The Fiery Quill

Tomorrow morning will be the kind that everyone can identify with: the crappy-feeling, first after a break up kind of morning. It will be that much harder to pry myself out of bed, on a Monday, when NPR starts blasting at 5:58am. Nothing is particularly pretty at that hour, especially when I remember that it is the debut morning of my singlehood....super. Warning: possible sarcasm dripping from the rest of my commentary. Normally I prefer to keep my personal life out of my blog. However, the method of this particular break-up was so noteworthy that I couldn't resist. I'm hoping that this story makes others who are in in my predicament feel better about being unexpectedly single. I preface further commentary with the following statement: no men were injured during the making of this blog. I have been dumped in a variety of equally unfortunate circumstances. But I do have to say (in fairness to former boyfriends)that my exes were all kind enough to end things in person. Now I rea...

All it takes for an incredible performance, is to have exceptional musicians. I could be in a hotel room crowded with people in folding chairs. Or I could be at showcase, people murmuring and shuffling in after the music has begun. Or it could be absolutely ideal, like it was last night: perfect lighting, intimate venue, and an audience of loyal fans. I have seen Girlyman in all of the above settings. Predictably, last night was the best. But it wasn't the external factors that made the show so ideal. I hold fast to my first statement. All I needed was to have Ty, Doris, and Nate up on the stage, smiling and singing in their perfectly intertwining harmonies. The music was made even better by how radiantly happy the three of them looked as they played and sang. From time to time, they would look at one another and just beam. I have never seen people who so clearly love what they do. And all of them had effortless rapport with the people in the crowd. They joked and told stories as ...