Lately (Opera)
Happy Birthday Dad. Plus some songs, some videos, a Gracie Abrams shirt, shirt ideas for Jess Bowen, and more.
There are still a couple spots left for tomorrow’s (4/5) “ADHD (I’m Learning How My Brain Works)” small-group conversation, which starts at 7pm ET.
Happy Birthday to my dad, Joe Tworkowski, who was born on April 4, 1951 in Mineola, New York, 20 miles east of New York City. We have a complicated relationship but I’m glad that he’s alive. My dad introduced me to surfing and the surf industry, music, concerts, road trips, and David Letterman. Maybe more than anything, he’s shown me a life of freedom and commitment, somehow always choosing both, paradox before I knew that was a thing. My dad has been his own boss nearly every day I’ve been alive. And he’s been married to my mom for 50 years. The ring I wear on my right hand, gold band dancing with the keyboard while I type these words, it goes back to their wedding day. A courthouse in Halifax, Nova Scotia provided the setting, on a road trip from New York. The ring reminds me I’m a product of their love.
A live version of U2’s “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” has been on repeat today, in honor of my Pops. I relate to every word, including Bono’s introduction:
“This next song is for my father Bob. He thought he was Italian. All he listened to was the Opera. And his son grew up, and wanted to live the Opera.”
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Two other songs that I’ve been loving, along with lyrics that are speaking to me:
“Split Screen” by Kings of Leon
Here’s the chorus:
“The weight of the feather
You fall like a leaf
Is this a middle-of-the-night call?
A revelation on a split screen?
To see all the color
Run from your eyes
Is this a middle-of-a-life thought?
A revelation on a split screen?”
“Letting Go” by Angie McMahon
“I've been learning about letting go
How to do it without my claws scratching the surfaces
I've been learning about wasting time and closing some doors
Hoping to open more down the line”
Video I stumbled upon yesterday:
Gracie Abrams covers Ethel Cain’s “American Teenager”
Shirt I ordered after watching said video a lot of times in a row: