Playlist Weeks of 2015-10-17 & 24

* Buxtehude: Sonatas, Op.2 (Halloway/ter Linden/Mortensen) (Da Capo/NAXOS CD)

* Charles Mingus: Mingus Plays Piano (Impulse! CD)

* John Coltrane: First Meditations (Impulse!/GRP CD)

* John Coltrane: Meditations (Impulse! CD)

* McCoy Tyner: Enlightenment (Milestone 2LP)

* Tony Williams: Wilderness (Ark21 CD)

* Jack DeJohnette’s Directions: Untitled (ECM LP)

* Billy Hart: Rah (Gramavision LP)

* Michael Gregory Jackson: Gifts (Arista/Novus LP)

* Buddy Emmons w/Lenny Breau: Minors Aloud (Flying Fish LP)

* Julia Hülsmann Quartet: In Full View (ECM CD)

* Stephen Micus: The Music of Stones (ECM CD)

* Stephen Micus: Darkness And Light (ECM CD)

* V/A: Jazzactuel (selections) (BYG-Actuel/Charly 3CD)

* Bill Laswell: Dub Chamber 3 (ROIR CD)

* Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp A Butterfly (Interscope 2LP)

* Lula Côrtes: Rosa de Sangue (Time Lag LP)

* Milton Nascimento: Caçador de mim (Barclay LP)

* Van Morrison: Veedon Fleece (Warner Bros. LP)

* Van Morrison: A Period of Transition (Warner Bros. LP)

* Van Morrison: Inarticulate Speech of the Heart (Warner Bros. LP)

* Van Morrison: Sense of Wonder (Mercury LP)

* The Monkees: Greatest Hits (Colgems LP)

* Love: Forever Changes (Elektra/Rhino CD) †/‡

* Deep Purple: Fireball (Harvest LP)

* Blue Cheer: Outsideinside (Philips LP)

* Spirit: The Family That Plays Together (Ode LP)

* Spirit: Clear (Ode LP)

* Man: Slow Motion (United Artists LP)

* Magna Carta: Seasons (Dunhill LP)

* String Driven Thing: String Driven Thing (Charisma LP)

* Horslips: Dancehall Sweethearts (RCA LP)

* Dick Hyman: Moog: The Electric Eclectics of Dick Hyman (Command LP)

* New Horizons: Futuristic And Space Backgrounds (Omnimusic LP)

* PFM: The World Became The World (Manticore LP)

* Le Orme: Felona e Sorona (Philips LP)

* Cos: Viva Boma (IBC LP)

* Daevid Allen & Euterpe: Good Morning! (Virgin LP)

* Tangerine Dream: Alpha Centauri/Atem (Brain 2LP)

* Klaus Schulze: Black Dance (Virgin/Caroline LP)

* Cybotron: Sunday Night At The Total Theatre (Dual Planet LP)

* Galaxy: Nature’s Clear Well (Breeze/Import LP)

* Automatic Man: Automatic Man (Island LP)

* Scritti Politti: Peel Session (Rough Trade 7”)

* Boredoms: Soul Discharge/Early Boredoms (Shimmy Disc CD)

* Circus Devils: Stomping Grounds (Happy Jack Rock Records LP)

* Celtic Frost: Into The Pandemonium (Combat/Noise LP)

* Imagene Peise (Flaming Lips): Atlas Meets Christmas (Warner Bros. LP)

* Porcupine Tree: In Absentia (Tonefloat 2LP)

* Steven Wilson: Grace For Drowning (KScope 2LP)

* Steven Wilson: Hand. Cannot. Erase. (KScope 2LP) †/‡

* Opeth: Deliverance (Music for Nations CD) †/‡

* Opeth: Damnation (Music for Nations CD) †/‡

* Opeth: Pale Communion (Music for Nations CD) †/‡

* El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez: Cryptonesia (Rodriguez Lopez LP)

* Wilco: Star Wars (dBpm/Anti- LP)

* Electric Wizard: Electric Wizard (Rise Above LP)

* BORIS: New Album (Sargent House CD)

* Kylesa: Exhausting Fire (Season of Mist LP)

* Zombi: Cosmos (Relapse 2-45RPM LP) †

* Zombi: Surface to Air (Relapse LP) †

* Zombi: Spirit Animal (Relapse 2LP) †

* Zombi: Shape Shift (Relapse 2-45RPM LP)

* Windhand: Grief’s Infernal Flower (Relapse 2LP)

* Kadavar: Berlin (Nuclear Blast 2LP)

†=iPod/iTunes

‡=car

Commentary:

Last weekend, Liz and I traveled to Bryce Canyon, Utah (via Las Vegas, Nevada) to formally say farewell to her dad, who passed away in July.

It was lovely to be with her family and celebrate the life of Dr. Stephen Atherton, one of the finest human beings I've ever had the privilege to know. He struggled with a rare form of blood cancer long before suffering a traumatic brain injury in 1995 (shortly after I after I married Liz). His recovery was nothing short of miraculous given the near-total destruction of his frontal lobe, a testimony to his strength of character and sheer intelligence. But the cancer finally invaded his brain in 2010, leading to severe dementia and a long physical decline.

His last words were: "Oh, not this again!"

The weather was cold and rainy on the day of the ceremony. The photograph above shows what would otherwise be a stunning vista -- the massive red-rock hoodoos of Bryce Canyon -- shrouded in dense, impenetrable fog. As my brother-in-law David remarked, it was like "contemplating the void," a fitting backdrop for the somber occasion. It was disappointing to not get to go sightseeing, but as Liz pointed out, it's not as if we were on vacation.

However, we made the best of it. 

Neither of us had ever been to Las Vegas, and it was even weirder than we expected it to be. We stayed at The Luxor, just because it seemed the most absurd choice, with its cheesy plaster Sphinx crouched before the enormous glass pyramid. While we have no interest in gambling we did get a perverse pleasure watching people lose at Blackjack and roulette. Ultimately, it was kind of sad.

But Lizzy knows what I like. On our way back from Bryce she suggested I do a little record shopping in Vegas.

Well, OK!

Google led us to 11th Street Records, on the north end of town, an exquisite boutique of a store with tons of eye-poppingly expensive vinyl lining the walls. I was in heaven. Liz hung out at Chow and The Writer's Block Bookshop, giving me plenty of time to dig through the bins. Needless to say, I found some gems. The folks at the book store told Liz I had to check out Zia Record Exchange, which happened to be on the way back to the hotel. Of course, we went. Of course, I found more cool records to lug home with me on the airplane.

"Dad would approve," Liz said. "He was a man who enjoyed shopping."

I made a little video showing my haul if you're interested:

Playlist Weeks of 2015-06-20 & 27

* Virtuoso Chamber Music for Harp & Violoncello (Storck) (Telefunken LP)

* Brüggen, Leonhardt, Bylsma, Schröder: Spelen Voor Das Alte Werk (Telefunken LP)

* Toumani & Sidiki Diabaté: Toumani & Sidiki (World Circuit LP)

* Miles Davis: Seven Steps: Complete Recordings 1963-64 (d.4-5) (Columbia/Legacy  7CD)

* Miles Davis/Bill Laswell: Panthalassa (Columbia CD)

* Miles Davis/Bill Laswell: Panthalassa: The Remixes (Columbia CD)

* McCoy Tyner: Time For Tyner (Blue Note LP)

* McCoy Tyner: Atlantis (Milestone 2LP)

* Eddie Henderson: Sunburst (Blue Note LP)

* Larry Coryell: Coryell (Vanguard Apostolic LP)

* Larry Coryell: Basics (Vanguard LP)

* Billy Hart: Enchance (Horizon LP)

* John Abercrombie Quartet: Wait Till You See Her (ECM CD)

* John Abercrombie Quartet: 39 Steps (ECM CD)

* John Surman/John McLaughlin et al.: Where Fortune Smiles (Dawn LP)

* Robin Kenyatta: The Girl From Martinique (ECM LP)

* Chico Freeman: Beyond The Rain (Contemporary LP)

* Chico Freeman: Spirit Sensitive (India Navigation LP)

* Jayson Lindh: Ramadan (Metronome/CTI LP)

* Danny Heines: Aqua Touch (Silver Wave LP)

* Iassos: Celestial Soul Portrait (Numero Group 2LP)

* David Arkenstone: Valley In The Clouds (Narada CD)

* Nils Petter Molaever: Khmer (ECM CD)

* Grateful Dead: Lyceum Theatre, London 5/25/72 (selections) (GDP/Rhino 4HDCD)

* Jerry Garcia Band: Shining Star (d.1) (Arista 2HDCD) †/‡

* The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Axis: Bold As Love (Experience Hendrix/Sony LP)

* Jade Warrior: Jade Warrior (Vertigo LP)

* Spirit: Live Spirit (Potato LP)

* The Rugbys: Hot Cargo (Amazon/Akarma LP)

* Joni Mitchell: Court & Spark (Asylum HDCD)

* Yes: Close To The Edge (Atlantic/Audio Fidelity SACD)

* Emerson Lake & Palmer: Tarkus (d.3) (Razor & Tie 2CD/DVD-A)

* Neu!: Neu! (Astralwerks CD)

* Neu!: Neu! 2 (Astralwerks CD)

* Neu!: Neu! 3 (Astralwerks CD)

* Gong: Gazeuse! (Virgin LP)

* Steven Wilson: Hand. Cannot. Erase (KScope 2LP)

* Opeth: Blackwater Park (Music For Nations/Sony CD) †/‡

* Opeth: Deliverance (Music For Nations CD) †/‡

* Opeth: Damnation (Music For Nations CD) †/‡

* Opeth: Watershed (Roadrunner CD) †/‡

* Opeth: Heritage (Roadrunner 2LP)

* Deafheaven: Sunbather (Deathwish 2-45RPM LP)

* Wild Nothing: Nocturne (Captured Tracks CD) †/‡

* Wye Oak: Shriek (Merge LP) †/‡

†=iPod/iTunes

‡=car

Commentary:

Just got back from a week in Colorado -- what a spectacular trip! We got to see family (many of whom we hadn't seen in years) and then took off for a few days up in the mountains. The six-mile hike through Rocky Mountain National Park was one of the most awesome experiences of my life -- as in scary-as-hell, do-or-die awesome -- ascending to over 9880 feet, scrambling across rock faces and leaping across rushing streams of snowmelt. For a couple of acrophobics, it was challenging indeed. But we survived to tell the tale.

I also got to do some record shopping while we were there, stopping by Bart's and Absolute Vinyl in Boulder; Black & Read in Arvada; and Wax Trax and Twist & Shout in Denver. I had been saving up for this trip, knowing that incredible records can be found in Colorado. I made a little video showing my haul, if you're interested:

Playlist Week of 2013-06-08

* Beethoven: Piano Concertos (d.1) (Chamb.  Orch. Europe/Harnoncourt/Aimard) (Teldec 3CD)

* Debussy: Chamber Music (Athena Ensemble) (Chandos CD)

* Takemitsu: Garden Rain, etc. (Phillip Jones Brass Ens., et al.) (DG CD)

* John Coltrane: Living Space (Impulse! CD)

* John Coltrane: Kulu Sé Mama (Impulse! CD)

* John Coltrane: First Meditations (Impulse!/GRP CD)

* Sun Ra: Fate In A Pleasant Mood (Saturn LP)

* Sun Ra: Piano Recital, La Teatro La Fenice, Venezia (Leo/Golden Years CD)

* Sun Ra Quartet: The Mystery of Being: The Horo Recordings 1978 (Horo/Klimt 3LP)

* Brian Harnetty: The Star-Faced One: From the Sun Ra/El Saturn Archive (Atavistic CD)

* Henry Threadgill Zooid: Tomorrow Sunny / The Revelry, Spp (Pi CD)

* The Spanish Donkey (Joe Morris/Jamie Saft/Mike Pride): XYX (Northern Spy CD)

* Isaac Hayes: Black Moses (Enterprise/4MWB 2LP)

* Frank Ocean: Channel Orange (Island/Def Jam CD)†/‡

* Hawkwind: In Search Of Space (Liberty/EMI LP)

* Clearlight Symphony: Clearlight Symphony (Virgin LP)

* Michael Hoenig: Departure From The Northern Wasteland (Warner Bros. LP)

* U2: Actung, Baby (Deluxe Edition) (Island/Universal 2CD)

* Sigur Ros: Ágætis Byrjun (Fat Cat 2LP)

* Queens Of The Stone Age: …Like Clockwork (Matador 2-45RPM LP)

* Earth: Hibernaculum (Southern Lord LP)

* Opeth: Deliverance (Music For Nations/KOCH CD)†/‡

* Opeth: Damnation (Music For Nations/KOCH CD)†/‡

* Anathema: Weather Systems (The End 2LP)

* Agalloch: Grey EP (Agalloch/Bandcamp FLAC)†

* Agalloch: White EP (Agalloch/Bandcamp FLAC)†

* Agalloch: Ashes Against The Grain (The End CD)†

* Kylesa: Static Tensions (Prosthetic/ 20 Buck Spin LP)

* Kylesa: Spiral Shadow (Season of Mist LP)

* Kylesa: Ultraviolet (Season of Mist LP)

†=iPod

‡=car

Commentary:

Just got back from my nephew’s wedding in Kansas City and we’re exhausted! It was a great time – with skeet shooting (!) in the morning and a beautiful marriage ceremony in a historic prairie chapel in the afternoon. We couldn’t be happier for them. Congratulations to Brian and Amanda!

+++

SHAMELESS PLUG DEPT.

Want to hear an example of Brian’s work? As you may know, he engineered my CD, Rodger Coleman & Sam Byrd: Indeterminate (Improvisations for Piano and Drums) and it sounds AMAZING. You can stream it at NuVoidJazz.com or click on the link below to order the deluxe CD. It’s also available for download at iTunes and all the usual places—but if you really want to dig the sonics, go for the CD. Thank you for your interest and support!

Playlist Week of 7-07-12

* Hesperion XXI, et al. (Savall): Hispania & Japan: Dialogues (Alia Vox SACD)

* Grant Green: Idle Moments (Blue Note CD)

* Herbie Hancock: “Blow Up” (Original Soundtrack) (MGM/4 Men With Beards LP)

* Herbie Hancock: Secrets (Columbia LP)

* Herbie Hancock: Sunlight (Columbia LP)

* Grateful Dead: Dick’s Picks Vol.25 (5-11-78) (selections) (GDP 4HDCD)

* Affinity: Affinity (Vertigo/Lilith 2LP/CD)

* Kylesa: To Walk A Middle Course (Prosthetic/Alternative Tentacles LP)

* Opeth: Morningrise (Candlelight CD)†

* Opeth: My Arms, Your Hearse (Candlelight CD)†

* Opeth: Still Life (Peaceville/Icarus CD)†/‡

* Opeth: Blackwater Park (Music For Nations/KOCH CD)†/‡

* Opeth: Deliverance (Music For Nations/KOCH CD)†/‡

* Opeth: Damnation (Music For Nations/KOCH CD)†/‡

* Opeth: Heritage (Roadrunner CD/DVD)†/‡

* Anathema: Weather Systems (The End 2LP)

* Baroness: Yellow & Green (Relapse)

* Pelican: Australasia (Hydra Head 2-45RPM LP)

* Pelican: The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw (Hydra Head CD)†

* Pelican: What We All Come To Need (Southern Lord CD)†

* Chris Fosyth: Kenzo Deluxe (Northern Spy CD)

* Astra: The Weirding (Rise Above/Metal Blade CD)

* Astra: The Black Chord (Rise Above/Metal Blade CD)

†=iPod

‡=car

Commentary:

Short playlist this week! We traveled to Northern California to visit Lizzy’s family and the only music I listened to was on the plane (briefly) or in the car driving up the coast to The Sea Ranch. I made that drive several years ago in a minivan (!) and, since it was going to be just the two of us, I insisted we rent a nice car this time—a very nice car, as it turned out: a (slightly dinged-up) Mercedes C300. Now that might sound extravagant but, let me tell you: it’s a treacherous, three-hour drive up CA Route 1, a narrow, two-lane road with hairpin turns, gut-wrenching switchbacks and terrifying views of the ocean plunging five-hundred feet below—besides, it was only about a hundred bucks more than a Toyota Camry, so why not enjoy the ride?

Having never driven a Mercedes before (I'm actually a Honda kinda guy), I was mystified by the needlessly complicated technology; a simple thing like adjusting the seat was extraordinarily difficult (here's a tip: you only get five minutes from the time the door closes). I spent at least twenty minutes sitting in the airport parking lot just trying to figure out how to play music from my iPod—and totally failed. The owner’s manual was completely useless! What the hell? Am I stupid? We hit the road listening to “Chill” on Sirius while I pondered the problem. I eventually figured out how to change the channel to “Classic Vinyl.” Much better. Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. A bit later, I pulled over. Let’s see if this works: press this button, turn this knob—and voila! iPod! We cranked up some Opeth and kept motoring. Other than the stupidly quirky audio system, the car drove like a dream—and it made a potentially scary trip into a most pleasurable joyride. Well worth it.

ANYWAY, it was a fabulous trip; so quiet and peaceful, contemplating the water and the edge of the world. We had gorgeous weather, sunny and sixty-five degrees—a much needed relief from the horrendous heat-wave we’re having here in Nashville. It is such a beautiful —yet desolate—landscape, so different from the mid-Atlantic region—and it was teeming with wildlife! We saw several different kinds of seabirds, Western blue jays, zillions of barn swallows, gaggles of wild turkeys, lots and lots of deer—we even saw a gray fox amble across the back porch one evening. Of course, I took a bunch of photographs and you can check them out on my Flickr Photostream, if you’re interested in seeing the place. Ultimately, it was a true blessing to get to be with family I had not seen in a very long time—I think they had come to doubt my very existence!

So, not much writing on the blog these days—but don’t worry: there are some exciting things coming up on the horizon. Stay tuned.

Memorial

Life is short. Make a joyful noise while you still can!

Happy Anniversary!

Thank you, lovely Lizzy, for seventeen wonderful years of marriage!

Playlist Week of 4-09-11

* Hespèrion XXI (Savall): Jérusalem: La Ville des deux Paix (Alia Vox 2SACD)
* Hespèrion XXI: Istanbul: Dimitrie Cantemir 1673-1723 (Alia Vox SACD)
* Hespèrion XXI (Savall): Francisco Javier 1506-1553: La Ruta de Oriente (Alia Vox 2SACD)
* Purcell: Fantasias For The Viols 1680 (Hesperion XX/Savall) (Alia Vox SACD)
* Bobby Hutcherson: “Mellow Vibes” (Blue Note mix CDR)†/‡
* Anthony Braxton: Three Orchestras (GTM) 1998 (New Braxton House FLAC>2CDR)
* Possession + African Dub: Off World One (SubMeta CD)
* Hank Williams: 40 Greatest Hits (Mercury/Polygram 2CD)
* Jim Reeves: The Best Of Jim Reeves (RCA-Victor LP)
* Johnny Cash: American Recordings (American CD)
* Johnny Cash: American Outtakes (Empire (boot) CD)
* Johnny Cash: Unchained (American CD)
* Johnny Cash: American III: Solitary Man (American CD)
* Emmylou Harris: Wrecking Ball (Elektra/Warner CD)
* Lucinda Williams: Blessed (Deluxe Edition) (d.1) (Lost Highway 2CD)
* Grateful Dead: Dream Bowl, Vallejo, CA 2-22-69 (SBD 2CDR)
* Grateful Dead: Music Hall, Cleveland, OH 3-02-81 (SBD 2CDR)
* Grateful Dead: Memorial Auditorium, Utica, NY 3-13-81 (set 1 excerpts) (SBD CDR)
* Grateful Dead: View From The Vault IV Soundtrack (July 1987) (GDP 4CD)‡
* Sir Douglas Quintet: The Mono Singles ’68-’72 (Sundazed 2LP)
* Van Morrison: The Healing Game (Polydor CD)
* Van Morrison: Days Like This (Polydor CD)
* Tom Waits: Blue Valentine (Asylum LP)
* Yes: The Yes Album (Atlantic/Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab CD)
* Yes: Fragile (Atlantic/Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab CD)
* King Crimson: The ConstruKction Of Light (Virgin CD)
* Robert Fripp: The Gates Of Paradise (DGM CD)
* Radiohead: The King Of Limbs (TBD/Ticker Tape CD)†/‡
* Wilco: Kicking Television (Nonesuch 2CD)†/‡
* Robert Pollard: Space City Kicks (GBV, Inc. LP)
* Circus Devils: Gringo (Happy Jack Rock Records LP)
* Lifeguards: Waving To The Astronauts (Serious Business LP)
* Mars Classroom: The New Theory Of Everything (Happy Jack Rock Records LP)
* Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino CD)†/‡
* Broken Bells: Broken Bells (Columbia)(†/‡)
* Broken Bells: Meyrin Fields EP (Columbia CDEP)

†=iPod
‡=car

Commentary:

On Friday, April 1, Lizzy and I drove out to Kansas City for Mom’s funeral and to help my sister clean out the apartment. It was agonizing—yet it was also a lovely visit with her family and a rare opportunity to see aunts and uncles and cousins from far-flung places. The memorial service on April 5 was perfect: beautiful, short and sweet—and standing room only. Not surprisingly, Mom had many admirers at the facility where she lived. Molly read a very moving letter to Mom she wrote in her final days and we all sang two verses of “Amazing Grace”— in the end, there was not a dry eye in the place. But it felt like we all came together not to mourn, but to celebrate Mom’s life. There were tears of sadness at our loss but also tears of laughter and joy in her remembrance.

Amazingly, on the morning of the service—and just down the road at the medical center where Mom spent so much miserable time these past years—my niece gave birth to her daughter, Mom’s great-granddaughter. Oh, she so much wanted to see that day—and she almost made it. Nevertheless, I could feel her presence in the hospital room as I held this tiny newborn in my arms: Mom and Dad were both smiling down upon us all, saying “all is as it should be.” Sure, it sounds like a clichéd movie scene, but the miraculous circle of life could not be so vividly manifested as in that moment. It was truly profound. Goodbye, Maxine—and welcome to family, Maebrynn (Brynn) Grace!



And so what does any of this have to do with music? Again, nothing—and everything. Here’s one thing: singing “Amazing Grace” at the funeral was one of those rare times where “normal” people get to make music together—and it was an extraordinary experience. Oh, it was far from musical perfection but it was real expression of real emotions by real people. It occurred to me that the professionalism of music has deprived our culture of its natural creativity. I was reminded that music is not a “thing” but an “act.” It is not something that is done to you, it is something you do—even just by listening. Emotion in professional music is almost always ersatz. While community music-making might be unusual these days, it manages to survive in our most sacred religious rites, where its effect is most deeply felt and where people can feel comfortable as “amateurs.” In my humbled opinion, it would do our world a lot of good if people realized they are “producers” as well as “consumers” of music (and all the other arts) and would express themselves more freely and joyfully. In any event, these verses of “Amazing Grace” were by far the most enlightening musical event of the week.

And then there’s going on a long road trip, loading up the iPod with everything I could think of that seemed appropriate and listenable—and throwing in a couple of CDs just in case. Hey, we’re talking twenty-something hours of driving: I needed to be prepared! Of course, the Grateful Dead is great road music—it always reminds me of going “on tour” and a couple shows will get you clear across Missouri! But I also checked out a new band, Broken Bells, whose eponymous album was gifted to me on iTunes by my friend, Stan. We listened to it twice in the car and liked it more each time through. It’s kind of post-Radiohead electro-folk-rock, but with an unabashed pop sensibility. Heck, I liked it enough to make a trip to Grimey’s to pick up the CD (and the new Meyrin Fields EP) so I can blast it on the big stereo (it’s playing right now, for the second time tonight). While I had heard of them, I was unfamiliar with both Danger Mouse and The Shins (that’s how “out-of-it” I am!) but if Broken Bells is any indication, I need to check ‘em out. Good stuff.

Finally, after getting back home, I have been exploring the music of my parents, the country music of Hank Williams and “Gentleman” Jim Reeves, whose Best Of is one of the few records I remember my parents playing over and over. I can picture my Dad singing along (or whistling away in his own tuneless fashion) and doing carefully choreographed square-dance moves with my Mom in the living room as the platter spun on the old Dual turntable. When I was a kid, I turned up my nose at country music—but it was the Grateful Dead who brought me around. While my parents were alarmed at the drug-addled trappings (and their Satanic-sounding name), they could hear the country-western roots of the Dead’s music (their favorite song was “Ripple”) and I think that’s partly why they allowed me to drive Mom’s car to the Hartford Civic Center to see my first show in March, 1981, just a few months after my sixteenth birthday. They may have been terrified by the psychedelia of “Dark Star,” but our mutual respect for Johnny Cash’s “Big River” served to bridge the gap and now, as an adult, I can truly appreciate my southern, country roots. “The wheel is turning and you can’t slow it down; you can’t let go and you can’t stand still—if the thunder don’t get you then the lightning will!”

It has been hard to lose my Mom (and Dad)—I am now an orphan and “the last of the Colemans.” But our trip to Kansas was wonderful and I feel connected to my extended family in a way I have never previously known. The memorial service brought closure to a long, painful process and the simultaneous birth of her great-granddaughter brought hope for the future. I cannot imagine a better ending to a well-lived life. Rest in peace, Mom—everything will be OK.