Category Archives: Music

The Essential Question

Posted on October 6, 2019 by

What can we learn from the life of American singer Linda Ronstadt? The essential questions of life–and a great deal more. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Childhood, Courage, Creativity, Dolly Parton, Happiness, Music, Screen | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Attic of Our Lives

Posted on September 30, 2019 by

I thought I had gotten away from that long-ago house. You would think marrying when you are 18 years old would be enough to snap the thread, but I guess it is not so. A few months ago I visited … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Childhood, Courage, Family, Home, Knoxville, Love, Music, Screen, Women, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Man of Value

Posted on August 26, 2019 by

Values over riches, people over things: remembering my father and dealing with the grief. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Beauty, Blooming, Childhood, Creativity, Dementia, Family, Freedom, Happiness, Ideas, Knoxville, Love, Music, Tribute, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Coming Home to Myself

Posted on July 31, 2019 by

For the ones who had a notion,A notion deep inside,That it ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive . . . Bruce Springsteen, “Badlands”, 1977 A few months before Bruce Springsteen wrote his elegaic anthem “Badlands”, I left my … Continue reading →

Posted in Alzheimer's, Autobiographical, Bruce Springsteen, Childhood, Courage, Creativity, Dementia, Education, Family, Freedom, Happiness, Home, Ideas, Knoxville, Love, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Tribute, Women, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Day the Music Lived

Posted on June 30, 2019 by

Buddy Holly’s quintessentially American music could have died with him in a plane crash in 1959. But the power of his idiosyncratic genius lives on. Our music is what defines us and our music is what saves us. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Bruce Springsteen, Childhood, Creativity, Freedom, Happiness, Ideas, Knoxville, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Tribute | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blooming Out of Season

Posted on January 31, 2019 by

Nearly a decade ago I planted two camellias in container pots just outside the front door of our home. I never thought they would live for long–in containers, mind you– in the mercurial climate of East Tennessee. But my sister, … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Beauty, Blooming, Dance, Happiness, Ideas, John Irving, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Stage, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Under the Influence

Posted on July 31, 2018 by

A possible way forward in the middle of turmoil and strife: adventure, balance, curiosity, dreams, education, and being found together. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Books, Childhood, Courage, Education, Family, Friends, Happiness, Ideas, Knoxville, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Tribute, Uncategorized, Wonder, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment