This was my first busy work travel week in a long time. It’s been almost a year since I visited my team in Guatemala and I had not yet visited the team in Mexico – overdue for a visit. Damon and I flew to Guatemala City on Monday afternoon and were very pleased to find our driver waiting to take us to a much nicer hotel than the one I used on my last visit. The hotel was in a pedestrian outdoor shopping and dining district that was really lovely and very upscale for Guatemala. We met the team for dinner at Cafe Escobar and had a typically relaxed 3 hour meal – nothing seems to happen very quickly. It was really nice to get to chat with everyone in a relaxed setting. I heard they had been really nervous about presenting to us, and this allowed them to relax with us before the next day of work. The 5,000 foot altitude didn’t seem to have any real effects on me.
Cafe EscobarWalking district around the hotel
View from the hotel balconyTuesday was a full day of updates and presentations in the Guatemala City office – a big upgrade from the office that I visited a year ago. A very productive day with lots of great information shared. In the evening we drove to Antigua, a UNESCO world heritage town about an hour from Guatemala City. This is a truly beautiful town, surrounded by volcanoes, one of which is quite active, spurting every 10 minutes or so. Antigua was the capital of most of Latin America in colonial times, and hasn’t changed a great deal since then, with the original buildings still intact. It reminded me a lot of San Miguel de Allende, where we spent Denny’s 50th birthday.
We started at a rooftop deck above the Antigua Brewing Company and enjoyed the amazing views. Can you see the active volcano in the distance? The spiral staircase used to access the rooftop would never be allowed in the US. Then we walked through town to the El Convento boutique hotel for dinner. What a gorgeous setting with a small restaurant that only seats 24 people.
Wednesday was a long travel day, starting with a flight to Mexico City, and then a long 3 hour drive to Queretaro where our Mexican operation is headquartered. There was an interesting scene at the Mexico City airport with hundreds of policemen in riot gear, expecting to repel an attempted take over of the airport by protesters. I understand that the protest didn’t ultimately happen. We were tired on arrival at another lovely hotel, and ran into our colleague Issac, also visiting from Austin. He convinced us to join him for dinner outside the hotel, and Damon went all out with a cabrito. Do you know what that is or can you tell from the picture?
It’s a roasted goat kid leg. Damon claims it was delicious. For a smaller guy, he can certainly put away the meat, and actually complained that it was a pretty small cabrito. Poor guy.
Thursday was another busy day of meetings in the Queretaro office, followed by a delicious dinner hosted by our CEO for Latin America, Francisco. I enjoyed some delicious octopus and shrimp stuffed in a portobello mushroom with a yummy sauce.
I had intended to make the 3 hour drive back to Mexico City on Friday morning, and then catch a flight to Dallas. Come to find out there’s a direct flight from Queretaro – but only at 6am. The 4am start was worth it to avoid the long drive and get home much earlier. My immigration picture shows how early the start really was:
Interestingly, the PGA golf tour is in Mexico City this weekend. On TV they mentioned that Rory McIlroy’s 7 iron went 160 yards at the tournament last weekend and is going 220 yards at the almost 8,000 foot altitude. Must be a huge adjustment for the golfers.
After a relaxing Friday evening by myself in McKinney, it was time to make the drive down to Austin. Penelope did a good job on the drive with no issues at all. I ventured out to Antone’s on Saturday night to see Ike Stubblefield and Walter “Wolfman” Washington. I did make a stop at Mai Thai on the way to try their Thai fare. Very mediocre at best. Still haven’t found a good Thai place in Austin.
Antone’s was busy with a lot of folks in Mardi Gras garb. We’ve seen Wolfman in New Orleans a number of times, often in very small venues, and always enjoyed his performance. Ike Stubblefield is a world renowned Hammond B3 organ player, and he was fantastic. He’s played on hundreds of recordings and toured with Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones and many others.
Sunday was a relaxing day for me, with workout and good quiet reading time. I even was able to do my own laundry. Meanwhile, in California, McD was working her way through thousands of her Mum’s photos, and trying to put them into some kind of order. She’s been sending various pictures that she likes on texts. Here’s my favourite:
And my next favourite with 13 year old D helping people learn to swim:
Did you find her in the picture? I know, it’s hard to miss that smile.
I found myself without any new books backed up, and so reread an old favourite, “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway. I love the descriptions of 1920s Paris and the journey the group takes through Spain. And the classic ending:
“Oh, Jake,” Brett said, “we could have had such a damned good time together.”
Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly pressing Brett against me.
“Yes,” I said. “Isn’t it pretty to think so?”
After so many disappointing endings, it’s nice to revisit such an excellent closing.
I was listening to a Spotify playlist while reading this morning, and heard this excellent song from Uncle Lucius, the band that was fronted by Kevin Galloway before he got tired of touring and now plays solo in small venues around Austin.
I love the new album from The Highwomen (Brandi Carlisle, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires), a new collaboration last year. There’s an excellent cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” on the album, but this is my pick:
And finally a solo song from Kevin Galloway of Uncle Lucius fame. I really like his voice and arrangements.
The early part of this week was pretty uneventful, with both of us busy with work and enjoying relaxing in our house that we see so rarely. I took Penelope down to Auto Hans on Monday to get new hydraulics installed in her convertible top. She’s been after me to make sure that got done before the nice Spring weather arrives in Austin. I appreciate her nagging, as I do enjoy my short commute down Barton Springs road with the top down.
A break in my schedule on Thursday allowed me to enjoy a decadent lunch at Bayou Jack’s in downtown McKinney. I do love their red pepper crawfish bisque, and it’s been too long since I enjoyed a cup.
Then I stopped to pick up some early Saint Valentine’s day flowers – that way McD could enjoy them before she starts traveling again.
We had a relaxing Valentine’s day at home. Diana cooked up a delicious shrimp and veggies dinner that we enjoyed in the dining room while listening to our “Wedding Dinner” playlist, and exchanging romantic cards. I think it’s a pretty good selection, you can check it out here for yourself:
There’s also a “Wedding Dancing” playlist. You can send me a note if you’d like to have a link to that one. That’s one of my ways of seeing if anyone is reading this. More on wedding dancing later.
Our official Valentine’s dinner was on Saturday night (a little less crazy) at Rye in downtown McKinney. Diana had suggested this after getting an email about their fixed price menu.
Rye isn’t fancy, but the food is creative, beautifully presented, and very tasty. All five courses were delicious. The lamb tartare and wagyu tenderloin being my two favourites. I’ve never had lamb tartare and this one had so many wonderful different flavours. The wagyu tenderloin was cooked just a bit above rare and we could cut it with a butter knife – fantastic. What a great place for a casual, inexpensive, but very creative meal.
shrimp, lobster and gritswagyu tenderloin
We went looking for some music after dinner – Rick’s Chophouse bar was way too busy, Cadillac Pizza was too loud, Landon winery seemed like the only solution. I’ve never set foot in it before, and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the wine. A duo was playing a broad mix of music with good skill and vocals. I caught this short video of them performing Anne’s substitute wedding song – she and Denny couldn’t remember theirs and so she picked this one at our wedding reception. You might be able to hear Diana telling the whole story on this video 🙂
“The Truants” by Kate Weinberg was my book this week. Here’s what a review said:
“Perfect for lovers of Agatha Christie and The Secret History, The Truants is a seductive, unsettling, and beautifully written debut novel of literary suspense–a thrilling exploration of deceit, first love, and the depths to which obsession can drive us.”
I actually enjoyed this a bit more than a typical Agatha Christie, and give it a solid B- rating. So what is the story about? The Truants is told by Jess, a girl just starting college at a university she chose expressly for the opportunity to take classes from Dr. Lorna Clay, an author she’s enthralled by. Jess is a far more complicated girl than she first appears, with dark thoughts, but little life experience. She falls in with three others, and quickly is living a life beyond what she ever expected. In time loyalties begin to shift, and the story shifts from a campus novel to a mystery with a number of twists, some I saw coming, others took me completely by surprise.
Weinberg studied English at Oxford, and I enjoyed the very British nature of this book.
I always enjoy spending time in my home office in McKinney with the Linn audio system. Unfortunately, it reminds me of how average the Sonos system in our apartment really is. Joan Armatrading albums are always so beautifully produced, and I went on a bit of a listening spree this week. Here are a couple of stand outs:
Such a great voice and songwriting talent!
Next up this week is a great song from Leon Russell. I mentioned last week about missing seeing him in concert with Elton John. This is the song Elton John was listening to when he decided to call up and see how Leon was doing. The call that led to the “Union” album and a resurgence of Russell’s career.
And finally, a classic from The Band. I watched part of “The Last Waltz”, their concert documentary by Martin Scorsese this week – what a great recording of an amazing, star studded concert. Van Morrison and Bob Dylan both have excellent performances.
Another Bachelor watch party happened on Monday, this time with Damon participating in the cooking. He had given Diana a shopping list and very specific instructions on how to marinate the flank steak, turning and massaging at regular intervals. Then there was the discussion about taking the steak down to the grill on the pool deck or using the oven broiler. Given the dreary weather, the broiler was selected. The smoke alarms only went off once during preparation, nonetheless the results were delicious.
McD was picked up after work on Tuesday for another trip over to Warby Parker, this time concluding that the progressive lenses for my glasses would have to be remade. Diana did get her new frames adjusted so that she can see pretty well now.
A work happy hour had me stopping by the Gibson Street bar on the way home. It’s right next to the Odd Duck and we had been wondering how it was – the verdict: a very nice bar with good service, comfy booths and a good patio.
Our work “People First” team staged a Chilli cook-off for lunch on Thursday, and did an excellent job. A $5 donation got me a sampling of 9 different employee made chillis. I liked numbers 2, 6, and 8, ultimately choosing number 6 which had a deep traditional flavour and a perfect pepper kick. The numbers were to make sure no favouritism crept into the voting. We had beef, chicken, and brisket varieties to sample. It was really nice to see the whole office coming together for lunch and fun.
Natalie and Daniel, a couple we met at Juliet Italian restaurant after the Guns ‘n Roses Austin City Limits festival concert, joined us for dinner at Peche on Friday, followed by a show at the Parker Jazz Club. Peche, our go to restaurant for new folks visiting Austin (they just moved), was as delicious as ever, and it’s a very short walk across the street to the Parker.
Red Young and his Hot Horns were playing, and I loved that they started out with a number of songs by Allan Toussaint, the legendary New Orleans piano player, composer, and producer. Here are a couple of those. Red’s piano skills are top notch, with a mixed quality in the horns.
There was a very bright moon as we walked home.
We had a planning session for the much awaited honeymoon on Saturday afternoon. Fortunately the food at Loro was great, because the planning was not particularly productive. Hotels we liked on St Lucia or in the Positano area were ridiculously expensive. We’re not going to spend as much for a week in a hotel as we would on an inexpensive car. There was a sign that made us chuckle above the Loro bar – took us back to Patty doing the “Be vewy, vewy quiet” cartoon walk down the corridor of the Catherine.
And then there was Brent’s reply with a picture of Patty with her new shoes, so that she can be “Sperry, sperry qwiet” 🙂
Big Head Todd and the Monsters (interesting name for a band) entertained us at Austin City Limits Moody Theater on Saturday night. This band has been going strong since the eighties and still has a large live following. I really enjoy their style of music and they always put on a good show. Hazel Miller joined on several songs and provided an interesting change in vocals.
I had listened to the opening band, Los Colognes, before the show to decide if we should arrive in time to hear them. I loved what I heard – a sound very reminiscent of J.J. Cale and Dire Straits, and was looking forward to hearing what they did live. Here’s some of their music from a radio set:
If you know my musical taste, you can hear that this is very appealing to me. Disappointingly, the live sound did not match up, with overdriven, blurry vocals and none of the nuanced guitar playing and drumming in the set above. I lasted a couple of songs before suggesting that we head across the street to III Forks for a drink before Big Head Todd started. The smoke infused negronis were delicious.
The sound was very good for the headlining band. Good news, but also irritating that things weren’t set up correctly for Los Colognes.
Here’s a sampling of the band with and without Hazel Miller:
We went straight home after the show to avoid any more injuries. The last time we visited the Moody theater was when I broke my finger. Interestingly, as a complete aside, my fingerprint has changed after the surgery. The gym uses a combination of phone number and index fingerprint to sign in, and my right one doesn’t work – have to use the left hand index. Who would have thought that? I’m sitting here wondering if Global Entry at the airport uses finger prints – I don’t think so and hope not.
After two late nights, the old folks slept in on Sunday morning, and then made the long drive up to McKinney for the week.
Elton John’s “Me” was my literary companion this week. The book is well written and is a fast, page-turning read. I enjoyed the earlier chapters, more focused on Elton’s musical experiences, than the later sections covering all his addictions and excesses. Ultimately I found this book pretty sad overall – such a troubled relationship with his parents that was never overcome, and so much wasted time and money. Not to take away from the $450 million raised for his AIDS foundation and the music that I’ll always treasure.
I did groan when I read this section: “Leon Russell was touring until the day he died in 2016. If you didn’t see him, I’m sorry: you missed out. Leon Russell was the greatest.” Yes – I had a chance to see Elton and Leon play together a few years ago. Diana even asked me if I was sure I didn’t want to go. I think I have a much better appreciation for Russell’s music now than I did a few years ago. Either that or I was just being a “dumb idiot”.
This passage underscores the prodigious talent: “Bernie would bash out his lyrics and leave them for me on the piano. I’d wake up early, go to the dining room, see what he’d come up with and write songs while I was having breakfast. The first morning we were there, I had three done by the time the band drifted downstairs looking for something to eat: “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters”, “Amy”, and “Rocket Man”.” Hard to comprehend that kind of ridiculous capability.
And finally, a funny passage about a conversation John had with Prince Philip. Elton had an Aston Martin custom painted in the colors of his Watford football club. “You live near Windsor castle, don’t you?” he asked. “Have you seen the bloody idiot who drives around this area in that ghastly car? It’s bright yellow with a ridiculous stripe.” “Yes, Your Highness, it’s actually me.”
I’ll skip the music section this week since this post has covered a lot of music already and is also a week overdue.
The week started out quietly and calmly, and ended the same way, with a lot of activity in between, thanks to a visit from our New Orleanian friends Denny, Thom, and Alex. Those boys take the saying “Be a New Orleanian wherever you are” seriously – it’s hard to keep up.
My anticipation was building for Wednesday evening, and a “date” night that Diana arranged for us. A visit to Warby Parker to try and get our glasses adjusted was first on the agenda. Neither one of us was totally happy with our vision after the visit, and I suspected my lenses were going to have to be remade – it’s a lot of hassle getting old.
The somewhat frustrating optical visit was followed by a delicious dinner at June’s All Day. I opted for the taste bud delight that they call “Bone Marrow Bolognese”. It was an easy downhill stroll back to our apartment from this South Congress dining institution, and a rare McD planned evening drew to a close. Thanks for the date D!
The New Orleans crew showed up early on Friday afternoon. Denny really wanted to reprise the lunch at Loro when he visited with Anne, and so we all headed over to South Lamar. The guys loved Loro and the bavette steak, corn fritters, and a number of other smoked meat delights that I can’t remember. Just around the corner from Loro is a place that I had been waiting to try – The Austin Beer Garden Brewery (AGBG). We enjoyed the sun in the beer garden and caught up on life.
A short walk down South Lamar, and we were rendezvousing with Diana at the Saxon Pub for the Denny Freeman happy hour show. The guys were amazed at how many people were in attendance so early on a Friday night. Things don’t get started until much later in New Orleans.
Thom was a wee bit “sleepy” after the Saxon Pub, so we took him to Jo’s coffee on South Congress, and got this adorable shot with their “I Love You So Much” mural:
The guys were surprisingly hungry (I thought Loro would sate them longer) and so we stopped in next door to Guero’s for a Mexican dinner. That was followed by a leisurely stroll down to C-Boy’s Heart and Soul for the Jimmy Vaughan 10pm show. It’s always a huge treat to see him in such a small venue and we were lucky to get a booth right in front of the stage. What a great show, besides the Dutch sounding guy that didn’t understand the rules about getting in other folks personal space, even after a demonstration of where he should be standing. Even the cocktail waitress was getting frustrated with him.
After the busy Friday, I suggested some light activity to start out Saturday, only to be told what a silly idea that was – a hike up Barton Springs? Absolutely not! A round of pitch and putt? Even worse! A compromise was struck, and we walked a half mile down Barton Springs to El Alma for brunch on the rooftop deck. It was a tad chilly but the sun felt good and they did provide heaters and blankies.
Everyone enjoyed brunch and then I was able to sneak in some more walking, with a quick stop into Carpenter Hall, followed by a walk along the river trail and past the Stevie Ray Vaughan memorial. It’s sad to imagine what great music the Vaughan brothers would be making today, had Stevie not died in that tragic helicopter crash so many years ago.
After a short regroup at the apartment, we walked on the other side of the river to Rainey street, and stopped into the patio at the Half Step. We followed that with a quick stop into Geraldine’s at the Van Zandt hotel, unfortunately with no music going. Then the group splintered, with Diana and I heading back to the apartment to rest, and the boys heading off to meet various sets of friends. The two of us were so tired that we slept through several phone calls from poor Mr. Denny, attempting to get up to the apartment. We had neglected to tell him that he was on the list to be let into our apartment whenever he wanted, and so he ended up crashing with the other two at the Hyatt across the parking lot.
I walked over with the boys for breakfast tacos on Sunday morning, and then Denny relaxed in a less crowded bed, while the rest of us headed off for some shopping. Best for everyone, as Denny’s only good for about 2 minutes of shopping activity. We started at Whole Earth Provisions on North Lamar (similar to REI with outdoor and camping gear, but with a bit more eclectic selection), then wandered down to the classic Austin institution, Waterloo records, where Alex picked up a couple of albums.
Denny and Diana met up with us on the fancy El Comedor patio for brunch. I loved the TX mushroom quesadilla, the corn tortilla had an amazing flavour – right up there with Suerte. Poor Diana did have to try three times before getting a poached egg that didn’t have a yoke that was too hard – part of the problem is that with her dish they serve the poached egg cold, and it’s hard to get a runny yoke with that approach.
A short Uber ride took us to the totally different neighborhood feel of East Austin and the patio at Whislers. From there, some excellent research from Denny took us to Central Machine Works, a new massive brewery and outdoor patio space in an old industrial machine shop building. This will be a good place to visit on warm Spring evenings. I like that they “rescued” one of the old machines to be mounted above the bar.
We made note of Sawyer & Co. across the street, a 50s style diner with Cajun Creole style food that gets good reviews – it’s on the list for an upcoming brunch visit.
Diana and I opted to head back to the apartment to rest, while the boys ventured off to find a suitable place to watch the Superbowl. I had to laugh as their black Suburban Uber pulled up and Diana and I jumped into an old lime green Toyota Corolla – we weren’t going far. The crew arrived back at the apartment in time for the second half, and then were off home to New Orleans. Whew! That was a busy weekend.
With all that activity, I was still able to get some quiet reading time in, finishing up “Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid. This book is on all the “Best of the Year So Far” lists, and so I thought I’d try it out. Here’s a typically effusive review:
“A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.”
I sort of enjoyed this book, a quick page turning read, but found it trying too hard to make the racial and class divide commentaries. Sometimes reading like a typical summer “beach read” and others quite preachy, I did enjoy the chapters told from the different character points of view.
I made a note to myself that if I see one of those “Reese’s Book Club” (Reese Witherspoon) stickers on a dust jacket, I’m likely not going to love the book – this is my second miss of two that carry her recommendation.
The South Austin Moonlighters was a CD on one of the listening stations at Waterloo records. After 30 seconds I knew I really liked the sound – great production and excellent harmonies. I think this sounds like something in between the harmony of the Eagles and Crosby, Stills and Nash, and I like it a lot.
The production sound of the album is excellent, with all instruments clear and natural sounding. I just did some research on the band, not knowing anything about them prior to the Waterloo visit, only to find that this album was produced by Anders Osborne, my favourite New Orleans singer-songwriter.
The band is comprised of veteran musicians who got together to “moonlight”, and just enjoy playing music together – now it’s become their main gig. And you can see them at a small Austin venue like Threadgills for $10 in a couple of weeks.
Damon joined us for a “Bachelor Watch Party” on Monday evening. Really, he and I did watch and provided lots of helpful input on the show for Diana’s entertainment. We did have a slight dinner snafu – Damon is a bit meat eater, and we had decided to have burgers since we don’t have a pan suitable for cooking steaks. The issue came when McD started to mix the “ground beef” with some pork to make the patties, discovering that Whole Foods had delivered some plant based ground beef substitute. We actually couldn’t tell the difference at all – the burgers were delicious.
Diana left on the bus for Dallas on Tuesday morning for client meetings, and I had a quiet evening in at the apartment.
A work event had me fighting traffic up MOPAC (a highway named after the Missouri Pacific railway line that follows its path) to the Top Golf complex. I had been dreading playing golf on a very dreich (you don’t know that word? – damp and wet) day, but the heaters and shelter of the multi-tiered golf bays worked very well, and I ended up having an enjoyable evening. In my welcome speech I had mentioned that I hadn’t played much golf, which everybody finds strange, anticipating that everyone in Scotland is an avid golfer, and surprised myself and others by winning the competition in my bay. My competition was trying to blast the ball as far as possible on every shot, with mixed results, while I just took it easy and was able to be more consistent. Something about a tortoise and a hare I think.
Diana graced me with her presence again on Thursday evening, and I dragged her out to see the late music show at the Saxon Pub – Eric Lindell performing a rare solo show. We’ve seen him with his band and Anson Funderberg a number of times, but never solo, and I really enjoyed the acoustic renditions of his catalog, and a few covers, including this version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing”:
You might notice a better quality level in my video clips going forward – thanks to the 3 cameras on my new phone. Lindell shared that he had found the acoustic guitar at a Pawn shop for very little and had a luthier put a new neck on it – sounds good, don’t you think? He also welcomed his friend, “Rudy from San Antonio” – we met Rudy after a Delbert McClinton show in Dallas, and it was nice to catch up again. Here’s our favourite Lindell song, “Lay Back Down”:
The Friday morning 6:00 am alarm that Diana set came way too early, and I’m sure I’ve whined before that we’re getting too old to stay out late on school nights. There was some entertainment at the office, with a Tim Tam Jam in the accounting department. Our Australian treasurer had a whole display and demonstrated how to eat a Tim Tam properly – bite each end off, sip coffee through the middle bit, and then “Jam” it in your mouth before everything gets too messy. Who knew?
Diana joined me for a work happy hour at Baker St Pub on Friday evening. I’m fortunate to work with such a fun and nice bunch of folks. We tried a new place, Winebelly, afterwards – a place we’d seen a few months ago when enjoying brunch at Phoebe’s Diner, and thought it looked intriguing. The ambience, service and food were excellent. We started with shishito peppers and a superb chicken liver mousse. There was a wee incident with the peppers – typically every 10th pepper is hotter than the rest – in this case Diana got the “hottest shishito ever” and “it feels like hot knives are being stabbed into my tongue.” About 20 minutes later things had calmed down and we were ready to explore the rest of the menu. Chicken empanadas were “the best I’ve had” and the mushroom salad was also very good. We left perfectly sated. Oh, I forgot to mention this funny sign that was on the wall by the restrooms. Partially funny because McD used to use the mnemonic of “W.C. Fields” to remember the names of my 3 sons, Will, Campbell and Finn.
Saturday was a relatively lazy and quiet day – workout, coffee and crossword at Opa! (don’t ask about the service and food mixups from a usually great place), shopping for supplies for Denny and crew visiting, and then relaxing with books.
Comedor is a new and very well reviewed restaurant in downtown Austin. It’s been open for a few months now and it’s possible to get reservations less than a month in advance, so we thought we’d try Sunday brunch. The 75 degree weather was perfect for a casual stroll across the 1st street bridge and into downtown. The design of the place is really stunning with huge windows and a lot of bare metal. There’s also a very nice patio.
The service was very friendly (not always the case in popular, well reviewed spots) and the food was amazing. Check out D’s Papas Fritas – rosti style hash brown, soft egg, cured salmon, creme fraiche, smoked trout roe – she loved everything about it.
My Pambazo Torta with red chorizo, potato, fried egg, guacamole, queso fresco, and black bean was an explosion of flavours and plenty to send me home with dinner as well. All in a perfect huge brioche bun.
The remainder of Sunday was relaxing, with D cranking out some work, and me blogging and catching up on some reading. All interrupted by the stunning news of Kobe Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash.
I finished the memoir “Uncanny Valley” by Anna Wiener this week. As I was searching for an online picture of the book jacket, I came across some interesting material on the “Uncanny Valley Hypothesis”, and why not share this likely useless information with all of you? The hypothesis states that as the appearance of a robot is made more human, some observers’ emotional response to the robot becomes increasingly positive and empathetic, until it reaches a point beyond which the response quickly becomes strong revulsion. However, as the robot’s appearance continues to become less distinguishable from a human being, the emotional response becomes positive once again and approaches human-to-human empathy levels. The valley is clearly seen in this chart:
Back to the book, after that random distraction, exactly how folks lose hours down online browsing rabbit holes. This newly released book was recommended by just about everyone that recommends books – New York Times, Washington Post, and on and on. What’s all the fuss about? Well, I enjoyed the conversational memoir style, and the setting (Silicon Valley during the technology boom) is one that’s reasonably familiar to me, making for a fast paced and relatable tale that does raise a number of ethical and social questions. Here’s how McMillan describes the book:
In her mid-twenties, at the height of tech industry idealism, Anna Wiener—stuck, broke, and looking for meaning in her work, like any good millennial–left a job in book publishing for the promise of the new digital economy. She moved from New York to San Francisco, where she landed at a big-data startup in the heart of the Silicon Valley bubble: a world of surreal extravagance, dubious success, and fresh-faced entrepreneurs hell-bent on domination, glory, and, of course, progress.
Anna arrived amidst a massive cultural shift, as the tech industry rapidly transformed into a locus of wealth and power rivaling Wall Street. But amid the company ski vacations and in-office speakeasies, boyish camaraderie and ride-or-die corporate fealty, a new Silicon Valley began to emerge: one in far over its head, one that enriched itself at the expense of the idyllic future it claimed to be building.
Part coming-of-age-story, part portrait of an already-bygone era, Anna Wiener’s memoir is a rare first-person glimpse into high-flying, reckless startup culture at a time of unchecked ambition, unregulated surveillance, wild fortune, and accelerating political power. With wit, candor, and heart, Anna deftly charts the tech industry’s shift from self-appointed world savior to democracy-endangering liability, alongside a personal narrative of aspiration, ambivalence, and disillusionment.
Unsparing and incisive, Uncanny Valley is a cautionary tale, and a revelatory interrogation of a world reckoning with consequences its unwitting designers are only beginning to understand.
Khruangbin is an American musical trio from Houston, Texas, with Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald Ray “DJ” Johnson Jr. on drums. The band is known for blending global music influences, classic soul, dub and psychedelia. The band members originally bonded over a shared love of Afghan music, and I think you can hear that coming through – not that I’ve ever listened to Afghan music, but you know what I mean. Here they’re joined by another Texan, Fort Worth’s young soul singing superstar, Leon Bridges.
Here’s a song I heard this morning that might just be what Afghan music sounds like?
Mitch Webb and the Swindols were scheduled to play the regular Wednesday night Sun radio showcase at Guero’s, but were a victim of the rain that continued all day. I was interested to see what they sounded like and am pleased to share that with you as well. They are based in San Antonio and you can hear the influences from south of the border – and I have heard some of that for sure.
I heard this song on Paradise Radio and was reminded of the live version that we enjoyed at the Kessler – gosh I miss that venue, even with all the excellent alternatives in Austin.
And finally, here’s a Glenn Miller tune that I heard this week. I forget how much I love his orchestration and arrangements. The brass accents at 2:00 in are perfect, with the hushed trombones chugging in the background.
Happy Birthday to my little sister, Elspeth, who’s celebrating today in Scotland.
We did have a more interesting week, as promised at the end of the post last week, with a couple of impromptu evenings (the best kind).
The week started on an annoying note, with a clog and leak in the McKinney house from the upstairs plumbing. It gets used so little that it’s not a huge surprise, and we now have a new turn on all the faucets and flush the toilets schedule. The restoration/dry things out guys got everything installed on Tuesday morning, and we felt safe to leave to drive down to Austin in the afternoon.
Wednesday was a long work day for Diana, and I was determined to get her out of the apartment on Thursday night. We both have new eyeglass prescriptions, and so we headed to Warby Parker on South Congress to see what we could find in the way of frames. We put Vincente, the store manager, to work finding us the perfect frames and he did a great job. Within a few minutes we had five pairs picked out – regular and sunglasses. I have grey and blue frames and some nice sunglasses, while Diana has gold and very cool sunnies. We snapped these pictures int the photo booth before leaving:
The heavens opened right as we were about to leave Warby Parker, and so we ducked into the Italian restaurant next door. We’ve walked past Boticellis many times, but never tried it. The rain introduced us to a new great place – excellent back patio and food.
We sat in this covered patio area and enjoyed an amazing scallop and beet appetizer, with very fresh and perfectly cooked scallops. I hadn’t had enough beets, and so went for the beet salad while McD chose the meatballs and tagliatelle.
We will definitely be back to this delicious place.
It was still raining after dinner, and so we were “forced” into the Continental Gallery for some music. Monte Warden and his incredible band were performing as we relaxed on a comfy couch in the living room style setting. It turns out Monte is a famous songwriter, having written songs that have sold over 100 million copies, for folks like George Jones. I loved the trumpet playing of Erik Telford, and the entire band were great musicians. Here’s a #1 song that Monte wrote for George Strait, “Desperately”:
What a great impromptu evening caused by the torrential rain, and we got Diana out of the apartment and away from her emails for several hours.
I had just arrived home on Friday when a text came in from my Minnesota friend, Greg: “where can a guy find some good jazz in Austin tonight?” Greg and Kristan were in San Antonio for a conference next week and decided to drive up and experience Austin. We made quick reservations for Peche and the Parker jazz club. Kris Kimura, Parker owner, did not disappoint with an excellent set of classic jazz.
I love the sound of the bass flute on “Wonderful World”. After the Parker, we had a quick stop at the Elephant Room, for some more modern jazz and then called it a late night.
Saturday was a lazy day, recovering from the busy week and late Friday night. We did manage a workout and got some good quiet reading in.
Sunday began with the usual workout followed by coffee (or mimosa) and crossword at Opa, and then got more interesting with a walk up to the Continental Club and Jimmie Dreams. New Orleans music is all that Jimmie plays, starting with six excellent Allen Toussaint songs. Midway through the set, McD was heard to say, “We could live in this town”. Such great musicianship with no cover on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. Here’s a Toussaint song recorded by Ernie K’Doe:
We walked back to the Catherine to watch the Packers vs 49ers playoff game. Currently looking like the 49ers will win handily.
Trump was just observed causing a backup on Interstate 35 from our balcony. Apparently he came into town to address the American Farmers conference – telling them what a great new deal he had struck with China to protect them. Thankfully he was only in our town for a couple of hours.
I’m only half way through my new book this week – so more on that next week.
“A Certain Girl” is the song that Jimmie Dreams and his friends are playing up above.
How about this new solo song from Nathaniel Rateliff. This guy keeps getting better and better:
Monte Warden, Thursday night music, led a band in the 80s called the Wagoneers, and wrote this song for them:
Jimmie Dreams played songs by Lee Dorsey (also a boxer and mechanic) and Bobby Charles, classic New Orleans artists:
And finally, I was sad to hear of the passing of Neal Peart last week. He was the drummer extraordinaire for the Canadian rock trio, Rush. I love his drumming and was fortunate to catch a couple of Rush live shows. I also recommend his books, chronicling his travels by bicycle, car, and motorcycle, and his book blog “Bubba’s Book Club”.
This was a relatively uneventful week, with Diana and Alicia in McKinney and me playing at working hard.
Damon came over for dinner on Tuesday night and was able to participate in Diana’s update about the fire department going to Grammie’s house. She called them because she smelled burning – a space heater overloading a plug.
In related news, this large looking mountain lion was caught patrolling around Grammie’s house again. Apparently (according to McD) they make a 150 mile circuit around the Bay Area. I’m not sure I want to come face to face with this guy – the bobcats are one thing, but this seems a lot more challenging. Speaking of bobcats – here’s a picture of a mother and baby on Gypsy Hill this week – lot of nature going on up there on the “hill”:
I attended a fancy work executive committee pow-wow on Thursday night at the lovely Jeffrey’s restaurant in West Austin. We had talked about having my birthday dinner there but chose Justine’s instead, so I was interested to try it out.
The setting is sophisticated but casual, with a very comfortable feel. The bar area was very cool and has a great all night happy hour menu. I laughed when our strategy guy, a 6 foot 6 inch Swede, left his menu on a candle until it almost caught fire – reminded me of a trip to the City Winery in Nashville when our group had a similar experience.
For dinner, I selected the snapper en papilotte (French for “enveloped in paper”), and it was delicious.
It was funny to watch the crew leave at the end of the evening. Blair’s monster, lifted truck coming through the valet, Jacob, our tall Swede, taking off on a monster Harley etc. What a crew!
I left Austin early on Friday, in hopes of beating the monster storm into McKinney. Penelope and I were in the garage around 4pm, just prior to the downpour. We didn’t get the 2 inch hail and tornadoes that were forecast – thank goodness. The temperature was 70 degrees on Friday, and Saturday started below freezing with a dusting of snow. Crazy Texas weather.
The weekend was normal – workouts followed by coffee and crosswords. Diana did win the crossword battle on Saturday by 15 seconds – I really need to step up my game.
Alicia flew back to San Luis Obispo on Sunday morning, then we had late workouts. I enjoyed the NFL playoff game between Kansas City and Houston, while McD read a kindle book.
I warned you up front – a pretty uneventful week. We’ll try to be a bit more exciting in the coming week.
I finished “The Quaker” by Liam McIlvanney this week. Liam is the son of William McIlvanney, one of my favourite authors and writer of my number one book – “Walking Wounded”. This book was a Christmas gift from my parents, under the heading “getting you back in touch with your Scottish roots”. It was the Scottish Crime Book of the Year in 2018.
I really enjoyed the descriptions of Glasgow in 1969, as major portions of the population are moved from old, decaying tenements to supposedly better environments. The story was well done, unfolding slowly and keeping you guessing. I thought I had it solved at page 250 of 400 – only partially. Liam is an excellent writer, but doesn’t have his father’s ability to capture a thoroughly believable character in a few paragraphs.
“What if he does it again, sir?” McCormack drained his glass and set it down. “You thought of that? We have Paton inside and the Quaker does another. What happens then? You’re playing golf in Maidens. We’re still here””.
This paragraph reminded me of the hilarious day in the Maidens, when Uncle Ian’s wheelchair backed into a hole. Good memories of good times.
The Barrowlands ballroom is at the center of this story, and it reminded me of going to the Kings Theater in the Gorbals a few times in High School – all that culture in the middle of a very rough neighbourhood.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for a good crime thriller and an understanding of the Glasgow milieu.
I came across this amazing version of St. James Infirmary this week. What do you think? Best version ever?
What an excellent Jerry Garcia song from his first solo album:
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is the new face of the blues. We saw him at the ACL Hall of Fame induction ceremony, playing with Buddy Guy, and he was excellent. From Clarksville, Mississippi, he grew up in the home of Robert Johnson and seems to really embody the blues.
The Building is a band fronted by Anthony LaMarca, guitarist for War on Drugs. Very peaceful music.
Penelope and I led the way down to Austin on Monday, with Diana following behind in the racing Passat. Alicia flew in on Thursday and the girls are driving back up to McKinney on Monday, so we needed two cars.
My Christmas present from Diana was delivered in person to the apartment on Monday night. Sharon from the Soundwaves art gallery decided it would be easier to drive over my painting than to mail it. She is married to the artist, Tim Wakefield, who creates these excellent music related pieces. Mine is of The Kinks “Waterloo Sunset” and is signed by Ray Davies. It looks amazing. Thanks D! One of my very favourite songs from such an underrated band.
Sticking with the new artwork theme, we installed Quine and Loon in our Austin bedroom – don’t they look great?
And finally, D’s spin art from the Christmas party was installed in the Austin bedroom as well. It’s an album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a glam rock band formed in Scotland in 1972. I can remember checking their albums out of the High School library in Stewarton. How did the spin art folks happen to have one of these albums in Austin, TX? I think Diana created a very interesting piece.
Our first New Year’s Eve in Austin was a lot of fun. We met up with a work colleague, Issac, and his wife Adrienne. They have a similar situation to us, splitting time between a home in San Antonio and an apartment in Austin. Issac selected La Volpe (the fox) as our dinner destination with a 10:30pm reservation to facilitate ringing in the New Year.
The interior of the restaurant was very modern and cool, and I read was designed by Jennifer Long, who also worked on C-Boy’s Heart and Soul on South Congress.
The special menu was all small plates with some great options. The plates ended up not being so small and we had plenty to eat.
The poached lobster and duck confit risotto were absolute standouts. Great choice Issac! We wandered around the corner to Antone’s blues club to close out the evening and posed for these fancy pictures in front of Eddie V’s:
New Year’s Eve in Austin certainly ended up being more exciting than our typical McKinney experience. Maybe we’ll do it again next year.
We rested up on New Year’s Day and planned some fun for Alicia’s arrival on Thursday. Festivities started with dinner at Diana’s favourite Austin restaurant, Peche. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals. Then we walked across the street to the Parker Jazz Club for the early show. The House Band was playing, but we got very lucky. The trumpet player Mike Sailors was sitting in, along with club owner Kris Kimura (who plays 10 different instruments including various clarinets, saxophones, flugel horn, and ukulele), and an excellent trombone player. Sailors has been a big name in New York for the last several years, playing with the Village Vanguard orchestra and the Birdland band, among many others. He just moved back to Austin to take the role of jazz trumpet professor at the University of Austin, and this was his first gig. What a treat! The music was very much focused around Louis Armstrong – perfect for me. Here’s a sample.
Did I mention an excellent trombone player?
Armstrong’s “The Sunny Side of the Street” took me back to New Orleans and Kermit Ruffins at Vaughan’s on my first evening in that fantastic city:
Everyone thought the music was outstanding. A great first night for Alicia.
On Friday night, Alicia decided she was in the mood for sushi. I suggested Lucky Robot on South Congress based on a quick Yelp search. We had walked by it many times, but never considered dining there. The food and service were both very good, with a menu that included several things that I liked – pork belly bao (steamed buns). There are a lot of origami birds inside.
Saturday was a gorgeous 70 degree day – seriously, in January – so I went for a jog along the river trail while the girls hit the gym downstairs. In the afternoon, we walked across to the Alta coffee shop and enjoyed the sunset. A very nice, relaxed Saturday.
Sunday started with workouts downstairs and then brunch on the rooftop patio at El Alma – such a good, close spot. Then we drove over to Covert Park to hike up to the top of Mount Bonnell. This is the highest spot in the city limit of Austin at 785 feet – I know, not that impressive in the scheme of things, but does offer some excellent views of downtown, and up and down river. There are some little multi-million dollar shacks right below the peak. It’s 106 steps up from the parking area to the top of Mount Bonnell. Whew, we made it!
McD took advantage of a table to enhance her view, and I snapped this picture of the two girls looking up river.
“Mission Song” by John Le Carre was my first book this week. I “borrowed” it from the bookcase at Mum and Dad’s house. The story is told from the point of view of Bruno Salvador, “Salvo”, a very talented interpreter of African, particularly Congolese, languages. This is Le Carre’s 20th novel, published in 2006, and it focuses attention on the atrocities committed in the Congo, and largely ignored by the British and American press. Salvo begins his interpreter assignment thinking he is helping Britain find a good solution to the problems in Congo, then realizes it’s just another plan to take advantage of the region’s natural resources. He decides to attempt to stop the plan, with dire consequences. This was a typically beautifully written Le Carre book, with another really disappointing ending. A 375 page book, that comes to a conclusion with a report occupying the last page and a half – I’m getting really tired of less than rewarding endings. The commentary on the role an interpreter plays and the skill associated with the position seemed very well done.
My second book was “Made in Scotland” by the hilarious, and very Scottish, Billy Connolly, a Christmas gift from my parents. What an excellent read, but fair warning, the language is very salty at times.
There are so many great stories from a very interesting life, starting with Billy’s tough childhood and initial working life at 15, as a welder in the Clyde shipyards – building the Queen Mary and QE2.
I learned that Connolly had a band in the early 70s and recruited a young Gerry Rafferty to join. The duo were quite successful, but Rafferty was clearly a more sophisticated and talented musician, going on to release some amazing albums. Did you now that Dire Straits opened for Rafferty on some of his biggest tours?
I enjoyed the stories about Connolly’s Dad taking he and his sister to Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute, for summer holidays during the Glasgow Fair. And handing their buckets and spades to the incoming Paisley Fair kids as they left. The descriptions of the trauma of a knitted swimsuit are very funny.
This book has a lot of heart and soul, and captures the Scottish population very nicely.
Let’s start with some more of “Sunny Side of the Street”. The original and Kermit’s version from Vaughan’s:
The Australian Teskey Brothers came across Spotify again this week. What a great sound:
And this song by FREEMAN popped up again. I really like this one:
Here’s an interesting biography of Diana’s Mum, Clorinda, written by a fellow member of the Pacifica Historical Society.
Written by Jean Bartlett, December 4, 2019
(APacificaHistorical Society Project)
Oakland Tribune, October 8, 1961 Announcing Clorinda’s performance in “Tosca”
In 1977, Clorinda Di Lonardo Campagna, her husband Dr. Sebastian Campagna, and their daughter and five sons moved to Pacifica, California. Prior to that, the growing family lived briefly in places that included: Nebraska, Michigan and New Zealand. How did the couple meet? Sebastian first noticed Clorinda when he saw her photo in the San Jose Mercury News. It was an announcement. The soprano would be performing with the Santa Clara Philharmonic.
“It is because of music that Sebastian and I met,” Clorinda said. “It was in the late 1950s and Sebastian saw my photo and decided to call me up. He wanted to meet me and I said, ‘No, I’m too busy and I don’t know you.’ But I did tell him to come to the concert. I remember my father asked me, ‘Who called you?’ I was embarrassed. This sort of thing had never happened to me. But Sebastian came and he introduced himself.”
“We didn’t really date,” she said. “We were both very busy with our professional lives. I was teaching full-time in the Alum Rock School District in San Jose and Sebastian at that point in time was in general medical practice in San Jose.”
But they did like each other and love bloomed. In 1963 they joined their paths at the altar.
* * *
Clorinda’s life has its roots in Guardia Sanframondi, Italy. In fact, the home where her father Carlo Di Lonardo was born still remains in the family. Guardia Sanframondi is a small town in Italy’s Campania Region in the Province of Benevento. It is 1,400 feet above sea level and looks out over the Titerno River Valley and the Valley of the Calore. The castle at the top of this hilly, cobble-stoned city was built in the
late 1400s. Rich with surrounding vineyards and olive trees, the medieval town is famous for its grape harvesting, olive pressing, annual wine festival and its Rites of Penance Festival.
“My father was from a family of five brothers and two sisters. His family’s business was olive oil and they had acres of olive trees. My mother, Costanza ‘Connie’ Foschini, was also born in Guardia Sanframondi. She and her sisters were known for never leaving their family home unless they were dressed perfectly! My mother and father were the same age, both born in 1898. At the very least they met in school, if they didn’t know each other beforehand. My father used to say, ‘The only thing Mussolini did for us is he made every child in Italy go to school.'”
After Carlo and Connie married they lived in Carlo’s family home. That is where the first of their five children, all daughters, were born.
“My sister Ludovica was born at home in Guardia Sanframondi in 1922. On the day she was born, my father was on the ship to the United States. It was a hard decision and it took a lot of courage to leave his wife and their daughter. But he and Connie knew it was best. He had cousins in Hackensack and two of his brothers lived in New York, and like a number of his family members he felt there was greater opportunity in the States. When Ludovica was 7, she and my mother came by ship to New Jersey. By then my father was established. He had bought a home on Grove Street in Hackensack, he had steady work as a cement finisher and he had planted a large garden filled with fruit and vegetables. His family would be taken care of.”
Connie,Ludovica and Carlo Di Lonardo, circa 1929.
Pasqualina “Lena” was the couple’s second daughter and 14 months later, Clorinda came along on October 24, 1931. In Latin, the name “Clorinda” means renowned. Her father told her that when she was born, he was reading some Italian literature where the heroine, a warrior, was named “Clorinda” – and now, so was she.
“My mother was so proud that I came along on the 24th,” Clorinda said. “Because that was the official day the George Washington Bridge opened.”
New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the bridge the day Clorinda was born. The bridge which spans the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee, New Jersey to Washington Heights in Manhattan, New York, opened to traffic on October 25. It was eight months ahead of schedule.
Shirley was Carlo and Connie’s next daughter, and Margie was born in 1936. “We lost Margie in 1977 and it was heartbreaking. My parents were so stoic. Margie was very talented. She could play the piano without ever having taken a lesson and she couldn’t read music. She was an artist and a painter. She taught music in Orinda and the sound she got from her fifth grade students just made tears roll down my cheeks. She died of a primary tumor in the liver. I still miss her.
“I understand Italian but I don’t speak it. My parents both spoke English and both became U.S. citizens. My father formed a night school in the community to help prepare other immigrants for U.S. citizenship. He had real leadership ability, including with children. We had one boy in our neighborhood who was frequently in trouble and who often made trouble over at our local school. There were two families in our neighborhood that were German – we were all immigrants – and at school, he was calling their kids ‘Nazis.’ When my dad heard about this, he got all the boys in our neighborhood to come sit on our front steps so he could talk to them. We were told to go inside and we were a bit nervous because these boys, all of them, were our friends. What was my father going to do? But my dad talked to this boy and all the boys. He said, ‘We are all Americans and neighbors here and we don’t call anybody names. That just can’t be.’ My father and my mother were both very much about community – always help where you can help.
“At one point I remember that people wanted my father to run for mayor of Hackensack but he said,
‘No, I can’t be mayor, I don’t have the education for that.’ My father was a people person. He was devoted to his faith, as was my mom, and he was handsome. I remember when I was 11 or 12, after I went to church with my family, I was going to walk to the candy store around the block and meet my girlfriends. But they were waiting for me when I got out. ‘What are you doing here?’ I said. ‘I thought we were going to meet at the candy store?’ And they said, ‘Well, we are waiting to see your dad.’ ‘How come?’ I asked. ‘Because he is as handsome as a movie star,’ they told me. That really shocked me. He was just my dad!
“As to my mother, oh how she could sing. Everybody knew when Connie was baking bread. She was singing at 5 o’clock in the morning! She was, however, most definitely the more serious of the two and my dad loved to tease her and she never smiled when he teased her. I remember one New Year’s Eve in Hackensack, my dad had made wine with grapes from California’s Santa Clara Valley and he shared it with the neighborhood. We had a three story house, which included the basement, and the wine was down in the basement. This particular New Year’s Eve he thought it would be fun if his daughters came downstairs with him and then when we went back upstairs – we all pretended that we were drunk. My mom did not laugh and was so angry that she told us all to go outside. It was freezing cold and it was dinnertime and we were hungry. So my dad went to the store, bought hot dogs, came back and heated up the barbecue and my dad and all of his daughters ate outside. Eventually my mother let us back in. She knew we were there. She could see us through the window. But that was my father and my mother!”
During the Depression the family struggled financially and her father worked every hour he could. But her parents grew their own vegetables and kept chickens and rabbits and there was always enough to eat. In addition, there was always music playing.
“My mom constantly tuned into all this wonderful Italian music on the radio, straight from Italy, and we never missed a Metropolitan Opera broadcast. I liked opera from the moment I heard it.” (Like the George Washington Bridge, the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts were also launched the year Clorinda was born…and they are still going.)
Clorinda also began singing as a little girl and her ability to sing was recognized early on.
“I’ll never forget my kindergarten teacher,” Clorinda said. “She was a tall, beautiful blond woman with a beautiful voice, and she had us kids singing all of the time. When she realized that I could carry a tune too, she really encouraged me and invited me to sing.”
Clorinda sang in school performances. She sang with her church’s children’s choir, intermediate choir and when she became a teen, with their adult choir. Serious vocal lessons began when she was in sixth grade. Her school principal talked to Clorinda’s father. “Mr. Di Lonardo, Clorinda is ready for professional lessons.” He recommended vocal instructor Mary Olney Smith. Mary was just graduating from Mannes School of Music in New York City. And so Clorinda’s musical career began.
“Our cousins that lived next door were all musicians. I had an uncle in Italy who had a beautiful tenor voice and his son was a boy soprano with the Metropolitan Opera Boy’s Chorus. So it was not a surprise that I went into music.
“I really had a wonderful childhood in New Jersey. One of the things I so fondly recall are Sunday car rides with my dad. He loved the country, and he would take his girls to the southern part of New Jersey where there are some beautiful lakes. We would bring bread or crackers to feed the ducks and he would say, ‘If you are good, you can get all the ice cream you want at the creamery just across the way,’ and that’s exactly what we did!”
Fourofthe five Di Lonardo sisters: Clorinda, Lena, Shirley and Margie. Circa 1947.
In 1945, the family moved to California’s Santa Clara Valley.
“My father’s cousin was stationed in California during the War. When he came back to New Jersey, he described all the orchards he saw and he said to my father, ‘Carlo, California is for you.”
The Santa Clara Valley, which in the 1940s had more than 100,000 acres planted with orchards, was known throughout the world as the “Valley of Heart’s Delight.”
“My dad and my sister Lena came out first,” Clorinda said. “They drove across the country with another relative who was moving here. My dad wanted to be sure it was the kind of place he wanted to bring his family to – and the minute he saw it he knew this was where we belonged.”
“Through relatives my dad met Frank Iusi,” Clorinda continued. “Frank was a realtor and he was very successful. He became my father’s mentor and friend, and he helped my dad find the house that became our first home which was in the village of Agnew, California.” (Agnew has since incorporated into Santa Clara). “We packed up the house, put things on a moving truck and then my mother, my two younger sisters and I came out to California on the bus. My eldest sister, who like all the Di Lonardo daughters went to college, was married and remained in New Jersey. We stayed in that first home for maybe a year and then moved to another home in Santa Clara. Frank found us that home as well. Finally, and this is all within a four-year period, we settled in Campbell. Frank found a home which had five acres of apricots and was exactly what my dad wanted. My dad was a grower and always wanted fruit trees.”
California was a beautiful place to move to. Clorinda attended Santa Clara High School and sang with her high school’s chorus. She also studied voice with Helen Kalas. Helen was Clorinda’s first vocal teacher on the West Coast. The daughter of the Czech-born cellist Jan Kalas, Helen came recommended by a national touring concert pianist Clorinda had met in New York at a recording studio. (Clorinda had been sent to New York by her vocal teacher to make a professional recording.) Clorinda also became a member of Santa Clara’s Wutzit Club.
Circa1948. Clorinda meets Robert Alda, center, and also says hello to a family friend at a Santa Clara youth organization fundraiser.
The Wutzit Club was a youth recreational organization. It was started during the Second World War by a handful of youth to put the kibosh on any juvenile delinquency. By the time Clorinda moved to Santa Clara, the Club was run by Father Walter E. Schmidt, Society of Jesus. The Club had weekly radio broadcasts, a glee club, a club newspaper, a dramatic society and a sports program. They also sponsored three dances a week, did community work and offered classes in the arts. When Clorinda joined in 1948, she was one of 1,000 Club members. Father Schmidt was also the co-founder and coordinator of the Golden Circle Theatre Party – an annual “Wutzit” fundraising event at San Jose’s Civic Auditorium – which featured local high school performers and a number of Hollywood stars. At one of the Theatre Party events, Clorinda was singing with her high school chorus and got a chance to say “hello” to someone backstage who she knew from Hackensack. He used to come and sing at her cousin’s house.
“My cousins lived next door and they had converted their garage into a little studio. I remember that when I was a little girl, this fellow from Hoboken (about 20 minutes south by car), used to come over and sing with them and then they’d all hang out at the local soda fountain. I talked to him as well. One time he gave my mother and my sister Margie a ride to the hospital because Margie had gotten her hand stuck in some sort of a chain.” That “fellow” was Frank Sinatra and Clorinda’s cousin was the drummer for the Shep Fields and “His Rippling Rhythm” Big Band.
Following high school, Clorinda attended San Jose State College (now San Jose State University). A spinto soprano, she studied with contralto and professor of music, Maureen Thompson, while continuing to study with Helen Kalas. (A spinto soprano is a lyric soprano with darker color and more weight to her voice. For the spinto, it is easier to push through the big climaxes of the dramatic repertoire. Leontyne Price is a spinto soprano.)
In 1953, Clorinda graduated with a dual major in music and education. While studying at San Jose State, appearances included soloist with the San Jose State A Cappella Choir under the direction of William J. Erlendson, professor of music, and with the San Jose State Symphony Orchestra, in 1952, under the baton of Dr. Lyle Downey.
From an April 3, 1952 announcement in the Spartan Daily regarding an upcoming performance at the San Jose Civic Auditorium, featuring, as pictured above: John Morrison, Gloria Collins and Clorinda Di Lonardo.
Following her graduation, Clorinda continued to perform. She also taught full-time in San Jose’s Alum Rock School District. Along with being a sixth grade teacher, she additionally taught glee clubs and the Teacher’s Choir. She taught in San Jose for four years and then, following her performance with the Santa Clara Philharmonic, she was awarded a vocal scholarship with the Music and Arts Institute of San Francisco. There she studied in an opera workshop with conductor and pianist Dr. Antonia Brico, history’s first woman symphony conductor, and singer Alma Michelini, a protégé of Juilliard School of Music voice teacher Mme. Marcella Sembrich. (Mme. Sembrich was the first star of the Metropolitan Opera performing the day after the Met opened in October of 1883 and immediately becoming a household name.) Clorinda would also perform with Arthur Fiedler, the longtime conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra.
“I was still living at home when I got the invitation,” Clorinda said. “I had never heard of the Music and Arts Institute. I was excited and nervous. I asked my father, ‘Do you think I can do this?’ And he said, ‘Yes you can.’
“I had never driven to San Francisco so my dad came with me the first time. But then when I drove myself for the first time, I was pulled over by a police officer. He told me I was going too slow. I told him I had never driven to San Francisco and he asked me where I was going. I told him and gave him the address. And he said, ‘Follow me!’ Everyone at the workshop knew I was coming and they all saw me arrive with a police escort. Of course they never let me live that down!”
Clorinda’s performance résumé story also includes participation in opera workshops with composer, conductor and professor Fedor Kabalin at the University of California. She was the 1960 Western Regional Winner in the American Opera Auditions. She sang the leading role of the governess in the Northern California premiere of Benjamin Britten’s opera “The Turn of the Screw,” staged by the University of California. She performed with the Oakland Symphony in Verdi’s “Requiem.” In 1961, she performed the lead role of Princess Yaroslavna in Alexander Borodin’s “Prince Igor,” on the stage of the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House. Under the direction of 1955-West Bay Opera founder Henry Holt, she performed the role of Amelia in Giuseppe Verdi’s three-act opera “Un ballo in maschera” (A Masked Ball) at Palo Alto’s Lucie Stern Theatre. (Both the Opera and the Theatre – the latter which is also the stage for TheaterWorks and the Palo Alto Players – are still highly prized Bay Area performance events.)
Clorinda as Amelia in the West Bay Opera production of Giuseppe Verdi’s three-act opera “Un ballo in maschera” (A Masked Ball) at Palo Alto’s Lucie Stern Theatre. Circa 1961.
October8, 1961, soprano Clorinda Di Lonardo was photographed for the San Francisco Opera by the Opera’s photographer Carolyn Mason Jones.
In October of 1961, Clorinda sang the title role of Floria Tosca in Giacomo Puccini’s three-act opera “Tosca” at the Oakland Auditorium. Presented by the Italian-American Federation, tenor Sebastian Campagna sang the role of Cavaradossi – Tosca’s lover. Sebastian is the same man who introduced himself to Clorinda after seeing her picture in the paper. Who is this man she would marry less than two years later?
Creighton University varsity wrestling coach Sebastian Campagna, 1939.
From Omaha, Nebraska, Sebastian Campagna was a state high school wrestling champion who went on to organize and coach Creighton University’s first varsity wrestling team in 1939, while he was a junior law student at the same school. He, along with his brother Don, additionally served on the Bluejays 14-man squad. Also a stage actor, his credentials included a number of performances with the legendary Omaha Community Playhouse. After he became a lawyer, he moved out to California. Following his service in the Second World War, he decided he didn’t want to be a lawyer. He felt he had much more to give and he wanted to become a doctor. His Creighton professors told him he was too old to become a doctor.
“Before I knew Sebastian, he was doing general practice in San Jose,” Clorinda said. “He then did a surgery residency with Presbyterian Hospital in San Francisco, with Stanford and one with Kaiser. In addition, he was a tenor. Following WWII, he auditioned for the San Francisco Opera Chorus in his Army uniform. Gaetano Merola, the founder of the San Francisco Opera and the director of the Chorus listened and said, ‘The soldier will sing in the Chorus!'” After the couple met, Sebastian studied under Clorinda’s vocal coach Alma Michelini.
On June 29, 1963 Sebastian Campagna and Clorinda Di Lonardo married at St. Lucy Catholic Church on Winchester Boulevard in Campbell, California.
Clorinda andSebastianCampagna, June 29, 1963, Campbell, CA.
The couple’s first child, Diana, was born in San Francisco, where Clorinda was also working as a substitute sixth grade teacher. Their second child, Victor, was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. These moves followed Sebastian’s long list of educational requirements – licensing, trainings, boards – to become a thoracic cardiovascular surgeon. There was a move to Texas and a move to Michigan. The latter is where their son Giancarlo was born. Sebastian did his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship in Auckland, New Zealand where the family lived for close to two years. Their fourth child, Leonard, was born in Auckland.
Clorinda continued to perform throughout their travels. In Auckland, she performed in numerous live concerts with a pianist. In Wellington, New Zealand’s capital, Clorinda recorded the “Poème de l’amour et de la mer” (“Poem of Love and the Sea”), a song cycle by Ernest Chausson, with the New Zealand National Symphony. The recording was subsequently broadcast on various radio stations in New Zealand. In addition, Clorinda did live radio broadcasts in Auckland, with an accompanist, performing songs from a soprano’s repertoire. She also enjoyed meeting New Zealand’s world-renowned lyric soprano Kiri Te Kanawa at a high tea at Dame Te Kanawa’s home.
“You never know what might happen,” Clorinda laughed.
Clorindaathomein Auckland, New Zealand with Victor, Leonard, Diana and Giancarlo. Circa 1970-1971.
When the couple and their family returned to the States, they first went to Mississippi. Sebastian was going to be part of a heart team there. But the family didn’t stay. They wanted to return to the Bay Area.
Their fifth child, Marco, was born in Sanger, California. Next stop, Switzerland – an opportunity came up for Clorinda and the family of seven moved there for about a year. Clorinda had been invited to be a participant/performer in The International Opera Studio, which was established in 1961 under the patronage of the Friends of Zurich Opera. In 1973, the Campagna family was back in the Bay Area and their fifth son, Adamo, was born at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose. When Dr. Campagna became a part of the Pacifica Medical Center on Aura Vista Drive (now Bill Drake Way), the family moved to Pacifica. It was 1977. They rented at first and then bought their home on Gypsy Hill. Clorinda estimates that she, Sebastian and their children planted over 2,000 trees along their neighboring hillsides.
TheCampagnafamily,circa 1984. Sebastian and Clorinda seated, with their children, from l to r: Marco, Giancarlo, Victor, Leonard, Diana and Adamo.
The children all attended Good Shepherd Catholic School once they arrived in Pacifica. Diana attended San Domenico High School in Marin, Victor attended Oceana High School in Pacifica, and Giancarlo, Leonard, Marco and Adamo attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco. Clorinda continued to sing at various Bay Area events. She was also the volunteer choral music instructor at Good Shepherd for many years and later did some substitute teaching in Pacifica. Then there were her additional volunteer projects.
She’s been involved with Pacifica’s Annual 4th of July Celebration at Frontierland Park for more than 30 years. When the late, legendary Pacifica Tribune columnist Paul Azevedo passed in May of 2004 (Paul’s column “The Reactor” ran for three decades), Clorinda took over what he had done for many, many years at the Celebration – read to the crowd from the three parts of the Constitution – all of the Preamble, and some of the Articles and Amendments. The Declaration of Independence is also read in full.
“What I do is bring in people of all different ages – adults, elementary school students and high school students – to be readers,” Clorinda said. “When Paul passed away I thought we shouldn’t stop doing these readings. I think it is important that we realize our patriotism because we are kind of reluctant to show it or talk about it. I also think bringing in our young people as participants is important. They are our future.”
In addition, Clorinda provides the vocalist who sings “The Star Spangled Banner.”
“This is generally a young person from our town who is in high school or home from college,” Clorinda said. “All of the students who take part in our Annual 4th of July Celebration do so because they care.”
For a number of years Clorinda served as member of Pacifica’s Open Space Committee. She continues to be very active with Good Shepherd Church and is a longtime member of the Church’s Women’s Guild. She has been on the Committee for Pacifica Coastside Relay for Life since 2006 when her grandson, now in his twenties and a cancer survivor, was diagnosed with childhood cancer. She is a longtime volunteer with the Pacifica Historical Society, constantly working with its dedicated team of volunteers to successfully save Pacifica’s history. One of the Society’s projects, now completed, was to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore Pacifica’s oldest public building, the Little Brown Church, and turn it into the Pacifica Coastside Museum. Clorinda chaired a number of partnering events to bring in contributions. One such partnering event brought Pacifica’s iconic Winters Tavern to the table. Billed respectively as “Pacifica’s down ‘n’ dirty bar featuring live rock, folk & bluegrass bands in a rustic, wood- paneled space” and “the best dive bar in town,” Winters held a “Prom Night” in fundraising support for the Museum’s extensive, foundation-to-roof renovations.
“When you partner together with people and businesses in your community, everyone feels like they have a stake in the project and they want to be involved.”
She also continues to support the Pacifica Sea Lions. The Pacifica Sea Lions swim team is a competitive swimming program for youth 5-18 years of age. All of Clorinda’s kids were Sea Lions growing up and Clorinda has long been a force behind the Sea Lions hamburgers and hot dogs booth. She has also been a longtime believer in and fundraiser for UNICEF. On a family note, she is thrilled to be the grandmother of twelve, six boys and six girls.
In 2010, Clorinda was presented with an Outstanding Individual Contribution Award from the Pacifica Chamber of Commerce. In 2018, she was one of eight honorees singled out by Pacific Coast TV for continuous efforts which inspire and strengthen the community. For an opportunity to hear Clorinda sing, click into this link. It was recorded in 2012 at St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco. The occasion was the wedding of her son and daughter-in-law, Adamo and Amy.
Jean Bartlett photo
In 2011, Pacifica Historical Society members Clorinda Campagna, Pat Kremer, Jim Kremer, Kathy McGuire and Shirlee Gibbs get ready for “Prom Night” at Winters Tavern, a partnership fundraiser chaired by Clorinda.
Pacifica Historical Society photo
HelenJamesandClorinda Campagna, at Pacifica’s Sam Mazza Castle, put the details in order for a Pacifica Historical Society fundraising event for the Pacifica Coastside Museum. Circa 2005.
Sebastian Campagna died on June 4, 1993. Clorinda still remembers it as if it was yesterday.
“We were both going to visit my father’s old friend Frank Iusi to provide some paperwork he needed from us. At the very last minute, we were almost out the door, I got a call from Cabrillo Elementary School wanting to know if I could be there as a substitute immediately. I figured they really needed someone or they wouldn’t have called so late. I was dropped off at Cabrillo by either Sebastian or Adamo. At 4 o’clock I was waiting to be picked up but no one came. Then Adamo came and when I saw his face, I knew something had happened.”
Sebastian was killed in a car accident. His car was hit by a train earlier that day as he made his way to the Hall of Records in Redwood City. He was 77.
“Sebastian was such a good man, such a smart man and a wonderful husband. He was also a wonderful father. I’ve often thought about how I was supposed to be in the car with him. I guess God was just ready for Sebastian. There must be more things I need to do and I am happy to do them.”
Jean Bartlett photo
Clorinda at a Pacifica Coastside Museum fundraiser in 2014.
Clorindawithherparents,Carlo and Connie Di Lonardo, on her wedding day in 1963.
Both parents were always very supportive of Clorinda’s singing, but her dad said early on, “How are you going to make a living?” But he also said, “Whatever you do, Clorinda, be true to yourself.”
ThefiveDi Lonardo daughters, June 29, 1963: Ludovica, Clorinda, Lena, Shirley and Margie. “My sisters also very much supported my music journey. I had opportunities I wouldn’t have had without such strong family support. I’m very grateful.”
Clorinda andSebastiandance together for the first time as husband and wife.
Onstage with two of the leads in the Omaha Community Playhouse presentation of A.B. Shiffren’s comedy, “I Like it Here.” Sebastian Campagna, left, as Willie M. Colombo, and Charles Hoffman, right, as Sebastian Merriweather. April, 1947. (Sebastian was studying medicine in Omaha.)
FollowingtheSecondWorldWarandbeforehe met Clorinda, Sebastian auditioned for Gaetano Merola, the founder of the San Francisco Opera and the director of the San Francisco Opera Chorus. The conductor listened to the tenor’s vocal and Sebastian was immediately awarded a spot in the Chorus.
Clorindawith her childrenonthe occasion of her 75th birthday, l to r: Leonard, Victor, Clorinda, Giancarlo, Diana, Adamo and Marco. October 24, 2006.
Clorinda Di Lonardo Campagna and Sebastian Campagna, June 29, 1963.
David arrived in Stewarton on Sunday evening in time for some of my Mum’s yummy steak pie. Diana found the two of us waiting patiently in anticipation of the pie quite entertaining for some reason.
We enjoyed breakfast at the Millhouse on Monday morning, prior to David driving us up to Aberdeen in what’s known as a “Duber” service (David’s Uber). We gave him a very good rating. The Millhouse is much nicer than when I visited the previous discotheque incarnation more than 35 years ago. The 4 hour drive (with a pleasant stop for coffee) concluded just in time for us to ooh and aah over the amazing rural views from Elspeth and David’s home before the early sunset.
That’s the Bennachie mountain range in the distance, and the highest peak, Mither Tap at 1,732 feet, on the left. How would you like to enjoy that view from your kitchen every day? A website says it should take about 2.5 hours to climb Mither Tap. I asked David how long it took him – about an hour – sounds pretty typical of the speed he moves.
David’s younger sister, Suzanne, and her family arrived shortly after us on Friday afternoon. They came even further than us – all the way from Brisbane, Australia. It was funny to watch David looking down the road and judging the size and speed of each car to determine if it could possibly be Suzanne. When they arrived, Suzanne said she knew she was at the right house because she saw the way David was walking through the window. It was a real treat to meet the entire Ruff family of Suzanne, Alan, Rebecca, Izzy (Isabelle), and Alex.
From the left: Izzy, Alex, Michael, Heather, Struan, Rebecca, Bramble in the foreground
David was a good sport and took the girls out to enjoy the night sky from the hot tub.
The Ruffs headed off to the Lecht Ski Center on Monday morning, in search of some snow for the girls – not much of that in Australia. David took us to an excellent coffee shop – the Coffee Apothecary near Pitmedden, a short drive from the house.
The coffee selection and presentation were great, as was the chicken liver pate. What a nice feature to have such an excellent place close by in such a rural setting.
Alex and Bramble in the back garden
After coffee and a snack, it was Bramble’s time to have some fun. Who’s Bramble? Sorry – the latest addition to David and Elspeth’s family, a red Labrador retriever. David took us to Fyvie castle to give her a good run. Another pet seemed to sneak in on the adventure – that crazy baby penguin certainly gets around.
Here’s a video of the exercise routine. It helps when Bramble keeps an eye on the ball all the way to hitting the ground. Diana survived a direct hit on the noggin with the tennis ball from the launcher shortly after this video was made.
Tuesday was a quiet and relaxing day. David, Suzanne, Bramble and I went for a walk around the neighbourhood. I wasn’t expecting to be doing quite as much “off-roading” through mud and long grass. Wind power is popular in Scotland, with turbines seen all over the landscape. We passed under a set used to power the ice cream making operation at Mackie’s farm, next door to Bonnyview.
Our hike lasted about an hour and we had worked up a good appetite by the time we finished. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew was working their way slowly through a Christmas jigsaw puzzle. I’ll spoil the excitement and let you know that the puzzle was ultimately completed on Boxing Day afternoon. I hate to think how many man and woman hours were invested.
We expected an early start on Christmas Day with the young girls in the house. They were exceptionally patient, and even waited through breakfast before heading to the living room to open presents. There were lots of fun presents for everyone. Here’s McD with one of the stuffed trophy heads we received from Elspeth and David. Aren’t they hilarious? They did generate some interest on the trip home as they peeked out from Diana’s carry on bag, even getting the once over by the Dallas customs team.
The girls enjoyed the colouring book, pens and charm bracelet kit that Diana picked out for them.
Elspeth, David and Heather worked very hard on a delicious Christmas dinner. From the prawn and smoked salmon starter, through turkey with all possible fixings, through to Christmas cake and pudding (thanks Mum), everything was perfect.
The hilarity level went up a bit after dinner with board game time. We played several rounds of a game, the name of which I can’t remember now, where you had to describe a thing without using the word. The teams were evenly matched and so we kept having to play another deciding game.
That was followed up with a game of Cranium. I enjoy the variety and silliness of this game – everything from clay modeling, to charades, to blindfolded Pictionary. I was disappointed that nobody could guess my puppeteer work as I had Suzanne demonstrating how to milk a cow. It’s really lovely to see everyone laughing and having so much fun.
The Ruffs left early on Thursday morning. Not really that early to give David a good excuse for wearing his pajamas out to close the gate after them.
David and I used our time in the afternoon to coach Michael through enhancing a picture that we had jokingly titled the “Elf on the Shelf”. I shared this with Brent, who in typical clever fashion, suggested “impaired on the stairs”.
We drove to the nearest decent sized town, Inverurie (Diana can do a decent Scottish accent on this one), for an Indian dinner. Rajpoot was very good, with everyone really enjoying their meals. The owner thought he was funny bringing me a kids dessert served in “Miss Pinky” – I had laughed when I saw them on the menu.
Our visit was drawing to a close and we did our best to organize our packing for an early start to the airport on Friday.
The airport is located less than a mile from where I worked my first job out of University at Gearhart. The area has changed a lot since 1985, but the Four Mile Inn (a regular lunch spot back in the day) is still there and looks much the same. The Aberdeen airport was small and pain free (other than not having jet bridges, resulting in us having to haul our carry on luggage up slippy metal stairs), and we were soon in some very comfy seats (particularly for a shuttle flight to Heathrow) and enjoying a massage.
The flight to Dallas was around 10 hours and a bit hot and stuffy. I was glad to get home and stretch out. I did catch up on some movies and enjoyed a TV series by Billy Connolly about traveling through the east coast of the United States. I had been reading his autobiography (a present from Mum and Dad) on the earlier flight.
We got a much needed work out in early on Saturday (early to bed and early awake thanks to time changes) and then enjoyed coffee and a crossword in downtown McKinney. We enjoyed reflecting back on how enjoyable our visit to Stewarton and Bonnyview had been. We are fortunate to enjoy spending time with our family as much as we do.
We exchanged gifts that were too much to carry to Scotland on Saturday afternoon. These penguins nest like Russian dolls. One of several very creative gifts that Diana picked out for me. She got another puzzle – this one double sided for extra fun.
I finished “Olive Again” by Elizabeth Strout this week. I had recently watched a TV series based on the original “Olive Kitteridge” book, and starring Bill Murray and Frances McDormand. I kept visualising them as I read this sequel. It’s a bit of a depressing story as each chapter chronicles residents of the town and their interactions with the aging Olive, but Strout is an excellent writer who can create a very vivid picture of a character in just a few paragraphs.
I’m not a huge fan of Christmas music, so try to find twists on it that I enjoy. As usual, New Orleans to the rescue. Here’s a big band version of a classic carol.
And here’s a couple from a great New Orleans Christmas album:
I heard this more raucous and irreverent carol by the Pogues on the Scottish radio: