Kevin’s dad, Ryland Hawker, brought his banjo over to my parents’ house last night to play some bluegrass music. Here’s the first clip β “Wildwood Flower” and “Nine Pound Hammer.”
Thanksgiving Music, part 1
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Author Archives: Jo Hawke
Sunday evening theology for kids
photo credit: Samuraijohnny
Kevin’s spent the last couple of hours watching The Passion of the Christ with the boys.
Lucas sat on the sofa the whole time, engrossed. (Yes, it’s violent, but its impact is definitely worth the gore, unlike most of the superhero movies we usually watch around here in boy-central.) Asking question after question of Kevin, Lucas clearly took in the big picture.
Atticus ran around the house with his 3-D “bird-man” glasses on (“This is my red eye, and this is my blue eye”), but spent enough time in the living room to be able to share his commentary with me (“Jesus has blood on his face”…”There’s a hole in Jesus’ hand”).
And Kevin? He ran commentary the whole time, rendering himself a bit hoarse afterward, even.
One sliver of conversation:
Lucas: How did Jesus turn the water into wine?
Kevin: He’s God. He can do anything. He could turn you into wine if He wanted to.
Lucas: Then I would be spilled all over the couch.
I was grading papers and planning the whole time, so I didn’t get to watch and listen to all the conversation like I would have liked. But I started thinking afterward about how I may view it differently if I saw it through their eyes.
Kevin said he was trying to see things the way the kids (mostly Lucas) would, so he could explain what they may not understand. A couple of his observations:
- When the Jewish priests were spitting on Jesus, Lucas said, “I thought they were holy people.”
- Lucas wanted to know when the Devil and the demons were coming back all the time. Kevin told him to focus on Jesus instead, but it reminds me of watching The Wizard of Oz and watching for the Wicked Witch the whole time.
By the end of the movie, the kids both agreed that Jesus is the best superhero ever. Not only is he powerful, but he also heals the people who would hurt him (like the guard whose ear Peter cut off when Jesus was first seized).
Work in Progress: ‘More of You’
One of the songs I’ve been working on over the last month or so finally took its first baby steps this week. The half-chorus I had now has its second part (I think):
More of you, less of me
That’s the way it ought to be.
Fill me Holy Spirit, let me be your light,
shining like a candle in this cold, dark night.
Aww…
Really, though, they’re just like babies in many ways, “my” songs. π
I’m very attached to them, very sensitive about them, and very protective over them just like I am my babies.
And I’ve also come to know more and more that they aren’t my own production.
While my babies came to me via God and man, my songs are pure gifts from God (no matter how I’ve distorted them in the past by not acknowledging their origin or seeking to retain their original value).
I think the main inspiration for this piece of a song came from what our priest, Father Charles Breindel, said was his chosen Bible verse, John 3:30:
“He must increase; I must decrease.”
Kevin’s brought it up many times since, especially when I’ve been in a whiny mood. π
(And I promise to send the audio as soon as I figure out my WiFi issue… It’s really sweet, sweet like I used to avoid like crazy.)
UPDATE:
Wow. 2010. It’s been five years, but I’m adding a recording of this sweet little chorus.
I found this file when I was sending all of my Voice Record files to Dropbox, so I’d have room to record an interview for my grad class, so it’s probably not the one from way back then, but who knows. I’m not sure why Voice Record made it into a video (MP4); maybe I did something wrong. Regardless, it plays. π
And…I haven’t made any further progress on it, but I still sing it a whole lot in the car (which is probably where all of the background noise in this recording is coming from).
The Atticus Song
NOTE: I’m still working on getting this uploaded from my new phone. I think I may have to resort to using a cord (of all things :P), since I can’t get the phone hooked into my WiFi (the PW that works with my laptop & iPod is wrong?), and the video is too large to send over the 3G network (according to the phone). Done! I used the cord. π
When Atticus wanted to know how to spell his name last year, I came up with his little song to help him remember it. I’ve tried many times to get a recording of it, but finally one day this week, he was in a mood to sing and to see himself on video. π
Smiley-Smiley
Smiley Attie and his potato smileys: Dinner. π
Filtered Lucas
I took this one at our church picnic two weeks ago. He was peeking at me through the grated floor of the playground set thingy. π
Spiderman Dance
Atticus from December. π
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u1w7iCpd6k
I recorded it on my digital camera, so the quality’s not great. But I’m so glad to have it! I can’t wait to show his girlfriends…hahaha.
Our Entourage
Kevin (with Josephine and Mr. Trilby) outside Colony Records, NYC, July 2009
Kevin says his electric guitar (I mean, Josephine) is a member of the band. If he’s playing the acoustic, he announces (mostly to the walls) that we’re missing a member.
Now, he wants to make his hat (Mr. Trilby) our manager, and his turquoise ring (Mr. Blue) our security guy.
Me: Do I really have to be in a band with a bunch of inanimate objects?
Kevin: Like you’ve never done that before.
Ha! Yeah, well I didn’t ask who. But anyway.
See, it’s not that the hat (Mr. Trilby) and ring (Mr. Blue) haven’t been around. They both spent their lives pre-Kevin in Greenwich Village. We found the trilby at Native Leather on Bleecker Street a couple of years ago and the ring last month at The Silversmith on W. 4th.
Even so, do I want to be in a band with a hat and a ring? What’s next? Glasses? Marbles? The Jesus coin?
Well, to paraphrase Gigi’s comment to Gaston, Kevin, I’d rather be crazy with you than without you. π
Poem: With a Thousand Smiles
I used to avoid rhyme in my poems like clichΓ©. π Not anymore.
With a Thousand Smiles
I sat staring through the window: The cars and trucks raced past,
beyond the still, familiar, near: the bush, the trees, the grass.Just then, I saw a butterfly that made me think of you.
It fluttered ’round the sticker bush, and back again, it flew.Its yellow path was crooked; its plan and aim, obscure.
There was no smoothness in its flight; its jerks and sputters blurred.For all their fragile beauty, I thought, butterflies could not compare
to the hawks I saw this morning, circling so high up in the air.In grace and form and line, soaring, the hawk is beauty defined.
And when I think of hawk, a hookΓ©d beak is not what comes to mind.Just then, that yellow butterfly flew behind the bush, out of sight
© 2010 Jo Hawke
And, to spite me, angled upward to the sky in fast, straight flight.
NYC Travelogue 2010
Ready to go out on the town...July 2010
Five years ago, on July 27, we ran off to New York City and got married. Since then, we’ve made it a tradition to celebrate our anniversary in the city that we’ve grown to love. This year made six years in a row.
Usually, we plan quite a bit. (Read: I plan quite a bit, and Kevin goes along with it. π That first year, we planned out almost every little detail. But year after year, we’ve planned less and less, desiring to experience more than adhere.
This year, we left home with a vague idea of some things we may want to try to do and a whole bunch of other possibilities (and a laptop and an iPod with several NYC apps.)
Here are some thing we wanted to do but didn’t:
- See Shakespeare in the Park’s production of The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino: The day we thought we might give up an entire morning to wait in line hoping for tickets, it was supposed to rain. It didn’t.
- See a Broadway show: This was the first year we haven’t seen at least one show. We were mostly considering seeing The 39 Steps, a comedic remake of one of my favorite Hitchcock films. We didn’t.
- Take the Top of the Rock and Rockefeller Center tours: We went so far as to go in Rockefeller Center, where they sell tickets, and look at the posters of the view from the top at night and in the day, contemplating spending the $21 each. We didn’t.
- Explore the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Cloisters branch, “devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe”: We gave this a most valiant effort on Thursday morning, trudging through Fort George’s hilly streets. After too many wrong turns and no idea where we were, we decided to cut our losses and take the elevator down to the train. π
- See the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum: We went to Brooklyn on Tuesday with this in mind, but the museum turned out to be closed. It turned out splendidly regardless. π
And (…drumroll…) here’s what we did instead:
Monday, July 19
- Left the house around 6:30 AM.
- Drove straight through, basically, stopping for gas, restroom and snacks.
- Accidentally drove past the Lincoln Tunnel toll booth. π
- Drove over a serious pot hole. π
- Checked in at The Wellington around 4:30 PM.
- Rested, watched TV, and dealt with A/C and wi-fi issues. π
- Dinner at the fabulous Tang Pavilion.
- Checked out Thought mural on west side of RCA Building.
- Considered doing the Top of the Rock view and tour. Nah.
- Bought cannoli and Cokes from Fluffy’s.
Tuesday, July 20
- Train to Brooklyn.
- Grand Army Plaza. Brooklyn Public Library. Museum closed.
- Brooklyn Heights and the Promenade. Overtures.
- Whitman’s Eagle building.
- Walked Bridge.
- Walked around City Hall area.
- Found St. Andrew’s Church. π
- Hung out with Steve Squirrel at City Hall park.
- R train to 34th Street
- Ate at Pig n’ Whistle on 36th St.
- 6 p.m. Latin Mass at the Church of the Holy Innocents (37th between 7th and Broadway)
- Rest!!
- 10:20 showing of Inception at Ziegfeld Theatre: WHOA!
Humorous interlude concerning the extreme heat…
Kevin: It may not have rained outside today, but it rained in my pants.
Humorous interlude concerning Kevin’s cheeseburger and his demented sense of humor…
Jo: Your bun is seared.
Kevin: And I thought it was just raw from sitting all day yesterday.
Wednesday, July 21
- Slept in!!
- Lunch at La Parisienne on 7th Ave., a couple of blocks north of our hotel
- Walked up to The Shops at Columbus Circle in the Time Warner building, a mall with way overpriced restaurants upstairs like Per Se, where you can get a lunch-time deal for only $175 per person. Especially enjoyed L’Occitane and Satya Jewelry.
- Explored the Upper West Side. Favorite: Antiques at The Emporium and talking to owner, Leo Matrovitis.
- Train down to Christopher St. — the Village!
- Hung out at Zinc Bar on W. 3rd: listened to Alex Stein/Matt Brown Quintet and talked to (part-time) bartender, photographer Jacob Murphy.
- Stumbled upon the smallest shop in the Village: 184-3/4 W. 4th St. . . The Silversmith, Ruth Kuzub, owner
- 55 Bar on Christopher St.: listened to a little Justin Vasquez – Triptych.
- Stopped by Ray’s on Broadway for a pesto pie!!
- Ate said pesto pie back in the room.
Thursday, July 22
- Walked to Radio City Music Hall on 6th Ave. and picked up our Widespread Panic tickets for tonight’s show!!!
- Walked to Broadway and 50th, bought bagel for the ride π
- Took the A train to 191st St.
- Second-most treacherous stairs ever (1st has to go to Savannah waterfront!)
- Walked around in circles for hours through Ft. George, etc., looking for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Cloisters π >:
- Cool views of the Hudson River and the George Washington Bridge from the north
- Back to The Wellington for the guitar
- Train down to Christopher St. in Greenwich Village
- Back to see Ruth at The Silversmith for turquoise ring and amber ring!!
- Walked to Washington Square Park and saw the black squirrels!
- Played in the park for an hour or so (recordings to come!)
- Back to room to freshen up
- Widespread Panic at Radio City!!!
- I went back to room. Kevin walked to Ray’s for our very late dinner.
Friday, July 23
- Checked out at 11 AM and checked our bags.
- Stopped at the Pig ‘N’ Whistle on 47th to get out of the rain.
- To Church of the Holy Innocents for Mass
- Talked to Father Thomas about the Shrine of the Holy Innocents
- Went bag shopping at the Herald Square Macy’s and found an awesome Fossil!
- Had lunch at O’Lunney’s in Times Square
- Back to hotel for bags and car, which had a flat tire. π
- Drove across Midtown Manhattan THREE TIMES looking for a gas station. (It was rush hour!)
- Stopped and filled tire with air on 11th Ave.; guy said he didn’t see anything wrong with tire
- Left Manhattan through the Lincoln Tunnel, van pulling to left sharply…
- Speculated alignment could have been knocked out of whack in Monday’s pothole incident
- Stopped at travel park in Maryland to find that tire had only 5 lbs of pressure left.
- Found a mechanic willing to find leak and plug tire at 10 PM. (THANK YOU, SCOTT!!!)
- Praised God for our miracle!!!
- Back home around 7 AM.
I’ll add more links as we add more pictures and info from our trip. It’s been almost a month, but as I said the other day, I feel like I leave a part of myself there every time I leave.