Odds and Ends
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It is known that J.S. Bach was the father of counterpoint harmony. I don’t know if Bach set out to create counterpoint harmony, a component that enriched music exponentially, or discovered it by accident. His music ranged from godly to subtly intense, and from celebratory to a man working out internal strife. And speaking of…
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I am grateful that my brain is wired in a way that enables me to grasp the complex harmonies of Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Hindemith. But it that a possession? Some esoteric force in the universe enabled me to capture and keep the heart of the world’s most beautiful woman thirty-two years ago. Is that a…
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…and the barkeeper asked, “What’ll it be, fellas?” Alexander replied, “A concentrated and centralized power structure, for we are a young nation with new and bold ideas and thus require a clear path forward to implement our brave initiatives. Thomas told the barkeeper, “A constitutional republic that destabilizes centralized power and distributes it to the…
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I creep downstairs at 5:45 a.m., put on a pot of coffee, and open my front door. I smile. The newspaper (The Philadelphia Inquirer) has arrived. My coffee (Bucks County French Roast; Starbucks has yet to reach the east coast) is through percolating. I pour two mugs and transport them and the newspaper to the…
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It was upon a summer’s breeze that the echoes from a forest beckoned a young lass. Often, from the confines of her mother’s garden or with her elbows resting on her bedroom windowsill, she had wondered about the wood just yonder did our golden-haired youth but never had she ventured into its denseness. Today,…
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Recently, while at an affair, a friend of my wife’s approached me and heaped praise upon me, stating that I was a devoted husband and father. She expressed herself sincerely and in earnest, implying that my wife of thirty-two years and twenty-nine-year-old son were more fortunate than most. I took the compliment well enough—after all,…
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Many years ago (twenty-seven to be precise), I took my two-year-old son to the Children’s Festival, held annually at the Annenberg Center within the University of Pennsylvania campus. Upon arriving, I purchased two tickets to the Iron Gate Theater to see Ozzie Davis Jr., a blues guitarist. We seated ourselves on a bench in one…
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Like many, I am appreciative of a tidy home and well cared-for automobile. My home is tidy but lived-in, and my car is not immaculate but uncluttered. (I’m from Philly. To offset the clutter on the road, one must drive a reasonably neat car.) What we use for transportation, and our dwellings, are important possessions…
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This time felt different. This one touched a place in me rarely felt. In my lifetime, I’ve experienced many public figures shot at, some killed, but this seemed to cross a line not crossed since the 60s, my childhood. Since forever, the left has owned college campuses and those right of center were seen and…
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First, let’s go “old school.” Julius Erving (Dr. J). In the 1975/76 season, the ABA was going bankrupt. The following season, four of its teams were absorbed into the NBA. The NBA’s dirty little secret was that it, too, was experiencing financial hardships that threatened its existence. Four ABA teams merging into the NBA gave…
Michael's Corner 