M.T. nest
Posted on July 27, 2023 by Dan Bain
Happy 18th Birthday, Matthew. You’ve been a gift to us. But now that college is looming, it’s time for us to give that same gift to the rest of the world. Continue reading →
Posted in Education, Family, Life and how to live it, Nostalgia, Parenting, The Kids|Tagged 18th birthday, children, empty nest, growing up, letting go, Nostalgia, parenting, parents, starting college|1 Comment
Dannotated history
Posted on January 2, 2021 by Dan Bain
In 2020, I did my best to capture — and sometimes mock — historical highlights of each day. I am by no means a historian, but here’s a recap, for anyone interested: On January 1, 404: A Christian monk named … Continue reading →
Posted in Education, Holidays, Nostalgia, Politics, Religion, Sports, Technology, Theatre, Weather, Writing|Tagged history, humor, today in history|4 Comments
Dan folds
Posted on August 14, 2019 by Dan Bain
It was September 12, 2001. I was stuck in Peoria, Illinois, where I’d been when the previous day’s attacks had occurred. I’d come for a communicators’ conference, which had ended early and left me more or less stranded there while … Continue reading →
Posted in Air Travel, Family, Life and how to live it, Music, Nostalgia, The Kids, The Wife|Tagged 9/11, baby, Ben Folds, college, growing up, parenting, Peoria, Rockin' the Suburbs, Still Fighting It|8 Comments
Just (don’t) doit
Posted on July 4, 2019 by Dan Bain
The fireworks have really been flying, but not overhead — instead, they’ve been over a shoe design. By now, most people reading this should be aware that Nike had planned to release a red, white, and blue shoe with the … Continue reading →
Posted in Holidays, Nostalgia, Politics|Tagged African American, betsy ross, black Americans, fireworks, flag, humor, independence day, juneteenth, kaepernick, nike, shoe, the cookout|2 Comments
Silver lining
Posted on January 3, 2018 by Dan Bain
Twenty-five years ago, at 5:21 p.m. on January 2, our priest pronounced me and Kim “husband and wife.” I’ve already blogged the awkward love story that eventually led to that moment, and I’ve shared a lot about our life together … Continue reading →
Posted in Christmas, Family, Holidays, Life and how to live it, Nostalgia, Religion, The Wife|Tagged 25th, anniversary, Christmas, Episcopal, humor, New Year's Eve, playoffs, silver, wedding|2 Comments
Time, warped
Posted on January 1, 2018 by Dan Bain
During a trip to my Dad’s this weekend, I ventured into the basem*nt— a catch-all storage area the size of the entire footprint of the house, wherein one might discover any sort of stray memory. He led me down there … Continue reading →
Posted in Education, Family, Nostalgia, Writing|Tagged college, Dean's List, humor, Nostalgia, virginia tech|Leave a comment
The eleventh song of Christmas: Miller’stale
Posted on December 24, 2017 by Dan Bain
With the whirlwind that today and tonight are going to be, I chose a song that’s simple and pretty, and perfectly captures the tone of Christmas Eve (once all of the commitments are over). It has one verse, sung a … Continue reading →
Interlude 3: And the children shalllead?
Posted on December 23, 2017 by Dan Bain
The final interlude concerns a group of people who aren’t disenfranchised from Christmas one bit; in fact, the holiday is considered by many to be “just for them.” Children win at Christmas, hands down. But for all that, they’re somewhat … Continue reading →
The ninth song of Christmas: Can’t polka hole in thisone
Posted on December 22, 2017 by Dan Bain
If December’s weeknights belonged to Mom and Nanny and candlelight reverence, its Sunday afternoons belonged to Dad and goofy tunes by sunlight. That’s when we pulled a different set of albums from the stack, listening to big bands being a … Continue reading →
Posted in Christmas, Music, Nostalgia|Tagged big band, carols, Christmas, humor, Mitch Miller and the Gang, music, Must Be Santa, Nostalgia, songs, The Ray Conniff Singers|1 Comment
The eighth song of Christmas: Nowords
Posted on December 21, 2017 by Dan Bain
It was the first and only time I lived alone. I’d graduated from college in spring of the previous year and accepted a job I didn’t want, out of sheer desperation. They began flying me to Raleigh, NC to work … Continue reading →
Posted in Christmas, Music, Nostalgia|Tagged carols, Christmas, Dave Grusin, Dave Valentin, Eddie Daniels, Gary Burton, GRP, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, humor, jazz, Kevin Eubanks, Larry Rosen, music, O Tannenbaum, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Silver Bells, Sleigh Ride, Some Children See Him, songs, Tom Scott|Leave a comment
