“The Days Between”

Monday was a busy day, packed with a variety of activities.  Things kicked off with my colonoscopy in the morning – no findings and so I don’t need to repeat the joy of the preparation for another 10 years.

Since it had been so long since I had eaten, Diana drove me to Juan’s Flying Burrito (excellent comfort food) where we feasted on crawfish queso – yum, followed by a breakfast chorizo burrito for me – even had some leftovers.

Our financial advisor, Paul, came over to the house in the afternoon to pick up a check and to give Diana an overview of the stuff she had missed while in California.  It’s nice to have Paul just around the corner from us – a quick walk.

“Shorty Fest” is an annual fundraiser for the Trombone Shorty Academy, which provides a free music education class for local students, with meals and transportation provided.  The event is held at Tipitinas with a free outdoor street party prior.  We enjoyed the three Academy bands (beginner, intermediate, and advanced.)  Here’s something from the advanced level:

Stanton Moore inducted the local drummer, Shannon Powell, into the Tips walk of fame:

And then my favourite part, the battle of the bands.  Two high school bands face each other and try to outplay each other.  See what you think about them:

What do you think?  In my opinion, both were very good, with the second band having a slight edge, but that may just be due to where I was standing.  I love that there are so many amazing brass bands in New Orleans.

I almost forgot this character.  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone put as much oomph into playing the bass drum:

Quite the eventful Monday.

Tuesday began with a couple of laps around Audubon park.  Then it was back over to Tipitinas.  I had seen the annual Zildjian jam advertised between prior Jazzfest weekends and never managed to attend as it’s held in the afternoon.  Semi-retirement to the rescue!  Here’s a little history on the Zildjian company:

The company was founded in Constantinople in 1623 by Avedis Zildjian, an Armenian. Zildjian is now based in Norwell, Massachusetts. Zildjian is the oldest manufacturer of musical instruments in the world as well as one of the oldest continuously operating companies in the world. Zildjian sells cymbals, drumsticks, percussion mallets and other drum accessories under the Zildjian, Vic Firth and Balter Mallet brands.

Very impressive.  Two members of the family were on stage for some short commentary.

The event featured an outstanding house band, including Ivan Neville, Ian Neville, and Tony Hall.  A host of drummers took turns coming out to play a song with the house band.  This was amazing – so much musical variety and different styles of drumming.  Tif Lamson sang and played the drums, she most recently was part of Shania Twain’s band:

Nikki Glaspie is a local, multi-talented musician.  Here she drummed and sang backup:

I really enjoyed the elder statesman of the group, Ricky Sebastian:

And finally, showing off for the drummer audience, Stanton Moore takes it to another level:

What a great way to spend an afternoon.  I enjoyed telling the guys at trivia on Tuesday evening what they had missed.  We came in fourth place, not horrible but we aim for a top three position.  There was a question about what liquor comes in yellow and green versions – this reminded me of my visit to the Chartreuse distillery in France as a youngster.

Diana came across these characters just wandering down St. Charles avenue on  Wednesday morning.  We have no idea where they could have been coming from our going to.

I don’t think that I’ve seen chicks with those spotted markings.

We met Kara and Kenny for a late lunch/early dinner at Peche – wonderful again on our second visit, and then walked to Lafayette Square for the free Wednesday evening concert, featuring Sunpie and Eric Lindell.

Kara seems to be having fun.  Lindell put on a good show, featuring Derek Huston on saxophone – I’m glad they made up.

A third day in a row with good music.

A visit to the New Orleans Athletic Club started our Thursday.  In the evening we made a visit to the Bouligny tavern – Diana was there recently with Kara, and it’s been way too long since I visited.  They play vinyl records, make good drinks, and have great food, sharing a kitchen with Lilette next door.  The bartender was mildly grumpy to start but we quickly got her onside.  Conversation turned to our travels back and forward to Pacifica – “Oh, I know where that is, I used to go to parties at Jim’s house down on Pedro Point.”  We wondered if that was the same Jim that paddleboards with Adamo and Luciano.  Some quick texting revealed that it was indeed the same Jim.  What are the odds?  The odds got even slimmer when the newly arrived second bartender asked, “Pacifica, isn’t that the one with the Taco Bell on the beach?”

We returned to Jazzfest on Friday.  Diana really wanted to see the country star Luke Combs, and she should get to choose every once in a while.  The Deslondes kicked off the action on the main stage with the best song that I heard at the fest, a cover of J.J. Cale’s “Drifting Wife”:

Mark Broussard followed and didn’t quite seem to have his usual powerful voice.  We read the next morning that he had to cut his set short and apparently was suffering from dehydration.  He still did a good job:

We met the boys at Congo Square to see some of B.I.M. (Benin International Musical).  They have an unusual sound – afro beat mixed with some other styles.

From there we wandered over to the Lagniappe stage and saw Kristin Diable (very good) :

Kristin was followed by 007 – a ska band featuring Alex McMurray and friends that were celebrating 25 years:

We popped into the Gospel tent on our way back to the main stage and caught this gem from Irma Thomas (now 83):

And now it was time for the main event (at least in Diana’s eyes) – Luke Combs.  I admit that he pleased the crowd with hit after hit, sounded good, and put on a very professional show.  A lady next to us commented on how much she was enjoyed Diana enjoying the music – indeed she was:

We stayed for about fifty minutes and then caught some of The Wailers featuring Julian Marley at Congo Square, on our way to Gentilly:

A fun filled day ended at Gentilly with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.  Still sounding great and pleasing the crowd with all the hits in her sixties.  I really enjoyed this show, a great way to finish out the 2025 edition of Jazzfest.

I dropped Diana at the airport on Sunday for her flight to San Francisco to prepare for Clorinda’s funeral services.  Meanwhile, at St Columba’s church in Stewarton, Scotland, Hamish was being christened.  I hear he listened intently to the minister (George) and didn’t even flinch when anointed with the holy water.

Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all!

“Return to Jazzfest”

We started a big music week with a visit to Chickie Wah Wah to see Luke Winslow King.  I first saw him on the Lagniappe stage in the Paddock at a Jazzfest many years ago, and then found out that my friends, Vince and Lori, know him well and have hosted him at their home when he played nearby.  The club was not crowded at all and had rare cocktail tables in front of the stage – so we were comfortable and had an excellent view.

That’s Roberto Luti playing the tasty blues slide guitar with Luke.  He’s originally from Italy and met washboard Chaz when visiting New Orleans.  The two made some recordings together and then got major visibility in the “Playing for Change” video of “The Weight” – well worth a few minutes to watch:

And here they are when Chaz joined them for a few songs:

We headed out early on Thursday for “Locals Day” at Jazzfest.  Tickets are heavily discounted for folks with a credit card tied to a local address.  Camp was established at the Gentilly stage and we listened to Flow Tribe, Bonerama, and some of the Iceman Special.

It was no bother to be at the front for Flow Tribe before the crowds arrived.

Jazzfest is about amazing food as well as music.  Diana got us the trio, the first thing we ate at Jazzfest when we started attending, and consisting of a crawfish sack, and oyster pattie and shrimp beignets.  Yum.  Later in the day she also brought meat pies.

We migrated to the Congo Square stage to see Groupo Fantasma – a Mexican flavoured band from Austin, Texas.

I tried to watch Derek Huston doing an interview but went to the wrong place.  Diana did find it and really enjoyed the interview.  I saw the Forgotten Souls brass band at the stage I chose incorrectly.  I think the best brass band I heard all day.

The Fais Do Do stage always makes me smile – folks doing the Cajun two step (apparently different than the Texas version.)

Diana and Kenny walked over to the main stage to see John Fogerty, while I caught some of Goose, a new jamband to me, at Gentilly.  I made my way over to Fogerty and caught several classic songs.  He was having so much fun onstage and is amazing for someone turning 80 next month.

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Denny and Anne joined us to catch some Fogerty.

A wonderful day with almost perfect weather came to a close.

Look at the headline on the Friday morning newspaper.  Keith Spera (music columnist) agreed with us about the Fogerty show:

Saturday began with a longer than anticipated walk for coffee.  I had planned to visit French Truck coffee, but there was a long line.  Kept wandering down Magazine to Trumpet and Drum – even longer line.  Finally Undergrowth coffee made us delicious iced beverages for our longer than expected walk back down Coliseum street to home.

We met Denny and Anne for a delicious lunch at La Petite Grocery (LPG) before Anne headed back to Florida on Saturday afternoon.  We all loved our food – sweet potato soup, LPG burger, gnocchi, and tagliatelle with alligator.

We watched the first episode of “Secrets of the Penguins” on Hulu and it looks like this going to be an entertaining and educational series.

Sunday was a very quiet day for me – only clear liquids all day in preparation for my colonoscopy on Monday.  Ugh!

I’ve forgotten to share Will’s achievement with you these last few busy weeks.  He was a recipient of the “Founder’s award” at the getaway for the top performers:

I finished “All Fours” by Miranda July this week.  This book did not finish as it started – I was very pleased with the early section last week.  The last two thirds of the book were almost unreadable for me, but I slogged on.  Slow, vulgar, and with no real point.  Like when Philip Roth or John Updike tried to shock you for a paragraph or two but dragged out by July for a hundred or more pages.  Not recommended.  I asked Kelly (our resident literature guru) what she thought – “HATED IT!”  I’m not alone, and we both wonder what’s wrong with all those gushing reviewers.

I needed a palate cleanser after that, and so have made it most of the way through “My Darling Boy” by John Dufresne.  I’ll share the online summary now and return with some of my favourite passages next week:

“A brilliant and gut-wrenching novel about a father and son from a “master” (Lee Martin) of the tragi-comic.

Known for his bold voice and unforgettable characters, John Dufresne tells the story of Olney, whose beloved son Cully collapses into addiction and vanishes into the chaotic netherworld of southern Florida. Aided by his terminally ill girlfriend and the colorful inhabitants of a local motel―including a doomsday prepper, an ex-nun, a pair of blind twins with an acute sense of smell, and a devoutly Catholic shelter worker―Olney sets out to save his son. Hilarious and devastating in equal measure, My Darling Boy is a hero’s quest for our time, a testament to families touched by the opioid crisis, and a remarkable achievement from one of our most talented, genre-bending authors.”

We’ll skip the music section this week, given all the coverage of that topic earlier.

Coexist peacefully, with patience and compassion for all!

“Back Home in New Orleans”

We flew home from San Francisco to New Orleans on Sunday, and enjoyed a typical busy week.  Things kicked off with a Happy Hour for Denny’s birthday at The Husky on Monday afternoon.  This is a new steak restaurant on Freret street that we’ve been meaning to try.

The ambience, service, and food were all excellent.  What a great new place! We tried steak tartare, lamb lollipops and crispy mushroom appetizers. Diana and I split the Happy Hour special burger and fries – very tasty.  Denny had his own burger, and Jack had pasta a la vodka.

On Tuesday, we met Kenny for Happy Hour at the Audubon Clubhouse.  They had been advertising live music at 4:30pm on Tuesdays.  This place has a wonderful setting inside Audubon park and a very inviting porch.

We had a miserable experience and will never return.  From hostess, to bartender and ultimately the head waiter – all were horrible.  I assume this place makes money on events and folks that don’t know what good service looks like.  We left as soon as we finished our drinks and snacks.

We did not do well at trivia.  If Diana and I had been our own team, we would have been in a minimum of second place.  The team just wouldn’t listen to our suggestions on several questions – particularly mine on the last question that was worth 20 points.  Good fun all the same.

We were in the CBD (Central Business District) for a meeting with our estate lawyer on Wednesday afternoon.  Diana commented that she didn’t remember the last time she was in a high rise office building – it’s been a while for both of us.  After the meeting, we walked to Peche, a restaurant that we’ve been looking to try for a while.  Debra recommended it and her recommendations carry some weight, given her job as manager of Jaques-Imo’s.

We loved the small plates that we shared and will return soon.  The steak tartare and spicy ground shrimp noodles were very good, but the star of the show was a romaine salad that was grilled over an open wood flame – so much flavour.

On Wednesday evening, we joined Denny, Fred and Kelly at the Broadside for a performance by Lulu and the Broadsides.  They had seen Lulu before and raved about her voice.  We were both very pleasantly surprised.  A great voice and a great band in the Pavillion that has good acoustics.  Here is a song she wrote about New Orleans.

Some research revealed that Lulu is really Dayna Kurtz, who has quite an interesting back story.  Her songs have been recorded by Norah Jones and Bonnie Raitt, she has opened for many very popular bands, and has won well respected songwriting awards – who knew?  The band members are James Singleton (excellent bass player), Carol Nuccio, Robert Mache (unique guitar sound) and Glenn Hartman.

I made a trip over to Metairie on Thursday morning to meet with a health insurance broker.  My coverage expires when I retire, and the options and costs are quite daunting.  In the evening, Kenny and Thom joined me for the movie “Coastal” – a documentary about Neil Young’s most recent West Coast tour, directed by his wife, Daryl Hannah.

We all enjoyed the movie and forgot how sterile those massive AMC theater complexes feel.  We’re spoiled with the neighborhood Prytania and Broad theaters.

Diana met Kara at the Chloe on Friday afternoon, and then they rambled to Superior Seafood and down Magazine Street to the Bouligny Tavern.  Seemed like a very fun afternoon.

Kenny was coming over to “spend some time on the porch” with me while the ladies had their afternoon out.  That turned into Kenny, Denny, Greg, Alex, Thom, Aidan and Jack.  We had a good time catching up.

We got some exercise at the NOAC (New Orleans Athletic Club) on Saturday and then had a quiet day.  There were a couple of music opportunities but we needed to rest up a bit.

Easter Sunday brunch was at Elizabeth’s in the Bywater.  I had snoozed on making reservations anywhere and this place doesn’t take them – so we got there before 10am to get a table easily.

They always have very tasty specials.  Diana had the seafood salad and I had the boudin and eggs – the crawfish etouffee that was part of that dish was amazing.  And as usual, we had plenty of leftovers.

We walked off some of brunch in Audubon park in the afternoon.

I circulated this picture of Diana peeking out of an egg as an Easter “yoke.”  It was actually a dinosaur egg as part of an advertisement in a shopping mall in Glasgow.

 

 

 

I am increasingly frustrated with all the stuff that is locked up at Walgreens these days – even a stick of deodorant.  You have to push a button and wait a while for an employee to come and open it for you.  This cartoon from the New Yorker sums it up well:

It’s almost Jazzfest time again – and so I got the flag changed out.  As I was putting it up, some guys came by and had a chat about their memories from attending over the last 25 years.

In Las Vegas for the Dead and Company shows at the Sphere, Vince and Lori and friends took some time to drive race cars:

I didn’t spend a lot of time reading this week, and dabbled in three different books.  “Infinite Jest” continues to be very slow going, “The Hunter” by Tana French is reasonably light relief to that, and I just started “All Fours” by Miranda July.  This last book is described as being “acerbically clever”, and I agree, having laughed out loud several times already.

There is a wonderful new record out this week -“Audience with the Queen” by Galactic and Irma Thomas.  Thomas is 84 years old and sounds fantastic on all tracks, especially this one:

 

 

 

The album was recorded in a local studio that was previously a church, and it sounds amazing.  Here’s what Keith Spera said about it in the local newspaper:

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/keith_spera/irma-thomas-galactic-team-up-on-audience-with-the-queen/article_cd509fa3-beb2-4d0a-b24d-d1298d4d97d9.html

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

 

 

“Fete Francaise”

I helped Greg load Buttercup (our Mardi Gras float) from under Hugh’s house onto his truck.  Just a little bit too long, but made it home safely.

The Tuesday highlight was another Bayou Boys win at Dat Dog trivia.  Denny wasn’t able to make it – hmmm.  The equally good news – kevbot (our nemesis team) wasn’t in the top three.

I watched a movie later that evening, “Becoming Katherine Graham”:

Graham was the editor of the Washington Post during the controversial period of the Watergate investigations and the ultimate ousting of Nixon.  She stood up to Nixon and others who bullied her very effectively.

Movie matinee was my activity on Wednesday.  I visited the downtown Canal Plaza Prytania theaters for the first time to see “Becoming Led Zeppelin.”  Parking and getting to the theaters was much easier than anticipated.  There were a lot of very fancy shops around the theaters – I was not aware they even existed.

This was about the early days of the band and the studio work that brought Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones together.  I chuckled at a story about them playing on Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger.”  Dad was a big Shirley Bassey fan.  Highly recommended for fans of the band.

After the movie, I met Anne for lunch at the Columns – always a treat on a nice, sunny day.  Denny had made a mistake with his flight and wasn’t coming home until later in the day.

Sitting on the porch in the afternoon, Britney asked “Want to feel old, Keith?”  Then she showed me Augie’s “Class of 2039” banner.  We’ll be 75 when he graduates from high school.  Yes, Britney, you did make me feel old.  Here’s Augie in the shirt we brought him from Scotland:

Such a poseur.

Kenny and I attended Danny Barker fest at the Jazz Museum on Thursday.  This was a very pleasant festival – outside in the courtyard and not too busy.  Would you like to know about Danny Barker?  Okay – here’s an overview:

Danny Barker was born to a family of musicians in New Orleans in 1909, the grandson of bandleader Isidore Barbarin and nephew of drummers Paul Barbarin and Louis Barbarin. He took up clarinet and drums before switching to a ukulele that his aunt got him, and then a banjo from his uncle or a trumpeter named Lee Collins.

From 1939 to 1946, he frequently recorded with Cab Calloway, and started his own group featuring his wife Blue Lu Barker after leaving Calloway. On September 4, 1945, he recorded with Ohio‘s native jazz pianist, Sir Charles Thompson, and saxophonists Dexter Gordon and Charlie Parker.^[1] In 1947, he was performing again with Lucky Millinder, and also with Bunk Johnson. He returned to working with Albert Nicholas in 1948 and in 1949 rejoined efforts with his wife in a group.

In 1965, Barker returned to New Orleans and took up a position as assistant to the curator of the New Orleans Jazz Museum. In 1970, he founded and led a church-sponsored brass band for young people—the Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band. Reverend Andrew Darby, Jr., the Pastor of Fairview Baptist Church commissioned ‘Brother’ Barker to form a Christian band, and Barker went throughout the neighborhood of the church enlisting young musicians. The Fairview band launched the careers of musicians who performed in brass band and mainstream jazz contexts, including Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Leroy Jones, Kirk Joseph, Nicholas Payton, Shannon Powell, Lucien Barbarin, and Dr. Michael White, among others. As Joe Torregano—another Fairview band alumnus—described it, “That group saved jazz for a generation in New Orleans.

Here’s a couple of videos of Greg Stafford performing in the afternoon:

Kermit was up after Stafford.  I love this picture of Kermit and Danny Barker together years ago at French Quarter Fest:

Fete Francaise was on Saturday.  I always enjoy this small festival put on by the French bilingual school on Magazine Street.  They have food tents from local French restaurants and always very good music.  Anne suggested lunch at La Petite Grocery (right next to the festival location) as the tents often run out of the most desired food and drinks.  Lunch was great – I enjoyed the fusilli pasta with short rib and mushrooms. The portion was just right for lunch on a hot day.

The theme for this year was “From the heart of Paris to the soul of New Orleans.”  I like it.

The Preservation Hall band provided the majority of the entertainment.  Ben Jaffe, leader of the band and tuba player, has a daughter at the school.

Here are a couple of videos:

The older gentleman on the saxophone in the second video is Charlie Gabriel – still going strong at 92!

There was an unadvertised band after the Preservation Brass – describing themselves as “French cosmonauts” and quite entertaining:

I really appreciated this story on 60 minutes on Sunday night.  What a great job by Scott Pelley and the team:

Here’s an article claiming New Orleans as the best food city in the world:

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/eat-drink/new-orleans-best-food-city/article_f8cec324-ff82-11ef-963f-33baf8e7f63d.html

I think that’s quite a stretch – Paris, New York, Barcelona?

Spring is in bloom by the front porch:

I take these pictures so that Diana can enjoy the blossoms that she’s missing.

I read “The Futures” by Anna Pitoniak this week.  This was a fast and easy read, not living up to the excellent reviews from several well respected sources.  It seemed a bit light and fluffy as it covered the 2008 crash.  Here’s the online review:

“In this dazzling debut novel about love and betrayal, a young couple moves to New York City in search of success-only to learn that the lives they dream of may come with dangerous strings attached.

Julia and Evan fall in love as undergraduates at Yale. For Evan, a scholarship student from a rural Canadian town, Yale is a whole new world, and Julia — blond, beautiful, and rich — fits perfectly into the future he’s envisioned for himself. After graduation, and on the eve of the great financial meltdown of 2008, they move together to New York City, where Evan lands a job at a hedge fund. But Julia, whose privileged upbringing grants her an easy but wholly unsatisfying job with a nonprofit, feels increasingly shut out of Evan’s secretive world.

With the market crashing and banks failing, Evan becomes involved in a high-stakes deal at work — a deal that, despite the assurances of his Machiavellian boss, begins to seem more than slightly suspicious. Meanwhile, Julia reconnects with someone from her past who offers a glimpse of a different kind of live. As the economy craters, and as Evan and Julia spin into their separate orbits, they each find that they are capable of much more — good and bad — than they’d ever imagined.”

I learned of a New Orleans based band, J & the Causeways, that I really enjoy:

Branford Marsalis has a new album out – a cover of Keith Jarrett’s original suite:

And David Lowery of Cracker also has a new album:

Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all!

“Mardi Gras Part 2”

Finn and Holly drove down from McKinney on Wednesday, arriving in time to get inside the box caused by all the street closures for parades.  We live inside the box, which can make driving a challenge during Mardi Gras season.  They got settled into their room and then I took them out to their first parade:

This was an unusually quiet evening and a great way to introduce them to Mardi Gras.

Diana arrived back from San Francisco around midnight and got ready to participate in Mardi Gras.

We enjoyed lunch at Commander’s Palace on Thursday.  Finn walked in, looked around, and said “Wow, Dad!”  He was equally taken with the fancy surroundings and the costumes and parties underway.  It was Muses Thursday – Muses being one of the biggest and most popular of all the parades.  Diana had alerted the restaurant that we were having a late celebration for Fin and Holly’s engagement.

The food and atmosphere were excellent.

Here is a group of Muses riders celebrating before the parade behind Diana:

We exited through the kitchen so that I could show Finn the organized chaos that goes into serving all those meals with such precision.  The garden patio was beautiful on such a perfect day:

Thanks to Mum for the gift certificate that we used for this lovely celebration.

The parades that night were very busy and maybe a bit overwhelming for newcomers:

Sometimes you just need to take some time out on the porch:

I dropped the kids at the zoo on Friday morning and Diana and I had a walk around the park.  Then it was time to get back inside the box for the Friday parades.

Our house was Mardi Gras central for the extended krewe on Tucks Saturday.  Our neighbours, Roeland and Jules, ride in that parade.  Walking by their house a day or two before, Jules asked me to wait as he had something for me.  A custom throw that he knew he wouldn’t be able to get to me in the parade madness – plunger penguin:

Everyone brought delicious food over to help feed the multitude of folks at our house.  Busy inside:

Outside:

And on the porch:

Jack thought he could use all the confusion to execute a penguin “ransom situation”:

Oliver was enjoying his second Mardi Gras season at 18 months.  Greg tried to copy his hair:

The core group remaining in the evening were kind to humour my request for a sit down dinner at the dining table.  I enjoyed it.  Phew – busy day at 1520 Washington.

We ventured outside the box early on Thoth Sunday to park at Denny and Anne’s and watch the parade on Magazine Street.  Denny and Diana had matching pants:

Anne opted for a more understated outfit:

It was less crowded on Magazine Street than by our house on St Charles – a pleasant change:

We watched a little of the Oscars on Webster Street and then headed home as the box opened in time for the last two or three awards – no big movies that I really cared for this year.

I finished the wonderful “James” by Percival Everett this week.  I highly recommend this unique and creative read.  You’ll remember it’s a reimagining of Huck Finn, told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.

I started another book, read two chapters and gave up.  Not even worth mentioning the title – it was that bad.  Where do some of these reviewers that recommended it get the gall to waste my time like that?

I heard this song on Diana’s country music channel in the car – I liked the song and looked down and was surprised it was on that channel – a great voice and overall sound:

See – I can keep an open mind about that bro-country station:)

I can’t remember where I heard this, but it brings to mind early 1960s Kinks:

Finally, a wonderful cover of one of my all time favourites:

Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all!