London & Paris – “The Last Guard”
September 19th, 2022
Category: events, people, & family
I remember the first time I heard “My Hero”. I was already a Nirvana fan, and I remember the radio DJ explaining that this song was written by the Nirvana drummer about Kurt.
I’ve been a Foo Fighters fan ever since, and Sarah’s level of love for the Foo Fighters eclipses mine. So, to attend Taylor’s tribute was a simple way to say thank you for 25 years of amazing music.
I figured that Dave (and the rest of the Foo) would play My Hero, and that I would cry. But instead, Taylor’s 16 year old son, Shane, played drums for My Hero. And honestly, Shane killed it: to hear thousands of people sing with Dave while Shane crushed the drums – it was a feeling of pure joy.
And then Dave sang “Everlong” alone. And I cried.
Thanks Taylor for 25 and many more years of great music.
February 12, 1943 – October 9, 2021
My Dad passed away today, and I’m not sure how I feel about it, or even how I should feel about it. I remember some good times and good things that he did for our family and for me. But I remember a whole lot more that was bad; moving state to state and school to school, religious rules without grace, his anger often specifically toward me, but mostly his lack of compassion. I learned a lot from him; some good lessons, but mostly “don’t do it this way” lessons. In some very distinct ways, he helped me learn about life – as you might have guessed, both good and bad.
And while I’m not sad that he’s gone (no one deserves to suffer through cancer) there was a part of me that thought that I wouldn’t miss him, that I’d already “dealt with his death”. But I think I do miss him – there’s a part of my history and person that is missing now. Dad helped me become who I am, and that impact will stay with me, for good and bad.
Goodness, it was cold. We stood on a parking garage roof in Elgin for 2 hours, stepping back into our cars in between photos to allow the soles of our feet to warm back up. Luckily, the lunar eclipse didn’t happen during the “Polar Vortex” (that was the next week), but it was only 4° F (-15.5° C), and being 5 levels up meant there was nothing blocking the wind.
However, unlike the 2015 Lunar Eclipse and the 2017 Solar Eclipse, there wasn’t cloud cover. I didn’t stay for the entire eclipse, but I’m pretty happy with the images that I did capture.
One of our favorite father-daughter adventures is traveling to gardens and conservatories. Visiting the indoor gardens (like Nicholas Conservatory in Rockford and Garfield and Lincoln Park Conservatories) and seeing the colorful plants when it’s monochrome outside has become a highlight in the colder months. The girls bring paper, pens, and colored pencils and draw the flowers, ferns and greenery (and I sometimes draw a bit too) while I wander around and take photos.
