Brad’s Top 5 Tidings of Comfort and Joy
Padding the blows of a spicy year
1) The singing down the hall.
It’s the singing down the hall, but specifically the singing along with one of my top albums of ‘23: Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) by Noah Kahan. The album is about a lot of things, but for me it is about admitting what’s not good, and ending up good anyway. It may be that your problems are quite different from his, but if you fill in the blanks with your own demons, you’ve got someone to speak for you. Someone who is probably a better lyricist than you! I share my love for this album with my daughter, and am amused that she fills in the blanks differently in her own mind to make a different story than mine. Hearing her near perfect renditions reverberating down the hall on quiet afternoons, makes me feel like it’s all going to be ok.
2) Making songs with Friends.
Getting the band back together always looked like a bad idea when I was 20. But one of the things that 20 year olds don’t know yet is the value of friends of 30 years. Our sessions look a lot different now than they did back then. Writing songs is still important work, but now there is more talking than rocking, and none of us seem to mind.
3) Having a 14 yr old boy draw “tattoos” on your back.
When you are in that special state of stupor that comes after international travel, having been awake for an interminable day, too tired to function, too punchy to sleep, having your jester/son draw (likely vulgar) tattoos on your back fixes everything. It is somehow mutually beneficial, and there is no part of me that cares how debased the tattoo is. I’ll check it in the morning, it’s fine.
4) Writing around the world.
It may be that the joy of international travel required by my work is in itself top 5 material, but when I started writing from my overnights this year, it amplified my gratitude for work that I love. Having even a casual deadline to publish gave me reason to consolidate the things I am grateful for, which is useful beyond what I expected.
5) Naps with Tim the white dog.
The best nap blanket in the house is pure white with black leaves. On it, Tim is invisible with his eyes wide open. His little black eyes and nose disappear into the leaves on a field of white fleece. Mid-week days off, with no one else home, lead to naps worth looking forward to. There’s just not much more to it. Naps with Tim are the best.
