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I am attending not only because I am a true fan, but I wanted to see your show live after hearing it so many times on the radio. In 2004, my son Leo, then 11 years old was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) and had to undergo months of treatment in the Oncology unit at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center. Leo's treatment included drugs that caused him to get painful corneal abrasions on his eyes. Light was very painful, so we would cover all the windows with black paper, have Leo wear sunglasses and basically live in total darkness for days at a time. During these times, every Saturday night, Leo and I would sit side-by-side on his bed, in the dark and turn on WVXU to listen to your show. Often, we would tune in again for your Sunday replay. Leo loved your show and we laughed so much while we listened. Your show really helped him and me through some very hard times. Unfortunately, Leo did not survive his cancer and he died in March of 2006 at the age of 13. Obviously I miss him very much, he was such a smart kid and had a killer sense of humor. I wanted you know this because your show meant so much to us and that now, when I happen to catch your show, and hear your soft voice over the radio, I am transported back to that dark hospital room with my sweet friend sitting at my side. When I watch on Saturday night, I am sure Leo will be right beside me and my wonderful husband who got the tickets for me. (He knew I HAD to go) I will think to myself, "Leo, this one is for you". Many of us never know what part we play in another's life. I thought you ought to know what a gift your show was to two people sitting in a dark room on the oncology unit at Children's Hospital. Thank you for the sweet memories. Susan J. -- Leo was lucky to have you for a mother, who could see him through those dark days with such presence of mind and strength of spirit. You've set a rather high mark for heroic parenthood, Susan. I'm glad you'll be at the Music Hall on Saturday and I hope we get a chance to meet afterward. Permalink» | Comments (2) »
Kimmie K. -- Whoever is making you feel like an outsider, Kimmie, is just being snooty. Minnesota is here to be enjoyed and you've made a good start. No need to go to Norway. (It's expensive.) Go to Sauk Center and stay in the old hotel downtown. Go to Lanesboro (another fine old hotel in what used to be a stone mill, I believe). Drive out west of Minneapolis to Willmar and then get onto one of those county roads that goes straight west and drive slowly across the prairie and when the sun starts to go down, get out of your car and walk. So beautiful. The Catholic churches and cemeteries of small towns in Stearns County. A canoe trip down the upper Mississippi. A walk on country roads on a moonlit night in January. No need to plunge ino frigid water unless you're curious. But you do need to get psyched for winter. You brave the elements, welcome the adversity and somehow it makes you more cheerful. On the coldest windiest day you go out walking into the teeth of the blizzard and when you come back to home and hearth, you will be invigorated and feel lively and witty and even giddy. Nothing like it. Permalink» | Comments (5) »
Mary O. -- She has a lot of physical energy, a lot of bounce. I don't mean she's nervous or anxious, just that she has a quickness and grace. I liked the word "jumpy" but can see how it might be taken another way. No, she is very cool, very much herself, not self-conscious, but like a lot of young people she hops and bops when she moves. It's going to be fun to have that young family in the White House, don't you think? That graceful way they walked out on stage in Grant Park on Election Night — didn't stride, didn't jump around or wave their arms, moved with quiet joy and grace, aware of how much the night meant to so many people. I truly admire that gracefulness and humility about them. So — okay, I won't say "jumpy" again. How about lively? Permalink» | Comments (2) »
Garrison, Thanks. Post to the Host: Joe Permalink» | Comments (5) »
It's our 15th wedding anniversary, which means it should be someplace special, but because 15 years on has us brimming with kids, pets and monthly payments of all kinds, not too expensive. Liam C. -- Liam, we are deeply honored that you and your wife would go through all the rigmarole of arranging child care and farming out pets and make the long trek to St. Paul at a cold and dreary time of year, and though you are a proud man and likely to put up a fight, we are going to twist your arm and make you accept a gift certificate to the St. Paul Grill in downtown St. Paul. It's a good restaurant and the staff is friendly and you'll like it. After fifteen years, you deserve no less. The Grill is a bright spot downtown and from a window table you can see the statue of F. Scott Fitzgerald in Rice Park. He is standing, coat over his arm, as if waiting for his ride. Beyond him is the old courthouse with its lighted clock tower and across the square from it is the public library. On the hill above and beyond the courthouse you can spot the lighted dome of the St. Paul Cathedral up on Ramsey Hill with Selby Avenue running alongside it. If, in the afternoon, you want to climb that hill and walk up Selby, you'd want to step into Nina's Coffeeshop on the corner of Western & Selby to warm up, and if you go to the bookstore in the cellar below the coffeeshop, you will find a gift certificate in your name so that you can purchase a decent St. Paul guidebook to tell you more about the city. There's a nice little guidebook to Fitzgerald sites in town, if that interests you, one of which is W.A. Frost's across the street, a restaurant that used to be a drugstore where the impoverished young Fitzgerald used to buy his cigarettes in 1919 while he was working on the novel that made him famous. Or you can spend it on anything you like. I own the bookstore, Common Good Books, so it's no problem. Enjoy your time and my best to you both. Permalink» | Comments (26) »
How can we get Song of Myself the recognition it deserves? What do you think? Worth it? Needful, even? Sarah W. -- The only recognition that Walt wanted was to be read, Sarah, so you've gratified his ghost already, and we have no idea how many others are reading him right now. It's a big mystery. He's in every library in America and in bookstores and on the Internet and if you Google "Song of Myself" it pops right up. I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself, I loaf and invite my soul, I suppose you can promote Walt by putting on a public reading of "Song of Myself" there in Maryland. You could make a Walt float for the 4th of July parade. You could print out lines from the poem and leave them in waiting rooms and on buses. You could hire a skywriting plane to write "I stop somewhere waiting for you" in a clear blue sky. But Walt is out there, waiting for readers, and I'm sure they're finding him. I don't know that he needs a vast crowd of readers — he might rather be loved by a few thousand than be casually scanned by a million. But do be aware that some people cannot STAND "Song of Myself" and think it's the biggest burst of flatulence in all of American literature. So expect some resistance. Permalink» | Comments (3) »
Linda S. We haven't done Ruth in a long time, that's for sure, but "discontinued"? That suggests that there was a meeting around a table and a discussion of Ruth, the pros and cons, and a consensus reached, and a memo issued: "TO: All PHC personnel, in re: Ruth Harrison. This will inform you that as of Tuesday she has been discontinued." And we don't hold those meetings. So it may be that Ruth is on leave, or just snoozing. Or disappeared while shopping. Or went to Tucson to visit her friend Kathy. But not discontinued. Permalink» | Comments (5) » | | | |
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