On this Voyage 2025, we’re past the midway point, but the shore isn’t yet in view. Here are some reflections on “middles”…
MIDDLE AGES:
Plagues and rats and desperate poverty, oh my! But also: The Magna Carta (1215), stating, for the first time, that NO one is above the law (might be time to revisit?) and soaring cathedrals such as Notre Dame in Paris (1345) with their attendant, gorgeous Gregorian chants. Here’s a favorite of mine, the “Pater Noster” (Our Father), here sung by Chicago’s own crooner Pope Leo XIV:
Fun fact: I had a recording of this chant that I’d listen to in my room in third grade, back when my #1 ambition was sainthood. Gave that goal up long ago, but my reciting the Latin Lord’s Prayer has impressed folks at quite a few gatherings over the years…
MIDDLE AGED:
Unless I’m expecting to make it to 100, my personal “middle age” ship has sailed. But here’s a cute Roz Chast cartoon for you younguns…and yes, I am older than my doc now.
MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT:
For me, that’s literally “midnight.” or even “11:00 PM.” Saying that about 2:45 AM implies that you have been awake super-late, also that you plan to sleep in. Guessing that was Old Blue Eyes’ real life pattern. Not mine!
MIDDLE SCHOOL:
Yes, 6th grade has arrived for Aiden, and boy, is he ready. He has his bike lock (he’ll be biking the mile to school), and knows which team he’s on. Of all the “middles” in life, this may not be my favorite (it was tough for me, and for several of our kids), but Aiden is approaching this new adventure with joy and eager anticipation. One day this summer, a couple of his buddies were over. As they drank their juice, Aiden proposed a toast, and they clinked jelly glasses. “To middle school!” May it be everything my beloved grandson hopes for…
HOGWARTS COMES TO ORELAND
Last week, Sheridan informed us that September 2nd, the first day of school this year for our grandguys, is also start-of-term at Hogwarts (that doesn’t line up very often). And every year, Harry Potter and his friends attend a feast the night before (September 1st) in the Great Hall. Sher had the brilliant idea to have our own Start-of-Term Feast last night, complete with roast chicken, beef and veg, potted shrimp and haggis bonbons—our friend Mary Ellen joined us and contributed yummy butter beer and Hogwarts cut-out cookies…
For the curious, here’s the potted (Pottered?) shrimp recipe! Note: I cut the spice amounts in half and it was still plenty spicy!
I appreciate the ice cream social, Back-to-School Night, and other efforts made to get the students oriented for the new school year around here. But wouldn’t a district-wide feast be awesome? How about a Worldwide Feast, with ALL of us gathered to eat, enjoy each other’s company and launch a new “program year”? More than New Year’s, this has always felt like a fresh start to me. I think humanity could use a reboot at this point, don’t you?
SHORT FILM: ALTERNATIVE MATH
I thought this little school-related video was terrific! Love the twist at the end!
SONG: STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU BY STEELER’S WHEEL
This song came out January 1, 1972, right smack dab in the middle of my sophomore year of high school. We were in Duxbury, Massachusetts, where we lived in the middle of…nowhere—actually, beside a cranberry bog, ten miles from town—and our only resident driver (Dad) was on the road all week selling furniture. So-so year for me, but a pretty good year for tunes!
BLOG PREVIEW: MEMORY PALACE
On this 20th anniversary of the onset of my bipolar disorder, I write about why, for me at least, tragic memories are so much stronger than happy ones—and about a new/old technique for boosting our brain’s capacity to recall…
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
I was so happy to find this quote, just what I needed to read this week. It’s true for all of you, too, my friends—however long we live, more love is always around the corner!