And the Angels Sing

Dad is 71. Kim had mucho work and is fighting something, germ-wise so only Alex and I went out to Lockport. We brought a coin book and a musette CD for the birthday boy and had a nice time. Talked silver dollars, geography (Alex bought himself a version of Risk for the laptop and is starting to know some of the major countries).

The boy and I drove out to the OF and picked up the ornaments he made with Grandpa Al in the woodshop last week. They did a beautiful job on these woodcut snowflakes. It was Alex's first time using the drill press. He loves using that gear.

Drove from the South Side back to DK Rock City through some mild freezing rain (if such a thing is possible). The boy and I didn't mind. College of DuPage Radio was doing a tribute to Johnny Mercer and we enjoyed listening to a hitmaker from a world that has been all but forgotten. I'm not afraid to say I love the stuff he did, especially with Hoagy Carmichael (sp? jeanz? Nelson Riddle? anybody?). I'm proud as hell to say that being in the middle of a "scene" where everyone was either trying to be the next Jesus Lizard or some funk/ska joint...me and my friends wrote To Bea or Be.

But mostly I was so happy to share the songs with my kid. He seems to like the old timey stuff and we both bounced along with hit after hit. Great music, even if it is pop music connects us. It is something familiar. It makes us think there are some things that might just be universal. It might not go too far to say that such music brings us closer to the divine or at least brings us closer to each other. The last song of the Johnny Mercer tribute came on as our journey was almost at an end. The Peace Rd exit was in sight when we heard this