dual personalities

Tag: music

March 2, 2026

Don’t think twice

by chuckofish

I didn’t do a whole lot this weekend, but I did get the very large framed Asian watercolor that I picked up last week from Link Auction back into my car and took it over to daughter #1’s house where she successfully hung it on the wall. (Her father would be so proud.) Doesn’t it look great?

I went to church on Sunday with the boy and the twins. We heard a really good sermon on Joshua 6:1-27, all about walking and waiting, destruction and deliverance, trusting in God’s timing. Then we went to Sunday School and I chose the class on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which I really enjoyed. What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

After that we went to the Sunny Street Cafe for our usual brunch and talked about our different Sunday School classes. We had a good time and everyone ate heartily.

And here’s some exciting news–Don reports his first flower of the season!

And we see some buds in our yard…

Finally, here’s a great Bob Dylan cover I hope you will enjoy:

Wow. Here’s some more of Billy and his band if you’re interested.

Looking forward to a week full of rain–haha–not really, but c’est la vie.

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February 23, 2026

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? Mine was full of missions and missionaries. It got cold again, but the sun was shining most of the time. Hopefully the daffodils will pull through. I mean, this happens every year, so chances are, all will be well.

There were no good estate sales on Saturday but daughter #1 and I did hit an antique mall and found a couple of odds ‘n ends. I was more successful at the Link online auction on Thursday and Friday. Auctions are fascinating to me. One can usually find a few good bargains (I did) but occasionally there is a real surprise. One such surprise was when a geltone reproduction of Grant Wood’s Midnight Ride of Paul Revere came up.

It was estimated at $50-$100. I was interested in it as I have always liked it and I thought I might get it for $15 or so, but a bidding war took off and it eventually sold for over $800!

Another watercolor painting, estimated at $75-$100…

…went for $1800! Fantastic. Now that’s entertainment!

I hadn’t seen the twins in over a month, so I was glad they were able to make it to church with their Dad on Sunday morning. We heard a good sermon from a visiting missionary to Norway. They couldn’t stay for Sunday School (their Papaw was leaving to go back to Florida) so that meant no Sunny Side diner either. C’est la vie. Life is full of disappointments, right? But we are steadfast.

Daughter #1 came over later in the afternoon in order to bring Mr. Smith who spent the night with me. (I am taking him to the kennel this morning while she heads to Arizona for work.)

Later I will head down to the Link Auction House to pick up my winnings. It’s a new week! Have a good one.

(And here’s a new song I like.)

1 Comment
January 28, 2026

At a humble window see

by chuckofish

Yesterday was a beautiful day–cold, but beautiful. Blue sky, untouched white snow reflecting the sunlight. Very nice. I sat in my office and watched a huge red-tailed hawk cruise around.

Here’s a poem, “Shovelling Snow” by Harry Edward Mills, written around 1901:

And Don shared this lovely Dan Fogelberg piece with me:

More cold weather coming up, so I’ll be sitting by my window for the foreseeable future.

“Every bit we eat, and every drop we drink is mercy; every step we take, and every breath we draw, mercy. [These are] what we have reason to acknowledge with thankfulness to God’s praise.” (Matthew Henry, 1662-1713)

3 Comments
January 16, 2026

Another crazy trip around the sun

by chuckofish

Tomorrow is the birthday of our precious Ida B! She will be three years old.

One of her favorite things to do with Mamu is listen to music on her phone. I hope her Mommy will play her this song, which I think she will like.

I hope she has super fun on her birthday, which might include doing the following: turning somersaults, petting a nice dog, eating candy, reading a book about Angus, watching football, singing along to her favorite Christian radio station…Can’t steal my joy (Woh oh oh oh, woh oh oh oh, woh oh oh oh)

Have a good weekend. I am going to do all the above mentioned activities, minus the somersaults.

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January 15, 2026

Walk this way

by chuckofish

Today we toast the great American dancer Ray Bolger who died on this day in 1987. He had a long and fruitful career, starting in vaudeville and on Broadway, and continuing in the movies. Here he is in The Great Ziegfeld (1936):

Woweee! Of course, everyone remembers him as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939) and with good reason. He was amazing! Whenever he was asked if he had received any residuals from telecasts of The Wizard of Oz, Bolger would reply: “No, just immortality. I’ll settle for that.” His portrayal truly was immortal.

We’ll also toast Pitbull on his birthday (born 1984) today.

Everyone needs a little Pitbull at least once a year.

4 Comments
December 30, 2025

The scent of a tangerine

by chuckofish

It got very cold indeed here in flyover country. From 78 degrees on Sunday it dropped over 50 degrees! (A 70 degree change if you count the wind chill!) Yikes. We missed a new record by one degree! (Set in 1911.) I’m feeling a little jealous of the twins down in Florida!

Well, anyway, I am starting to get back on my feet, getting some things done around the house. And that’s a good thing.

Today we toast country singer Suzy Bogguss on her birthday. She was born in 1956 and grew up in Aledo, Illinois. We always liked Suzy back in the day–what a voice–and we are happy that she is finally being inducted as the next new member of the Grand Ole Opry on January 16, 2026.

Way to go, Suzy!

And here’s a poem by James Crews, “Winter Morning”:

When I can no longer say thank you

for this new day and the waking into it,

for the cold scrape of the kitchen chair

and the ticking of the space heater glowing

orange as it warms the floor near my feet,

I know it’s because I’ve been fooled again

by the selfish, unruly man who lives in me

and believes he deserves only safety

and comfort. But if I pause as I do now,

and watch the streetlights outside flashing

off one by one like old men blinking their

cloudy eyes, if I listen to my tired neighbors

slamming car doors hard against the morning

and see the steaming coffee in their mugs

kissing chapped lips as they sip and

exhale each of their worries white into

the icy air around their faces—then I can

remember this one life is a gift each of us

was handed and told to open: Untie the bow

and tear off the paper, look inside

and be grateful for whatever you find

even if it is only the scent of a tangerine

that lingers on the fingers long after

you’ve finished peeling it.

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December 29, 2025

My eyes have seen the Messiah

by chuckofish

After a disorienting week of coughing at home, I finally made it back to church on Sunday. We had one service so it was the whole congregation together–very nice. I sat behind the pastor’s wife and their two children and she complimented me on my plaid Christmas pants. Quelle nice girl.

Our own Becka Marsh sang this version of Simeon’s Song during the offertory and I thought it was so lovely.

I played it a lot when I got home and I cried every time.

I also read The Three Godfathers, the short story by Peter B. Kyne on which John Ford’s 3 Godfathers (1948) is based (also the seven other versions). It seemed appropriate. The story ends with the remaining godfather stumbling into New Jerusalem with the baby as a woman sings

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, lift up your gates and sing,

Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna! to your King!

He hands the baby to the woman and the author questions, “Who knows? Perhaps in that moment the woman, too, like the Three Bad Men, beheld the King!”

How could I not then watch the movie? (I did, and I could not love it more.)

Meanwhile, following a mild Christmas and balmy temperatures during the week–not to mention some fiery sunsets–

–we were warned a fast moving line of severe storms would move through Sunday afternoon–always exciting and unwanted. But nothing much happened.

My eyes have seen
My eyes have seen
Joy beyond belief:
I’ve seen the Messiah!

2 Comments
December 10, 2025

“E: Well, shall we go? V: Yes, let’s go. (They do not move)”*

by chuckofish

Well, we’re still waiting! I have been here a week–I hope I don’t have to leave before the baby arrives–Zut alors! mais c’est la vie.

In the meantime, while we’re waiting, here are Kevin DeYoung’s 10 best books of 2025.

Here are the 6 Favorite Christmas Hymns of Keith and Kristyn Getty. I concur!

And rest in peace Raul Malo, the lead singer of the Mavericks, who died on Monday.

What a voice!

And last week in Gatlinburg…

*Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

4 Comments
December 3, 2025

In the time of this mortal life

by chuckofish

I am heading up to the prairie today to be with daughter #2 while there is a break in the weather. Pray for cleared roads and no precipitation! Pray that the baby comes in a timely manner and in the right way. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

And here’s a song I like:

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP)

2 Comments
November 19, 2025

Humble yourselves

by chuckofish

I have had a very busy week so far and yesterday was particularly aggravating. I had to go down to the monolithic and intimidating BJS medical center where parking is always an adventure. I had to wait for over an hour for my appointment which took 10 minutes. Zut alors! but c’est la vie. After that, I went to the Link Auction house, also in the CWE, and picked up some items I had won at last weekend’s auction. I could not fit it all in my car so I will have to go back today. (The boy had to come over to my house and help me get one large item out of my car!) Life is complicated.

Driving home from the CWE, I avoided the highway since it had been jammed up going down to the city, so I was once again shocked to see the devastation from the May 16 tornado in Forest Park. All the big trees are just gone from Lindell Blvd and all the way down Wydown in Clayton. Many of the mansions still have boarded up windows and tarps on the roofs. Mother Nature can sure be rough. But she helps us keep our perspective.

And then, last night, I had a Kirkwood Historical Society board meeting, so I was out after dark! Good grief, Charlie Brown!

I will stop grousing now in order to remind you that today is the birthday of Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, the Russian composer, born in 1859. He was a student of Rimsky-Korsakov, whose influence was quite strong. I remember this selection from records we listened to in my childhood:

Enjoy!

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
–I Peter 5:6-7

(The photo at the top is of a scene typical of the arrangements I find when the wee laddie has visited my house. He came with his Dad yesterday.)

3 Comments