Cross +
Key +
Bib +
Me
Cross +
Key +
Bib +
Me
Heart Heart Heart Heart
Horn
Heart Heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heartheartheartheart
TheartTheartThe art The art The art THE ART THE ART THE ART
One day I dug a hole
I was so surprised In
The hole I found love.
***
Welcome to The ALIVE hour.
Video / narrative: Chloe Riley
Things found in real life
This cat belly full of strawberries:
The instructions of this envelope:
The frozen trees of this past week:
Things found on the internet
This quote from writer / director / actor Sarah Polley, talking about confronting pain, physical and otherwise:
The thing that will get you better is moving towards the things you’re avoiding. But it’s kind of exhilarating, realizing that whatever story you’ve been telling about yourself — and everyone tells those stories — isn’t you. That got exploded for me as this prison I was living in.
This quote from a palliative medicine physician talking about how the pandemic has changed the way she works with patients and families, especially those facing death:
I have learned to look when I want to look away. I have chosen to stay when I’d prefer to run out of the room and cry. The prelude to compassion is the willingness to see.
***
Singer, dancer, academic, folklorist Tony Barrand died last month at age 76. I grew up listening to his music, specifically the album “Live At Holstein’s,” basically a field recording in a Chicago bar. (In particular, the song “The Rolling Mills of New Jersey,” which — if you take a listen, do yourself a favor and don’t skimp on the volume.)
But it’s this video of him and his longtime musical partner John Roberts — them in 1990 on new year’s eve — that I’ve returned to many times, especially on those days when life needed lightening.
It’s grainy, but Barrand’s voice rings through like a bell — clear and bright and full of charisma. He’s captivating to watch. But close your eyes and you’ll find yourself equally delighted. It’s his sense of timing. The way he embodies this music. It’s old, but he makes it sound like it was written this morning. Like Ebenezer Scrooge’s nephew Fred in “A Christmas Carol,” he exudes life. Good tidings, great joy. Music, merry, mirth. A small fire on a cold winter morning.
The ALIVE hour