For over thirty years I have listen to original shows and now repeats on Sunday Night in the Scribe's Cave "Scribae Cavernara" which i built as a special room for myself and a cadre of expats who like a Gentleman's salon where fine cigars ad pipe tobacco meld with banter and answering questions to LUE (Life the Universe and Everything)
This is for Belinda with Nameless Dread. I believe this is the same Beast as that Existential Angst so beloved of the younger writers. Not really an age thing.
At our age, I believe it comes from hoarding & counting seconds instead of spending them. You have at least 12 days left, right? And that's over one million seconds. Imagine if you had to count to a million - what a task! Now imagine the utter vastness of, say, a year, or twenty. So.much.time! And nearly a curse if you treat it wrong.
Lastly, firstly, I think it's like any other depression, in which its perniciousness lies in tricking us into endless thinking about ourselves, which seems real sensible, when the way out of it - counterintuitive as most puzzle solutions are - is to spend some of our limited time in trying to take care of others. (Random is fine here.) That, and a brisk walk for the brain oxygen.
Which is why, this note. I feel better now and thank you for it. You and Garrison.
"Sixty-seven is young. Give yourself time." Wonderful encouragement to Ben, and heartening to a soon-sixty-six yr-old. I don't believe you're really going to stop in a year, but the consumption of art is definitely more palatable these days than politics. Do good work this year, and be well for the duration.
I won a very special Minnesota Lottery last week! A local Goodwill (pay it forward from one to another) had a brand new 1994 PHC 20TH Anniversary Collection. It is a 4-CD set and all are in mint condition! So, if I cannot make it to a GK event (I was at Red Rocks and Irvine, California with my own Rockport Red Shoes), I can enjoy the next best thing! I also won $7 in the real Minnesota Lottery in September when I visited Lake City. At least the high desert in southern California is extremely cool this time of year and we may get six days of snow!
As for Nancy Pelosi’s successor, God forbid that we get an overbearing, overprotective, mama-bear type. Though revered by some, they can do as much damage to the future and well being of her dependents as any raging, narcissistic tyrant. Just my stupid opinion.
I don't agree with willing the wellbeing of perpetrators. My Dad growing up in St Cloud MN used to say I'll forgive but I won't forget, after he had experienced a major injustice. Peace is the goal. But you don't have to drink the koolaid.
To PM from Toledo: There can be a lot more to live theater than the written script. When I lived in Southern California, I was lucky enough to see a performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. If you’ve ever been there, you’ll have noticed the enchanting way in which they incorporate the stand of tall Eucalyptus trees with the sets on stage. For Lady Macbeth’s “Mad Scene”, they constructed a backdrop of twenty-foot high tree trunks. They tacked a winding staircase to stage front, and had the actress enter from high above us! It was deeply memorable! On another occasion, for King Lear’s entry, they laid a ramp behind the stage and had him and his daughters enter in a full-sized, horse-drawn sleigh! Seeing performances in natural settings, with imaginative “staging” can make a play that you thought you knew amazingly interesting!
Garrison, what a thrill to see you're scheduled to visit Wichita, Kansas, on Feb. 10, my birthday and a good reason for me to travel back home to see my family. I'll be 70 years old, and I have been a fan of Prairie Home Companion from the time I moved from Wichita to Lindsborg, Kansas, in 1980. This was a place not unlike the one you described every Saturday night on the radio. I was born in St. Paul and had the good fortune to attend a show at the Fitzgerald Theatre once with my brother and his wife who live in Minneapolis.
In 1984, I got married to a woman from Germany and recently I came across a batch of poems I'd written for the occasion. This was one.
I know that age is a concern for many, but I want to just add my two cents to the conversation. After failed marriages and several careers for both my friend and me, we found each other. We are both in our seventies, and last Saturday night we danced for about four hours ~ almost non-stop! ~ to some serious blues players. Check out Joe Bonamassa or Gary Moore if you're curious. It all comes from gratitude for where we are right now. Like you, Garrison, we wake up thankful for our lives with few deadlines and stress, and lots of time to walk and sing and dance and be still and know who is God (hint: it is neither him nor me). Gratitude is, indeed, the secret magic to make life great beyond our full-time working years. Thanks for your work. I've seen you live twice ~ once in California many years ago, and once in Worthington, Minnesota just a couple years ago. And I didn't miss PHC for decades. Good stuff!
I'm glad to hear that you were inspired by performances of music by Verdi and Mozart to attend more live concerts. They are my two favorite composers! My husband and I have attended many recitals by famous opera singers and classical musicians and usually try to stay and wait in line to talk to them afterward. Without exception they have been very friendly and nice and some have been willing to have pictures taken and to autograph CDs. If you and your wife have time, I recommend that you do this after performances that you attend. The musicians and singers seem genuinely happy that their fans care enough to wait in line to meet them.
For over thirty years I have listen to original shows and now repeats on Sunday Night in the Scribe's Cave "Scribae Cavernara" which i built as a special room for myself and a cadre of expats who like a Gentleman's salon where fine cigars ad pipe tobacco meld with banter and answering questions to LUE (Life the Universe and Everything)
This is for Belinda with Nameless Dread. I believe this is the same Beast as that Existential Angst so beloved of the younger writers. Not really an age thing.
At our age, I believe it comes from hoarding & counting seconds instead of spending them. You have at least 12 days left, right? And that's over one million seconds. Imagine if you had to count to a million - what a task! Now imagine the utter vastness of, say, a year, or twenty. So.much.time! And nearly a curse if you treat it wrong.
Lastly, firstly, I think it's like any other depression, in which its perniciousness lies in tricking us into endless thinking about ourselves, which seems real sensible, when the way out of it - counterintuitive as most puzzle solutions are - is to spend some of our limited time in trying to take care of others. (Random is fine here.) That, and a brisk walk for the brain oxygen.
Which is why, this note. I feel better now and thank you for it. You and Garrison.
I love these letters and your comments!! You, Mr. Keillor, are a National Treasure.
"Sixty-seven is young. Give yourself time." Wonderful encouragement to Ben, and heartening to a soon-sixty-six yr-old. I don't believe you're really going to stop in a year, but the consumption of art is definitely more palatable these days than politics. Do good work this year, and be well for the duration.
I won a very special Minnesota Lottery last week! A local Goodwill (pay it forward from one to another) had a brand new 1994 PHC 20TH Anniversary Collection. It is a 4-CD set and all are in mint condition! So, if I cannot make it to a GK event (I was at Red Rocks and Irvine, California with my own Rockport Red Shoes), I can enjoy the next best thing! I also won $7 in the real Minnesota Lottery in September when I visited Lake City. At least the high desert in southern California is extremely cool this time of year and we may get six days of snow!
As for Nancy Pelosi’s successor, God forbid that we get an overbearing, overprotective, mama-bear type. Though revered by some, they can do as much damage to the future and well being of her dependents as any raging, narcissistic tyrant. Just my stupid opinion.
I don't agree with willing the wellbeing of perpetrators. My Dad growing up in St Cloud MN used to say I'll forgive but I won't forget, after he had experienced a major injustice. Peace is the goal. But you don't have to drink the koolaid.
To PM from Toledo: There can be a lot more to live theater than the written script. When I lived in Southern California, I was lucky enough to see a performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. If you’ve ever been there, you’ll have noticed the enchanting way in which they incorporate the stand of tall Eucalyptus trees with the sets on stage. For Lady Macbeth’s “Mad Scene”, they constructed a backdrop of twenty-foot high tree trunks. They tacked a winding staircase to stage front, and had the actress enter from high above us! It was deeply memorable! On another occasion, for King Lear’s entry, they laid a ramp behind the stage and had him and his daughters enter in a full-sized, horse-drawn sleigh! Seeing performances in natural settings, with imaginative “staging” can make a play that you thought you knew amazingly interesting!
Garrison, what a thrill to see you're scheduled to visit Wichita, Kansas, on Feb. 10, my birthday and a good reason for me to travel back home to see my family. I'll be 70 years old, and I have been a fan of Prairie Home Companion from the time I moved from Wichita to Lindsborg, Kansas, in 1980. This was a place not unlike the one you described every Saturday night on the radio. I was born in St. Paul and had the good fortune to attend a show at the Fitzgerald Theatre once with my brother and his wife who live in Minneapolis.
In 1984, I got married to a woman from Germany and recently I came across a batch of poems I'd written for the occasion. This was one.
It was a quiet week in Lake Wobegon
Except for the laughter
And the gentle reminder
Of where we're from
And where we're going.
I look forward to seeing you again in Wichita.
I know that age is a concern for many, but I want to just add my two cents to the conversation. After failed marriages and several careers for both my friend and me, we found each other. We are both in our seventies, and last Saturday night we danced for about four hours ~ almost non-stop! ~ to some serious blues players. Check out Joe Bonamassa or Gary Moore if you're curious. It all comes from gratitude for where we are right now. Like you, Garrison, we wake up thankful for our lives with few deadlines and stress, and lots of time to walk and sing and dance and be still and know who is God (hint: it is neither him nor me). Gratitude is, indeed, the secret magic to make life great beyond our full-time working years. Thanks for your work. I've seen you live twice ~ once in California many years ago, and once in Worthington, Minnesota just a couple years ago. And I didn't miss PHC for decades. Good stuff!
I'm glad to hear that you were inspired by performances of music by Verdi and Mozart to attend more live concerts. They are my two favorite composers! My husband and I have attended many recitals by famous opera singers and classical musicians and usually try to stay and wait in line to talk to them afterward. Without exception they have been very friendly and nice and some have been willing to have pictures taken and to autograph CDs. If you and your wife have time, I recommend that you do this after performances that you attend. The musicians and singers seem genuinely happy that their fans care enough to wait in line to meet them.
"More we do not need!" - Garrison Keillor quote, 1990's? True it is....Thank you!
I would absolutely back Katie Porter for President, but I think she may be too intelligent to want the job.