Echoes and Stars

1. The most punk-rock event in all of history was the Son of God hanging bloody on a cross and saying, “It is finished.” Sid and Nancy got nothing on the homeless Nazarene.

2. I took a spiritual gift test and it conclusively said mine was putting leftovers from dinner in a tupperware seven times larger than is needed.

3. I normally wish I was at home all day with Bethany and the kids but I’m really feeling it today. I can’t imagine the difficulty for those who are miserable at work and at home.

4. I’m not sure guys like Ken Rosenthal understand that the All Star Game is about what players are doing in the present and not what they’ve done in previous seasons. That’s why it’s an – wait for it – *annual* game. By every metric, Carlos Martinez deserves to be in the contest over Kershaw, even though we all have a mancrush on the 3 time Cy Young Award winner.

5. Why did I wait so stupid long to buy The Gaslight Anthem’s Get Hurt? Because God knew how great it would be to have it on vinyl.

6. The most counter-cultural thing you can do in our day and age is stay married to someone of the opposite sex.

7. One of the unexpected joys of writing a book is hearing from people and getting to sit down with them and hear their story. But there is some fear too. Will they like me? That question buzzs in the background. I assume this is just a fraction of what goes on in the head and the heart of the truly famous. It’s probably terrifying. Can you imagine what it’s like for stars who have lost their luster? They were so well-liked and then forgotten. And they realized it wasn’t them so well-liked actually. Gotta be hard for them.

8. Is there no accountability among those who package bacon? The reckless disregard for those of us who just want the package opening experience to be reasonable continues unabated across brand lines. Which presidential candidate will stop this madness?

9. Tomorrow we will be home-owners again. Much thanks to my in-laws and my parents, who are still providing for us after they have gone on ahead.

10. Remember those summer nights when you were young and dusk hung in the air like heavenly kisses and the fireflies lit the yard of freshly cut grass and your dreams were bigger and brighter than the mirror-ball moon hanging among stars you pretended to throw into the night sky? One day. One day, my friends. It will come with no end. And our parents in all their strength will lay down their newspapers and their dish rags and join you in the joy as the screen door slams shut behind them. The ice cream churn will hum and the smell of the community pool will shine thick upon your sunned skin and it will crave the breeze traveling like the trains you hear down in the valley. It will come with no end. And the tears of cancer and the tears of Alzheimers and divorce and all the broken hearted moments will end and give way to an unending string of those moments that taste like that memory of dusk unending.