Fourth of July

Just want to wish everyone a Happy Fourth of July. This date was my grandfather’s birthday and for many many years we celebrated it with a great parade through the home town followed-up with a huge party with friends and family at the grandparents’ house. So much fun in all those decades of fun at their house on the lake.

Wilco in Alaska

On Friday my friend, Paul, and I drove up (well I drove the entire distance and Paul sat in the passenger seat of my car) the entire 350 miles to Fairbanks to see a concert. Paul (and many others) will tell you that it was more than a concert. It was Wilco. We saw them at the Blue Loon on an outdoor stage. Words cannot describe the setting of a concert behind an old Quonset hut but perhaps this Youtube video of the band playing “Impossible Germany” during the concert will help.

The next day it was back to Anchorage, with me driving all the way. That night I again went to a Wilco concert, this time at the Moose’s Tooth. Nothing quite as breathtaking as watching a major U.S. rock band play in a pizza parlor parking lot. Oh, it was a downpour the entire concert. I learned that my “rainproof” jacket is only rainproof for 3 hours of standing in the pouring rain and then becomes hopelessly rain permeable. Hopefully these photos (courtesy of the Anchorage Daily News) will help explain.

Jeff Tweedy

Nels Cline, Jeff Tweedy, Mikael Jorgensen and John Stirratt

The people came despite the downpour

General Sherman’s tactical approach.

Tonight Anna and I went to three Christmas parties. The parties were lined-up in a north-to-south configuration. I had a wonderful idea to move south. Party to Party. Like Sherman on the way to Atlanta. It didn’t exactly work out like that. Perhaps that is because I am not a West Point trained general operating in the South during open rebellion against the government.

First, I misread an invitation and thought that one of the parties started at 3pm. That was wrong. It was to start at 6:30pm. I tried to fix it by deciding (yes, unilaterally) by attacking from the south. We arrived at what was supposed to be the last party of the evening first. It was scheduled to begin 2 hours earlier (3pm) but no one else was there. Next, Anna then told me to drive over to a nearby supermarket so we could get an additional item to give to each party host. I drove. We went inside and I refused to get any other items. This upset Anna. This is not a rare occasion. Finally, we went back to the first (which was initially supposed to be the last) party and were greeted by a friend as we parked.

The evening ended at the final party. It was good. Anna met some new people. I met some new people. We both talked to others that we already knew. The trumpets rang out. George Bailey didn’t jump off the bridge. It wasn’t renamed Pottersville. And Clarence finally got his wings.