It was a good day, and that’s saying something. It started with a mild disappointment–because Springfield didn’t ship Monett’s hospital enough doses, Mom couldn’t get vaccinated (she is rescheduled for Friday)–but then I drove her to our old hometown of Carthage to visit with some of her best friends (at distance, masked, plus most of them had already been vaccinated). We visited happily for around three hours, and the host, Sunny Michel (my childhood friend Sherri Marney’s mom) laid out a terrific lunch spread for us. I love sitting back and listening to their generation chat, but I actually found some space to talk: I had forgotten that Kay Vaughan once taught at my elementary, Columbian, and actually knew most of my grade school teachers–including a really, really, really bad one who indirectly caused me to become a teacher. I told a few stories none of them had heard….

Mom likes basketball, so we spent the evening watching a ripping good tussle between the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Streaming for Strivers:

A powerful early American Black (Musical) History lineup to dive into.