer, and our friendship got off to a terrific start as we enjoyed a Red Stripe together. 

3. Having watched Villanova close out close wins two nights in a row against, first, St. John's and, tonight, against UConn, I thought for the first time this entire season that because of experienced players like Collin Gillespie, Jermaine Samuels, and Justin Moore and because of the ever improving play of Brandon Slater and Eric Dixon, Villanova might have a better shot at winning the NCAA national title than I thought they would when this season began. Having Jay Wright as their coach might, in the end, be the most positive contributing factor. What difference does experience make? It's intangible, but experienced players like Villanova's know how to win, a quality that is difficult to describe, but I've seen it in Villanova late in the season and, now, two nights in a row in the Big East tournament. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-10-2022: Providence Does It Again, Admiring Older Players, A Wonderful Blissful Thursday

 1. It's an overwhelming week in college basketball and I can only handle watching a limited amount of it when the conference tournaments are in their early stages -- like today.

The highlight of my day came early on as I watched Providence and Butler scratch and claw in a tightly contested game that Providence won, thanks largely to a huge three-pointer from deep in the corner converted by Al Durham with 43 seconds to play that put Providence ahead, 61-59. Durham is playing with a sports hernia and hadn't scored from the field all game long, but somehow swished this huge shot from 20+ feet out. On Butler's ensuing possession, the Friars' glue guy, the guy who does a lot of Providence's dirty work, the irrespressible Justin Minaya made a spectacular block of a Simas Lukosius lay in and helped seal Providence's scrappy 65-61 victory.

2. I then watched the ever improving Creighton Blue Jays, playing without injured freshman Ryan Nembhard, outplay Marquette and defeat them, 74-63. Creighton's success this season is, to me, remarkable -- but possibly it shouldn't be, given that the Bluejays are coached by one of the best in the business, Greg McDermott. This season, McDermott built an entirely new starting five around a few freshmen, a much improved sophomore, Ryan Kalkbrenner, a returning senior (who transferred a year ago from Duke), Alex O'Connell, and a real sleeper, sixth year senior transfer Ryan Hawkins, the Bluejays' leading scorer, rebounder, and, to me, their glue guy.

After redshirting in 2016-17, Hawkins played for four years at Northwest Missouri State, an NCAA Division II school. The team won the Division II national championship two of those seasons and Hawkins was the national tournament's most outstanding player in 2021.

Upon transferring to Creighton, the big question was how he would make the transition from Division II to Division I competition.

The answer: he'd be awesome. 

I am all for the extended college careers the NCAA instituted this season after the pandemic messed up so many teams' schedules a year ago and caused the cancellation of the national tournament in 2020.

I have loved watching Ryan Hawkins, and other players like him, still playing college basketball at the age of 24, bring maturity and well-honed skills to his team and to the game. These older players elevated the quality of play in programs across the country. I don't know if the NCAA is going to open the way for super seniors, players who play beyond their fourth or fifth year of eligibility, in the future, but it's been a boon to the college hoops season this year.

Just for the record, remember me mentioning that Al Durham hit that game winner for Providence in their win over Butler?

Durham is a super senior. He's 23 years old. He played four years at Indiana University. Much of Providence's success this season is a result of this team having older, experienced, savvy players whose careers were extended a year and who transferred to Providence. Glue guy Justin Minaya is an example. So is the Friars' Noah Horchler. 

I think the extension of eligibility has turned out to be a great deal for the players and it's also helped several teams improve (Providence) or maintain their excellence (Villanova). 

Final note: St. John's lost a heartbreaker to Villanova last night. Somehow, some way 'Nova always figures out a way to win. It was a very hard-earned victory.

3. Tonight was a blissful Blissful Thursday indeed. On his Hard Rains and Slow Trains show, Dan Mackay focused on the first week of Bob Dylan's tour that just got underway on March 3rd. I haven't listened to Dylan's most recent album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, from beginning to end, but, thanks to Dan's show, I'm starting to get familiar with some of its tracks. Tonight, Dan had recordings of Dylan performing in the past week in Tuscon and Albuquerque (if I remember correctly) and played Dylan performing "Crossing the Rubicon", "I've Made up My Mind to Give Myself to You", "Key West (Philosopher Pirate)" and other songs.  Oh! Dan also played Dylan and his band performing "When I Paint My Masterpiece" in a way I'd never heard before. Dylan claimed when he was done that he'd performed the way Willie Nelson would. I got a kick out of that. 

I don't think the day will ever come when I can say anything intelligent about Bob Dylan's songs. 

I definitely am unable to write about these latest songs in relation to his earlier work. 

All I can do is listen without expectations because Dylan is always rearranging his songs, improvising different lyrics, and serving up surprises and unpredictability.

And enjoy. 

For me, it's like watching movies. 

I always do my best to enjoy a movie on its terms, not mine.

Likewise, I try to listen to Bob Dylan on Bob Dylan's terms (or something approximating his terms). 

It's fun.

After Dan's show, Jeff came on KEPW-FM (kepw.org) at 9:00 and provided two hours of superb Deadish music.

Back on March 10, 1981, the Grateful Dead played Madison Square Garden (The venue was available because the Big East Conference Tournament was a) finished on March 7th -- Syracuse defeated Villanova in 3OT and b) that year it was played at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY, not its now permanent home, MSG). 

Jeff played a variety of excerpts from that forty-one year old show. Again, I can't make intelligent comments about Grateful Dead shows. Even after all these years of listening, I still have trouble remembering the names of songs and I definitely am not one who can tell you the difference between how the Grateful Dead performed at one show in comparison or contrast to another. 

But, in the moment, I'm all in. I never know what songs will get to me, but I enjoy them all. Tonight, the "get to me song" was "Breakdown Palace". I'll leave it at that.

In his second hour, Jeff turned his attention to Steve Kimock and Zero, KVHW, and (I think) the Steve Kimock band. (I have trouble keeping things straight.)

The hour of Kimock was 60 minutes of fire. Jeff played a set of songs that showcased Kimock's range and versatility as a guitarist, whether he's playing slowed down and gorgeous or going on sonic magic carpet rides into the heavens. I heard Kimock play with Zero countless times in the 1990s in Eugene, both at the WOW Hall and the at the Hilton Ballroom, and it was always inspiring and joyful. 

Jeff's Kimock hour took me back to some of my favorite times ever in the past 20-30 years. Primo listening. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-09-2022: New Diet for Luna and Copper, Afternoon Beer at the Lounge, Audio Help with *The Songlines*

1. When Luna had her blood work and a urinalysis done, Dr. Cook discovered that (like me!) her kidneys are beginning to weaken. So, today, I dropped in at the vet's office and bought cat food specially made for cats with kidney disease. Past experience has familiarized me with kidney disease in aging cats so, since Copper is also an older cat, I will feed both of them this new food. I'll take Luna back at the end of April for a follow up blood screening.

2. I've been hanging out in the house a lot lately working on finding contacts and making contact with Class of 72 classmates about our reunion, watching movies, reading, writing in this blog, watching basketball games, and doing other things I enjoy a lot indoors. 

Today I got out. Ha!

I went to the vet. I recycled cardboard at the transfer station. I mailed a package at the post office. After the post office, I was cruising down McKinley and saw Cas's Lipstick Edition Lincoln parked across from the Lounge. I figured he was getting some work done and I dropped in. Doug Y. had evidently also seen Cas's car. He was at the bar. Later Roger (last name?) joined us. 

It was fun drinking a couple bottles of the Champagne of Bottled Beer and listening to tall tales and doing a little yakkin' myself. In these situations, I always come up short when it comes to having tales to tell. I guess I could tell about times I read the Old Testament lesson at St. Mary's or the good days of teaching Shakespeare and World Lit at LCC or about appearing in plays at LCC, but somehow my good old days don't seem to fit in very well with the good old days stories the other guys tell, so I just quietly listen, enjoy, and learn more about what was going on around Kellogg all those years that I didn't live here. 

It's all good.

3. About a month ago, I started reading Bruce Chatwin's book, The Songlines. It's a lyrical work of non-fiction, with fiction blended into it, but, for some reason, I was having trouble staying focused while I read it. 

So, I downloaded an audio copy of the book and this evening I went back to the beginning of the book and listened to it while I read.

It was a perfect move. 

Hearing the music of Chatwin's prose read to me helped me keep focused and enjoy the rich details of his writing more. I'm looking forward to continuing on and in another post I'll write a little more concerning what The Songlines is about. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-08-2022: Good Day for Contact with Friends, Clean Litter Pan, Zags Win the WCC Tournament

 1. This was a good day for contacting friends and classmates and making plans. Deborah, Scott, and I will meet for lunch in mid to late April in Spokane. Terry, Roger, and I are on the verge of nailing down a plan to watch the men's NCAA basketball championship game in early April. If we do, we'll be turning back the clock (in a way) to 1986, the last time the three of us watched a final game together. That evening we watched Louisville defeat Duke. I also had several helpful and warming exchanges with Class of '72 classmates. I secured more contact information, sent out more notices that the reunion is happening July 15-17, and at least one more classmate told me she plans to come. 

2. It was time today to remove the litter and scrub the interior of Luna and Copper's most frequently utilized litter pan. Each time I do this job, it gets easier and I am more efficient. Cleaning out that pan today was a snap -- and I won't bore you with the details!

3. I hadn't watched the Gonzaga's men's basketball team play for several weeks when I tuned in at 6:00 this evening to watch the Zags take on St. Mary's for the WCC tournament championship.

Teams that play hard-nosed, determined, physical defense are referred to by some in the sports media as Junkyard Dogs -- you know, like mean, mean LeRoy Brown: "Badder than old King Kong/And meaner than a junkyard dog." 

To me, St. Mary's plays defense like Jim Croce's junkyard dogs. 

Their junkyard defense was successful about 10 days ago when St. Mary's defeated Gonzaga, 67-57 on the Gaels' home court.

Tonight, I wanted to see if St. Mary's could assert its junkyard will on the Zags, slow down the game, make timely shots again, and get stellar performances out of their splendid guard tandem, Tommy Kuhse and Logan Johnson. 

St. Mary's succeeded in making life miserable for the Zags' two inside standouts, Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren, giving them little space to operate, forcing them into some bad shots, and frustrating them. 

Tonight, though, Gonzaga clearly demonstrated that they are capable of racking up points even when the two big guys get shut down.

Andrew Nembhard, Rasir Bolton, and Julian Strawther each had hot scoring streaks from beyond the three point line and on floaters and mid-range jumpers. 

Their sharp shooting kept the Gaels at bay and compensated for the hum drum offensive output of Timme and Holmgren and factored mightily in Gonzaga's 82-69 victory. 

I don't think of Gonzaga as playing junkyard dog defense, not the raw-boned scrapping kind that, say, Texas Tech plays or that St. Mary's lays on opponents.

But, I will single out one Zag, Anton Watson, for junkyard dog potential. Unless Watson gets in foul trouble, he plays some not very flamboyant lock down defense, plucks valuable rebounds, and makes quiet contributions on the offensive end. Last night, Watson scored ten very valuable points for the Zags off the bench on short jumpers and timely cuts to the basket. He only took six shots, made five of them, and played with great energy and intelligence.

Footnote: Did St. Mary's guards perform well? I'll say. Tommy Kuhse and Logan Johnson combined for 36 of St. Mary's 69 points, making some very impressive drives to the tin, scoring with savvy knowledge of angles, shooting with deft touch, and occasionally swishing shots from three point land. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-07-2022: More Reunion Contacts, Songs for a Bob Dylan Skeptic, Pizza Dinner

 1. I got more done on the reunion project. Slowly, surely I'm getting in touch with more people each day and finding a bit more about our classmates' plans for our July 15-17, 2022 KHS Class of 72 50 year reunion. 

2. I had the house to myself for much of the day. Debbie took a sub job at Pinehurst Elementary. I took some time away from chasing down contact info and writing texts and emails to classmates and listened to the entire episode of the Hard Rain/Slow Trains that I started as I went to sleep last night.

I wrote a bit about this episode yesterday and its title is, I think, self-explanatory: "An Episode to Play for Your Friends That Don't Like Bob Dylan But Wish They Could!"

It aired on September 24, 2020. You can go listen to it right here. 

I would love to sit at a table with people who really know Bob Dylan, people like Jeff Harrison, Daniel Mackay, Michael McDonald, and others, and listen to more of Daniel's reasons for choosing the songs he played on this show and what the others might have chosen. As I understand it, Dan's idea was to play songs that would help a skeptic or a person new to Dylan make enjoyable inroads into Dylan's songbook.

I don't know Dylan's songbook in any comprehensive way. 

I'm learning, though. 

At this early stage of listening to more of Bob Dylan, if I were to play songs that might help a skeptic who wants to like Dylan, in two ways, I'd follow Dan's direction.

First of all, I am growing more and more aware of (and fond of) Bob Dylan's songs about love, especially his songs of yearning and longing. Maybe in another post, I'll get my act together and list some of them. Dan played a solid selection of such songs in the "Play for Friends" episode.

Second, I love listening to any/every song Bob Dylan performed with Scarlet Rivera playing fiddle in his band. In this episode, Dan played "Hurricane" and that song features Bob Dylan's mad skills as a writer of long narrative songs, his ability to move his listeners to sadness and anger because of injustice, and the sublime and mournful accompaniment of Scarlet Rivera. 

3. Debbie arrived home from her day of teaching. We drank some Bombastic Brewing's Fifth Anniversary Imperial Stout together and I went to Yoke's, picked up a few groceries, and returned home with a Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza. We had a fun dinner together. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-06-2022: Love and Support for Harold Kurt (RIP), ZOOM Time!, *Rain/Trains* and Surreal Bob Dylan

 1. This morning Harold Kurt's wife, Stacy, sent me an email telling me that Harold (KHS '72) had suffered a stroke and died on Thursday, March 3rd. The news was grievous, but as I got the word out to classmates and other current and former Silver Valley residents, the outpouring of love, support, and concern for Stacy, the rest of Harold's family, and his many friends has been moving.

2. Bill, Diane, and I jumped on the ZOOM machine today and we had a rollicking good time talking about one of our favorite movies, The Return of the Secaucus 7 (1979). Back in about 1980-84, I saw this movie countless times. I saw it in movie theaters at least three times and then I recorded myself a Betamax tape of it and watched it at home, alone and with friends, repeatedly. Now, all these years later, I haven't seen it for quite a while, but Bill and Diane told me it's available on AMC's streaming service. I see another viewing in my near future. 

Bill and Diane's love for this movie was strong today, just as it had been in the past -- giving me confidence that I would love it in 2022 just like I did forty years ago. 

It's really fun talking about movies in these ZOOM sessions and, I found out today, it's also really fun to talk about what we won't go cheap on. We all agreed that, when we can, it's worth it to spend a little more for quality food and our conversation added another item to my list: if possible, don't go cheap on house paint! 

3. The other day on Twitter, a post/meme popped up. It was interesting to me as a late newcomer to taking a deeper plunge into the music of Bob Dylan. It went like this: the person who posted has a friend who is a Dylan skeptic, but asked the person posting to consult with his Dylan-hive and have people post three songs that would change the skeptic's mind.  

I don't know Bob Dylan's catalog well enough to play along, but I had fun reading the legion of responses to this challenge. 

I messaged Dan Mackay that this question had been posed on Twitter and he responded with the suggestion that I listen to an episode he put together a couple of years ago on his podcast, Hard Rain and Slow Trains: Bob Dylan and his Fellow Travelers entitled, "An Episode to Play for Your Friends Who Don't Like Bob Dylan But Want To".  This episode aired on September 24, 2020.

It's here. 

Some nights, I like listening to Dan's podcast as I fall asleep -- even if it means going back the next day and listening to it again while fully awake. 

I'm not quite sure at what point in this terrific episode I fell asleep tonight, but I do know that for the rest of the night my dreams were dominated by surreal Bob Dylan sounds and images, so unusual that I don't have earthly words for them -- ha!

Three Beautiful Things 03-05-2022: Cold Smoke Again, Lo Mein and Fried Rice, *Hard Rain/Slow Trains* and Bob Dylan's *Theme Time Radio Hour*

 1.  Sue D. swung by the house today to knit with Debbie. I didn't knit, but I joined them after she'd been here about an hour and thoroughly enjoyed yakkin' about our upcoming 50 year reunion (July 15-17) and about the political realities of the state of Idaho. 

Sue brought a 4-pack of one of my favorite beers, but it had been so long since I'd drunk one, I had forgotten how much I love KettleHouse Brewing's Cold Smoke Scotch Ale. Lately, Debbie and I have been splitting cans of pretty aggressively hopped Imperial IPAs and the sweeter, more malty, smoother Cold Smoke Scotch Ale was a tasty contrast. It's so fun to enjoy hoppy beers and malty ones, to enjoy nicely balanced beers as well as beers that take pride in not being balanced. For me, it's just fun to enjoy a wide range of beers!

2. Debbie ran an errand and dropped in at the Inland Lounge for some serious yakkin' with Ginger, Ms. Fitz, and Cas and, while there, ordered Seafood Lo Mein and House Fried Rice, brought it home, and it was a great way to eat food that not only tasted good, but that soaked up some of the beer in my system. 

3. I closed out my evening by diving into the archive of Daniel Mackay's podcast Hard Rain and Slow Trains: Bob Dylan and His Fellow Travelers and listened to Episode 137. I loved the concept of this episode -- a concept I now know Dan had carried out twice before. Here's how it goes. From 2006 to 2009, Bob Dylan hosted a weekly one-hour radio show on Sirius/XM radio called Theme Time Radio Hour. I was a subscriber to Sirius/XM back then and I loved listening to Dylan's show -- I don't think I heard every one of them, but I heard quite a few.

Dan decided to create episodes of his podcast based on the musicians Bob Dylan played most often during Theme Time Radio's run. Dan plays Bob Dylan introducing the musicians, but then Dan plays tunes different from what Dylan played on his shows. 

On Episode 137, Dan played a series of musicians who appeared seven times each on Theme Time Radio Hour. I didn't take notes, but I can tell you some of the musicians he played: The Beatles, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, Porter Wagoner, Buck Owens, and others. 

I had a blast, not only listening to the wonderful variety of styles of music, but listening to the Theme Time Radio Hour clips of Bob Dylan introducing these musicians, often clearly expressing his love and admiration for them. 

I remember back when I listened to Theme Time Radio Hour from 2006-09, I was always very impressed with Bob Dylan's eclectic taste and knowledge of music, especially American music. He played early 20th century jazz, Tin Pan Alley songs, country music from various decades, and he also worked literary or philosophical readings into his shows. On Episode 137, Dan played Dylan reading from Jack Kerouac. Dylan's reading was awesome. 

If you'd like to scan the Theme Time Radio Hour archive and maybe listen to some shows, just go here. 

You can also listen to Daniel Mackay's past shows over the years by going to the archive of Hard Rain and Slow Trains. It's right here. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-04-2022: Luna's Kidney Report, Must Have Old-Fashioneds, Brat Dinner and a Discussion of What We Are Happy to Pay More For

 1. Luna's blood work last week showed that her aging kidneys are beginning to slip so on Thursday I dropped her off at the vet for a urinalysis. Dr. Cook called me today with no alarming news. Overall, the urinalysis was good news, but we might be nearing the time to change Luna's diet a bit by lowering her protein intake. Dr. Cook and I will talk more about this possible change next week.

2. Diane T. might have, upon arriving at our front door this afternoon, presented us with a card that said, "Have Brats -- Will Travel". She brought over brats she had marinated and boiled in beer and onions and that were ready to be broiled. She also brought a special sauce, buns, mustard, and sauerkraut. 

Diane had requested that I buy a "good beer" for us to enjoy during her visit. Before I picked up my passport photos at the Walmart Photo Center, I checked out their beer offerings and, to my delight, saw that they carried pFriem's Pilsner. Diane doesn't enjoy IPAs and she liked the pilsner at City Limits in Wallace so I bought a sixer. Back home, Debbie and I taste tested the pilsner and I found it light, clean, easy to drink, with a slight hit of bitterness on the back end. 

Diane arrived. I poured her a taste test. She happily approved and so Debbie and I split a 19.2 oz of Deschutes' Royal Fresh Imperial IPA while Diane enjoyed the pilsner. We got to yakkin' about booze at some point and decided we must switch from beer to Old-Fashioneds. 

One problem: no rye whiskey in the house. After a some early resistance to leaving the house, I adjusted my attitude and whisked down to the liquor store and purchased a fifth of Seven 7 Devils Rye Whiskey, an Idaho brand. 

Now I had everything I needed: simple syrup, a variety of bitters, a rye whiskey we all approved of (!),  Luxardo Maraschino cherries (a must!), oranges to cut into wedges, and ice. 

I made my variation of the Stanley Tucci Old Fashioned and we all loved them and went back to the Old Fashioned well a few more times.

3. Our brat dinner was awesome. The way Diane prepared the brats to be broiled made them really tasty. They came out of the broiler deliciously crunch on the surface and beautifully cooked through on the inside. Debbie whipped up a simple and awesome cabbage and carrot salad with a delicious vinegar and oil dressing. We were in seventh heaven and ate every brat Diane brought, loved the sauce we put on them, and had some inspired conversation.

I'd like to have a record of one contribution I made to the conversation. 

On Fox Sports, a tv ad is running that features (blowhard) Colin Cowherd saying, "I always say there are three things never to go cheap on: toilet paper, transportation, and quarterbacks."

Inspired by the concept of what to never go cheap on, I kind of tongue in cheek proclaimed that one should never go cheap on maraschino cherries, liquor, or beer. Debbie added coffee to the list. I also proclaimed that I only eat about two steak dinners a year in a restaurant -- both of them at The Plateau at the Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton. I am happy to pay whatever they charge for the rare pleasure of eating one of their thick, locally raised, perfectly prepared steaks and don't care how much my pre-meal martini costs. So, I guess I'd add that I don't want to go cheap on steak dinner! 

It's fun to think about -- what things in life are any of us willing to pay more for (if we can afford it) because the quality is better and what things do we always buy cheap because the quality just doesn't matter that much? A list is growing in my head -- I'm not always 100% consistent, but I am always happier when I don't go cheap on cheese, crackers, ginger beer, or Rose (Rosay) wine. 

I'll leave it at that and just think about this some more.

Three Beautiful Things 03-03-2022: Passport Photo, After All These Years -- *Blood Simple* Again, Blissful Thursday with Daniel and Jeff on KEPW-FM

 1. Just in case Debbie and I go to Canada -- who knows? maybe this summer -- I need a renewed passport and I blasted out to Walmart today and got my picture taken. I'll pick it up on Friday, fill out my application, include my soon to be expired passport, and mail it all in. 

2. More than once, when watching Criterion Channel's "Adventures in Filmmaking", I noted that interviewees talked about Blood Simple (1984) as a favorite movie, one that stayed with them over time. 

Back when it came out, a grad school friend named Julie F. told me, if I remember correctly, that her parents had watched Blood Simple, loved it, so did she, and I remember renting it from the video store once it came out on tape.

Much like The Big Lebowski, when I watched Blood Simple for the first time, I didn't get it. I remember shrugging my shoulders, putting the tape back in its case, and returning it to Flicks and Pics. 

That was about thirty-five years ago and I never watched Blood Simple again. Until today. 

I can pinpoint when and why I gave The Big Lebowski another try back in 2005. I played the role of Snug the Joiner in LCC's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and spent a ton of time with the other actors who played the other Rude Mechanicals. These guys loved movies, talked about them all the time, especially during our time in the dressing room when we were not in the play's action, and, because they quoted  lines from The Big Lebowski and reenacted their favorite bits from the movie, I decided to give it another try and now it's one of my favorite movies of all time. 

Today, I really got into Blood Simple. In a way that went right by me in 1985 when I rented it, tonight I got a kick out of all the movie's deceit, double crossing, misunderstandings, greed, lust, revenge, and ignorance. While I remember being struck by E. Emmet Walsh as the corrupt Private Investigator when I first saw the movie, tonight his performance astonished me with the precise ways he brought the rotten soul of Loren Visser into full view -- the menacing smile, his dark cackling laugh, his tacky yellow almost leisure suit and Stetson, the blank face of his heartlessness. Even his VW Bug seemed corrupt with its faded color and dilapidated condition. 

Much like Body Heat, the movie's atmosphere was swampy, sticky, wet with sweat. But whereas Body Heat involves characters of some means and good looking clothes, the three principal characters in Blood Simple live their lives within the orbit of a third-rate Texas roadhouse with its garish neon signs advertising beer and telling us we are at the Neon Boots. 

In fact, very much in the tradition of film noir, much of this movie takes place in dark, shadowy places. Its murky exteriors parallel the murky, corrupt interiors of its characters, with the possible exception of Abby played by Frances McDormand (in her first movie ever). Well, Abby isn't an innocent character. It's her affair with Ray, a bartender at her husband's joint, Neon Boots, that punches the whole story into gear.

But Abby almost never knows what's going on in her own story. In contrast to the dark and murderous jealousy of her husband, the panicked disorientation of her lover, and the sleazy greed of PI Visser, Abby is wide-eyed, lonely, and unaware. In the end, she gets pulled completely into the movie's bloody vortex, but right up until her last bit of action in the movie, she never really knows what is happening.

But, we, as viewers do know. 

In Blood Simple, we viewers know everything. While the movie's points of view shift between characters and while they have limited knowledge of what's happening and happened around them, we know all, so that we watch the characters' blundering acts of violence with the shock that comes with possessing knowledge that those we are watching go after each other don't have.

It's compelling.

3. I finished watching Blood Simple and happily and smoothly transitioned into Blissful Thursday. It was 8:00 and time to spend an hour with Daniel Mckay on Hard Rain and Slow Trains: Bob Dylan and His Fellow Travelers and then to spend two hours, at 9:00, with Jeff Harrison's show, Deadish. 

Tonight, Bob Dylan opened his current tour in Phoenix (were Dick and Renae at this show?) and Dan's show centered on the members of Bob Dylan's band. Because I'm not knowledgeable about Bob Dylan and because I don't take notes while listening to Rain/Trains, I can't name the members of Dylan's band. But, I do know that they've played with other bands and other musicians and, while I can't name the bands Dan played tonight, I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the tracks Dan played and the work these band members  have done outside of playing with Bob Dylan.

To begin, in commemoration of Tuesday's Mardi Gras, Jeff played music by the Neville Brothers and then played selections from live shows when the Grateful Dead and the Neville Brothers played together. I was at one of those shows, the first Grateful Dead show I ever attended, back on 12-31-1987. The Neville Brothers played that night (so did The Looters and Mason Williams). I think the Neville Brothers opened the show and I know they returned and helped close the show by playing along with the Grateful Dead. Jeff played some of those Dead/Neville Brothers tunes from that New Year's Eve show along with the two bands playing together on other dates.

Jeff then turned the Grateful Dead clock back to March 3, 1968 and the Grateful Dead's incredible and legendary free performance on a flat bed truck for the Haight Street Fair. Jeff was not only marking the 54th anniversary of this performance, but he gave special attention to Pigpen's playing and singing that day. I was especially tuned into Pigpen's bluesy, long, and I'd say sexy vocals on "Turn on Your Love Light".  

As a coda, I'll write one other beautiful thing about this full and invigorating day: nothing that happened in Blood Simple and nothing I heard on Dan's show or on Jeff's gave me as much pleasure as the chicken dumplings dinner Debbie made this afternoon and that we shared with Diane for dinner. 

The chicken was moist and flavorful. The chicken stock I made some time ago worked perfectly. The dumplings were nicely browned, perfectly prepared, and divine.  Only my sense of Lenten self-discipline and my efforts to do all things in moderation stopped me from eating every leftover dumpling and all the chicken and vegetables left over in the Dutch oven when I finished eating two helpings of this most comforting and delicious dinner.

I can hardly wait to dive into these leftovers on Friday! 

Three Beautiful Things 03-02-2022: Alec Guinness's Genius, Black and White Beauty in *Brief Encounter*, Infidelity in *In the Mood for Love*

 1. I spent many hours in the Vizio room today enjoying movies on the Criterion Channel. 

I started by finishing The Horse's Mouth (1958), an offbeat comedy based on the novel by Joyce Cary. Alec Guiness wrote the screenplay and plays the primary subject of the movie, a rude, eccentric, often amoral, but brilliant painter named Gulley Jimson. Guiness is brilliant. If you've seen Guiness in multiple movies, you know that he has that rare ability of playing a wide range of comic and tragic characters and that he absolutely transforms himself into the being a wholly unique character with each role he plays. Guiness appears to me, at least, to be having a blast play Gulley Jimson. Jimson is an exaggerated character, satirizing (I think) all of the qualities generally thought to apply to an obsessed artist, and Guiness plays Gulley Jimson to the hilt with moments of serious insight into the life and thoughts of an artist and with many zany scenes of Gulley Jimson obsessively pursuing his art and the money to underwrite his efforts.

2. The Criterion Channel pairs movies and presents them as double features.

In listening to the people interviewed in the "Adventures in Moviemaking" series, nearly all of them talk wistfully about going to double features years ago and address their sadness that if any theaters still show double features, it's rare.

After I watched The Third Man, named by the British Film Institute as the best British movie of the 20th century, I decided to watch the movie that placed second, Brief Encounter (1945); to my delight, I discovered that the Criterion Channel paired it with In the Mood for Love (2000), a movie I'd never heard of from Hong Kong. Criterion titled this double feature Blue Valentines. 

The rest of my day of watching movies was set.

Brief Encounter tells the story of a married man and a married woman who, after a chance meeting at a train station, begin to meet with each other weekly and fall in love.

It's a sensitive and complex movie. Both characters, played by Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson, are simultaneously dedicated to their respective spouses and children and are delirious with excitement and passion about the mutual attraction they feel for each other, leaving them by turns confused and guilty, blissful and enraptured.

As enthralling as I found the story and the acting, most of all I enjoyed the visual experience of watching Brief Encounter.  

The movie was shot in black and white. Like The Third Man (also a black and white movie), the director of photography (or cinematographer) for Brief Encounter was Robert Krasker. As a master of light and shadow, Krasker expresses externally what the two lovers are experiencing inwardly. His shots of the rushing trains amplifies the headlong momentum of the couple's passion and the billowing clouds of steam, having an effect much like fog, accentuate the lovers' inner uncertainty about their relationship.

In addition, faces shot in black and white are almost nakedly revealing of what's happening inside a character. In particular, as the Celia Johnson character tells the story of the affair she and her lover entered into, Krasker gives us a series of portraits of her face, of her joy and anguish, of her wide eyed peering into herself, of the complex emotions she feels while telling this story and felt while it was happening. I thought, at times, that the photography in this movie was so aligned with the story's emotional content and so brilliant in its capacity to tell the movie's story, that Brief Encounter could have, at times, worked brilliantly as a silent movie.

3. This evening, I settled into my viewing of the double feature's second movie, In the Mood for Love.

Written and directed by Kar-Wai Wong and set in Hong Kong in 1962, In the Mood for Love (2000) tells the story of a man and a woman, played by Tony Chiu-Was Leung and Maggie Cheung, who are next door neighbors in an apartment building and discover that their spouses are having an affair.

Told in a sequence of fragments that shift from place to place and are shot in tight hallways, crowded restaurants and food halls, cramped work places, in small rooms, and on the often rainy streets of Hong Kong,  the movie charts the progress of the relationship between this man and woman as they suffer the pain of being cheated on and navigate the attraction they feel for each other.

Unlike Brief Encounter, In the Mood for Love is shot in color. Whereas light and shadow expressed the mood and inward struggles portrayed in Brief Encounter, in In the Mood for Love, the mood and emotions of these characters' inward life is expressed through colors of passion and by the claustrophobic spaces the man and woman occupy. I won't give away what these characters decide to do about their feelings for each other. I'll just say that I thought the different ways they felt and responded were in harmony with the movie's photography and visual textures. 

Three Beautiful Things 03-01-2022: My Kidney Function Improved, *The Third Man*, Wild College Basketball

1. Double blood draw on Monday. 

Lab results today.

To my astonishment, since my last labs were done in November of 2021, my kidney function improved by two points. My GFR has fallen to as low as 12, but now it has climbed up to 18. I'll look back at my lab records soon. I'm curious how long it's been since it was at 18. So, as I've written 1,000,000 times before, my hope with each blood draw is that my kidney function remains stable. I am at Stage IV (out of V) on the chronic kidney disease scale, but I'm feeling good, my function has improved a bit, and the other numbers, (aside from BUN and Creatinine, as expected) are all in range. My kidneys are making great use of the limited function they have. It's quite a relief. 

By the way, the results of the blood work I had for my primary care doctor, checking on my prostate and cholesterol, are also really good.

2. I worked a little bit less today on the 50th class reunion project, opting instead to watch the movie, The Third Man 1949), named by the British Film Institute as the best British movie of the 20th century.

The Third Man tells the story of a naive pulp fiction writer, Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton), who arrives in Vienna not long after the end of WWII, having been invited by an old friend from college, Harry Limes (Orson Welles). Filmed on location, in black and white, The Third Man takes us into the shadowy, morally and physically damaged world of Vienna. It's divided into four regions, each governed by a different country. The destruction of the war leaves Vienna deprived. Black markets thrive. Corruption, deceit, and duplicity reign, portrayed in the movie with off kilter and distorted camera angles, deep and sometimes nightmarish shadows, and close-ups of cunning, mendacious faces. Appearances belie what's actually true.

The movie's shadowy world is reinforced by a haunting, often ironic, soundtrack that features one instrument, a zither. 

So what happens when Holly Martins arrives in Vienna? I'd rather not say. I'd much rather anyone interested in watching this movie enter into its astonishing visual texture and narrative labyrinth without foreknowledge of what's to come, to be, in fact, much like the unsuspecting American, Holly Martins, unprepared for the depths of intrigue, double-dealing, greed, and cynicism that marks this story about the way war turns buildings as well as moral behavior into rubble.

By the way, I watched The Third Man because of what movie director Philip Kaufman had to say about the movie when he agreed to be interviewed as a part of the Criterion Channel's series, Adventures in Moviegoing.

Later in the evening, I watched all but the last half an hour of The Horses's Mouth (1958) another British movie, one that Alan Arkin talked about in his Adventures interview. It's based on the Joyce Cary novel of the same name. Alec Guiness wrote the screenplay and stars in it. It's directed by Ronald Neame, who, by the way, also directed the comic CIA thriller I enjoyed so much a week or so ago, Hopscotch.

3. I had a full day in the Vizio room. In between movies, I watched the entire men's college basketball game between the top two teams in the Big East Conference, Villanova and Providence. 

Villanova exploited a Providence slump late in the first half and held a commanding 40-26 halftime lead. At halftime, Steve Lavin said he thought Providence looked tired, possibly spent after their boisterous celebration on Saturday when they defeated Creighton to capture the Big East Conference title. I agreed with him . I also thought Al Durham's absence crippled the Friars. I thought this game might be headed toward a blow out

But, not so fast my friend.

Providence looked refreshed and energized after half time and stormed back. Providence evened the score but couldn't quite get over the hump and seize the lead. Both teams played ferociously, defended with passion, and hit one big shot and one crucial free throw after another. 

In the end, Villanova prevailed, 76-74. 

It turned out that slump in the first half doomed Providence. In addition, the Wildcats' Eric Dixon played great defense inside and neutralized the Friars' powerful center, Nate Watson, who also was in foul trouble during the tilt.  Villanova also benefited from Caleb Daniel's superb play off the bench. He led Villanova in scoring with 20 points, a huge lift. 

After this game ended and after I prepared another green curry dinner for Debbie and me with leftovers, I watched the second half of Wisconsin's gritty win over Purdue.

Maybe as much as anything in college basketball, I enjoy watching teams improve over the course of a season. Wisconsin has played pretty well all season, but in the last month or so they have developed into a surprisingly difficult team to beat in the Big 10. Tonight, with their 70-67 win over Purdue, the Badgers clinched at least a tie for the Big 10 title and can win it outright this Sunday with a win over Nebraska.

Wisconsin's win was a nail-biter and, honestly, Purdue had to feel like Wisconsin were the beneficiaries of divine intervention. 

With 50 seconds left in the game, down by a point, Purdue called a time out to devise a defensive strategy that would stymie Wisconsin and give them the ball back with plenty of time to score and take the lead.

Their defensive stand was suffocating and Purdue forced Wisconsin's star player Johnny Davis to take an awkward shot from just inside the three point line near the top of the key.

Miraculously, not only did Johnny Davis sink the shot, he BANKED it. No one banks shots from near the top of the key by design. Was it luck? Providence? Who knows?

Now Purdue was down by three.

Quickly, Purdue got the ball inside to their towering center, Zach Eady. He had a straight on look from about four feet away and he short armed the shot, missed it, and Wisconsin secured the carom.

All Purdue could do was foul and they fouled the Badgers best free throw shooter, Brad Davison. 

OMG! 

Davison missed his free throw.

Purdue snared the rebound, quickly hustled up court and Jaden Ivey tied the score with bomb from way behind the three point line with eleven seconds left on the clock.

Wisconsin got the ball over the half court line and with three seconds left, freshman Chucky Hepburn launched a howitzer from in front of the Wisconsin bench, from behind the three point arc and

HE BANKED IT IN!!

That's right. 

Was it luck?

Was it divine intervention?

I don't know.

What I do know is that Wisconsin converted a second improbable bank shot in the last minute of play. 

Wisconsin intercepted Purdue's inbound pass, secured their victory, and their fans stormed the court.

It was a breathlessly exciting and mind-boggling ending to a game filled with passion, exuberance, and, for Purdue, heart break. 

 

Three Beautiful Things 02-28-2022: Double Blood Draw Day, Shrove Tues err Monday Family Dinner, More Criterion Channel Interviews

 1. That time (every three months) rolled around again today for a blood draw to see how my old kidneys are doing and I also had blood drawn to complete my annual Medicare checkup. Today, I got to go to the clinic twice! It turned out that my lab order from Kootenai Nephrology wasn't there, so I got the Medicare blood drawn, went home, called Dr. Bieber's office, accepted all apologies (!), and went back up in the early afternoon now that the order was in, and now I've given all the blood I have to give until May.

2. Carol and Paul and Molly hosted family dinner tonight and we pretended like it was Shrove Tuesday on Monday. Therefore, the central entree was a pie sized oven pancake, accompanied by deviled eggs as an appetizer, and, for our main course, Debbie made muffin sized frittatas and a fruit salad and Carol made what she calls her special potatoes (and they are special!). Christy provided mimosas and Irish coffee. 

I can't say that we were pre-Lenten gluttons in preparation for 40 days of self-denial, but we sure had a good dinner. As we finished eating and got into some serious yakking, we had a superb discussion about books, how we read them, how we talk about them, and what we want from them. Our focus was mostly on fiction and it was fun to get at all the different ways that writers tell stories, employ narration, tell stories in linear and non-linear ways, use their imagination, and invite us to experience life beyond what we've had happen to us and beyond what we've thought about and how we've thought about things. 

3. My list of movies I want to watch on the Criterion Channel grew today after listening to an old timer, Philip Kaufmann, talk about his adventures in moviegoing and after listening to a young timer, Paul Dano, talk about movies he loves. I know I'll never watch all the movies I'm learning more about and wanting to see, but it's still stimulating to see the clips the interviewees chose to highlight when talking about their favorite movies and I love learning about directors, especially international ones, whom I've never heard of and about movies I'm unfamiliar with.