Should an Artist’s Signature Song Define Them? (My Way Isn’t the Only Way)

Anyone who has been reading my musings over the past several months knows I love the big picture. But at the same time, I love to revel in the minutiae. I have stopped and started a few posts on another favorite subject of mine, music.  The reason I stopped was because I kept going for the grand tour of my musical palate.  So, I have decided to cut smaller swaths and discuss a smaller subject in more depth.  For today’s swath, I want to open a discussion that I have had many times with many people about various artists.  Many singers and bands have a signature song.  It is the one that starts to play in your head.  You know the one that every television show will use as an introduction.  It is usually their biggest commercial hit.  

Is the signature song their best song?  In many cases, I don’t believe so.  Now when I say best, I am referring to the entire package.  The music, lyrics, presentation are all part of the song.  A great hook does not make a great song.  I want to make another distinction.  I am also not referring to a favorite song.  I have many favorites that are not an artist’s best work.  I am looking for the best an artist has to offer.  Let’s explore.

I will start with a classic example, Frank Sinatra.  The Chairman has an extensive catalog from a half century of recording and was a giant in the industry.  He will forever be tied to My Way.  (Sorry, unless you are a Yankee’s season ticket holder, it is not New York, New York.)  Is it his best song?  I say, no.  I have two personal favorites, You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me and Fly Me to the Moon.  I think the latter is possibly his best song.  Among my other candidates for best Sinatra tune are: All the Way, In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning, Come Fly with Me, and I’ve Got the World on a String.  I believe these songs showcase the best of his music. These vocals and arrangements are his best.

Next, let us look at the Rolling Stones.  Think of them and think of Satisfaction.  I love this song and Keith Richards opening riff is one of the all-time great intros in rock history.  It is not their best song.  Paint It Black and Sympathy for the Devil are both better songs but they only vie for number two.  Gimme Shelter is not only their best, but I feel one of the best rock songs ever.  The give and take between Mick Jagger and Merry Clayton is what drives the song but the music behind it is every bit as good.  I want to throw out 19^th Nervous Breakdown, not as their best but one of my personal favorites.

Billy Joel not only has a signature song, he is so associated with it that it has become his moniker.  He is the Piano Man.  While I do love the song, I don’t think it is even close to his best.  He tells a compelling story and yes, his piano sounds like a carnival, but he has so many better songs.  I will start with Just the Way You Are.  This has a depth of feeling Piano Man does not and the music is better composed.  For my money, this is number one.  I want to offer a few others I feel are still better than his signature: Movin’ Out, Only the Good Die Young, My Life and The Downeaster Alexa.  Okay, okay Joel fans, I know I did not include Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.  I love all seven and a half minutes of it.  It is just not his best work. 

Purple Rain is regarded as Prince’s signature.  Much like Billy Joel, Prince is tied to the song more because of how it relates to his persona than for the greatness of the song.  I think everyone agrees that When Doves Cry is his best effort.  Musically, emotionally, vocally, it is superior.  For Prince, I also think Let’s Go Crazy and Sign O’ The Times and Kiss are better songs. 

David Bowie is linked to Space Oddity. It is the song that made him a star.  I don’t think this is even a top ten song for Bowie.  Allow me to give a short list of better works from the Thin White Duke: Fame, Heroes, Modern Love, Young Americans, Rebel Rebel, Ashes to Ashes, and One that fits the bill for two artists, Pressure.  Yes, Pressure is not only better for Bowie, I say it is better than Bohemian Rhapsody for Queen.  Not by much mind you, but better.

I hope you can see where I am going with this now.  Let me jump into a list of artists, their signature, and what I believe is better.

Aretha Franklin – Respect

I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)

Do Right Woman, Do Right Man

Madonna – Like a Virgin

               Like a Prayer

               This Used to be My Playground

               Crazy for You

Otis Redding – Dock of the Bay

               Try a Little Tenderness

Elton John – Rocket Man

               Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)

               Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

               Nikita

Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven

               (About half of their catalog)

Michael Jackson – Anything from the Thriller album

               Anything from the Off the Wall album

My lists could go on and on from Elvis to Donna Summer, The Supremes to Coldplay, Chuck Berry to Metallica, The Beatles to Mariah Carey, Marvin Gaye to Usher.  You get the picture.

I don’t want you to think I feel this way about every artist.  There are many where their signature song is probably their best.  The Eagles - Hotel California, Gladys Knight and the Pips - Midnight Train to Georgia, Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire.  But even these great ones can be up for debate.  And that is exactly what I want.  I don’t want some DJ or iTunes telling me what the best song is from any particular artist.  I like to talk about it. 

Now I want to take a moment and explain the choice of artists I used for this post.  I stayed away from most current artists for two basic reasons.  First, I am nearing fifty and the artists above are what I listened to growing up and they are part of my core.  There are many others, but mostly in the same eras.  While I do keep up with much of today’s music, I have limited favorites and I don’t want to short change great talent by making a stupid comment because I am uninformed.  The second reason is that most of these artists have already put out the bulk of their catalog.  Can Madonna or the Stones come out with another album with the greatest thing they have ever recorded?  Sure, they can.  That would be incredible and I will take my copy on day one.  Rihanna, Adele, Drake, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, and Niki Minaj all have many years to create that one song that will define them.  I think it is too early to assign a song to them now.  Let’s give them all a few more decades and we can include them.

So now, I want to hear from you.  Do you agree with any of my examples?  If not, that is okay with me.  What are your thoughts on the best they created.  If you have other artists you feel fit the bill, please share them.  I love great discussion.

America’s Stories Are Closer Than You Think

The other day I was talking with a co-worker who knew I had lived in Philadelphia.  She and her family were considering a trip to Philadelphia and she asked me about Independence Mall.  Is it worth it?  My immediate answer was “Yes, absolutely!”  Then I followed with don’t limit yourself to just that small area.  There is so much more to see if you are interested in history.  I then gave her a short list of other must see sites in the area from Penn’s Landing up to Valley Forge.  We talked for about ten or fifteen minutes, but that got my wheels turning. 

When we started talking she mentioned just the Independence National Historic Park.  As I told her about other places in the area I was hearing myself say the same thing.  National Historic Site, National Historic Landmark, National Historic Park.  After our conversation ended, I began to think about all of the places I have been that fall under the auspices of the National Park System.  Just from memory, quite a number.

When I woke up this morning, I found myself still thinking about where I had been and began to look at the National Park Service’s website.  I was surprised to find just how many places I really had seen and experienced.  I have even lived very close to several of these sites.  That is not completely shocking since there are currently 413 places that fall under the Park Service.  They range from the largest at over eight million square miles to the smallest being the size of one historic home.  They also vary from the well-known and much visited Blue Ridge Parkway and Yellowstone to Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area.  There are also less obvious but well known places that are managed by the Service including Mount Rushmore and the White House. 

I am throwing out what may be boring statistics to some to illustrate that National Parks are all around us and probably even close to you.  To that end, I want to tell you about a few of the ones that have made the greatest impact on me. 

The Grand Canyon – The name really speaks volumes.  I had seen pictures all of my life of the canyon, but they did not really resonate until I went there.  To say it is beautiful is an understatement.  We did not venture down into the canyon itself, but we did make a point to visit several points along the rim.  We were at the very crowded south rim observation point at Grand Canyon Village and the views were spectacular.  From there we drove east stopping several times at less crowded places.  We did this until we reached Lipan Point where you have what I think is the best view of the canyon looking down river instead of across to the north rim.  That is a memory I will keep forever.

Zion National Park – This was a hidden gem.  When we left the Grand Canyon, we drove up through Utah and were heading to Las Vegas.  We both knew of Zion but had no plans to stop there.  I cannot tell you how glad I am that we decided to take it in.  If I am honest, it is more visually stimulating than the Grand Canyon.  Being at the bottom looking up does give a different perspective, but the rock formations and colors are amazing.  The Three Patriarchs, the Narrows, the Subway, the Pulpit and many other formations are worth the drive.  Among all of the parks I have been to where nature is the focus, Zion is my favorite.

Fort McHenry – The place that inspired Francis Scott Key to pen a poem that would become our national anthem.  The fort is on a point that is now in the center of Baltimore. To get there you need to travel the busiest of streets and find your way through some industrial areas, but once there, it is a little oasis in the city.  The site is well preserved and pristine.  The guides here are some of the friendliest that I have encountered in my travels.  They tell the story so well and at all times there is an enormous 15-star flag used as the focal point of the story.  If you are in a patriotic mood, this is a must.

The National Mall – Where do I begin with how great this is to visit?  It can be a little hard to define since it is not strictly the strip of land running from the US Capital Building to the Lincoln Memorial.  It is much more than that.  It includes all of the monuments from the iconic Washington Monument to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to the Jefferson Memorial, the African American Civil War Memorial, and several more.  Then there are the buildings under the Park Services care including Fords Theatre and the Frederick Douglas National Historic Site.  I would also be remiss if I did not mention the Smithsonian Institution.  Although the many museums are not part of the Park Service, they frame the National Mall and provide endless days of enjoyment and education.

Shenandoah National Park – Blue Ridge Parkway – Great Smokey Mountains National Park – I group these together because essentially, where one ends the next one continues.  If you love nature this is a great place to visit.  It is a large part of the southern half of the Appalachian Trail, a hiker’s delight for longer than it has been a defined trail by the Park service.  If you are not that into hiking but still want to enjoy the park, this is one of the best driving parks we have.  In the fall the Blue Ridge Parkway is a foliage lover’s destination making it the most visited park in the system.  I have driven just about the entire length several times. These three parks are friendly to just about every level of outdoor aficionado. 

Gettysburg National Military Park – I saved this one for last as it is my absolute favorite.  My parents brought me to Gettysburg almost every summer for a few days and we would explore new parts every year.  Later in life, my wife and I lived there for about three years.  We would spend hours on the battlefield.  We rode our bicycles around some trails walked with our dogs down others.  Many of the monuments are beautiful and tell a tragic story of our history.  Yes, there are many monuments to the men who fought for the Confederacy, but the town also has a deeper history.  Gettysburg was home to a community of “free blacks”, African Americans who made a life for themselves and were a part of the greater community in a very contentious time.  Everyone knows about Lincoln’s visit to Gettysburg, but George Washington also came through and stayed just outside of the town on his way to put down the Whiskey Rebellion.  There is so much more to learn about this great place.  I know the battlefield as well as some of the guides, but I learn new things all the time. 

I want to mention a few more that I have visited and have left a definite impression on me.  They are in no particular order; Saguaro National Park, Boston National Historic Park, Everglades National Park, Petroglyph National Monument, Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Colonial Historic Park, Antietam National Battlefield and of course, where I started this train of thought, Independence National Historic Park.  There are more, but these are at the top of my list.  I have an entire other list of places I could go into but I have kept this to our National Park System.  You can find many just as fascinating place in National Forests, State Parks and private sites all over the country. 

Why did I limit this to the National Park System?  Because on August 25^th of this year, our National Park Service celebrated their 100^th birthday.  On a rough count, I am nearing a quarter of the sites visited.  I want to see many more.  I invite you to send the Service a birthday gift by visiting any one of the sites under their care.  You may learn something.  You may see things you have never seen before.  You may just sit and enjoy nature.  Take a look.  I bet you have one near you. 

I hope you have had the same wonderful experiences.  I would love to hear about your favorite National Park visit.  Please leave a comment.  You may give me my next excursion idea.

Extra Innings with a Seamhead

I have many obsessions. But I have only one addiction, baseball.  Well, two if you count coffee.  Baseball is certainly an obsession of mine, but like anything you are fascinated with you can put it away for a while.  I call baseball an addiction because I cannot put it away for the winter.  The first embers of the hot stove are heating up.  My twitter feed is filled with teams, networks, writers, leagues, anything that will feed my need.  I surf websites regularly to keep up on the trade rumors, free agent news, history of the game, or any other nugget of information that will satisfy me.  I am a Seamhead.

Baseball people have a unique way of looking at their sport.  You have camps.  In other sports, the measuring sticks are the same throughout most of their history.  Yes, stats evolve, but the arguments remain the same.  Baseball has old school traditionalists and new age Sabermatricians.  I find myself somewhere in the middle.  I understand and find value in the cold hard numbers, but I believe there is more to the sport than just stats.  I see value in the intangibles a player brings to a team.  But intangibles do not win championships.  I favor a healthy blend of both worlds.  This approach comes in handy when watching the sport at other levels.

As a devotee of the sport, I love more than just Major League Baseball, and I am endlessly enthralled by every level of the game.  I pay close attention to both the Little League and College World Series.  I am very happy now that the MLB Network carries the Caribbean Series and I am looking forward to the return of the World Baseball Classic this Spring.  I constantly read about the history of the game reaching as far back as the true early days in the late nineteenth century.  I feel great joy in seeing where the game is going.  Australia and Europe are experiencing a surge in the popularity of baseball. New players are introduced to the game at the youth level.  The game is as strong as ever in Latin America and East Asia. I would love to see games on MLB from here also.

As for me, I spent my youth playing America’s pastime.  When I went as far as my talent would allow, I coached Little League in the Senior division for six years.  Then I moved into umpiring.  I called thousands of games.  I started at the Little League level and worked my way up through high school and then into college.  I became pretty good.  I was asked to work in a summer wooden bat league for talented college players.  I also tried my hand at administration for several years.  I was the umpire consultant for my local league and was on the district board as the administrator for the Big-League level (16-18-year-old players). 

All of this background was to establish a foundation for the point of my essay.  I, like most other fans have hopes and wishes for the game we love.  I want to share a few of mine with you.  You may not agree with my suggestions.  That is perfectly okay with me.  This is just how I feel.

1.      Start games earlier.  This is a popular battle cry.  I happen to agree, especially when it comes to the post season.  Isn’t it better for the west coast to miss the beginning of a game than the east coast to miss the end?  The arguments are plentiful on this one, so I will leave it at that.

2.      Let the All-Star Game be what it is supposed to be.  The All-Star Game was meant to be an exhibition to showcase the best players in the league.  Because we had one tie, we lost our collective minds.  I still believe, as I did when it happened, Commissioner Selig made the right call.  But let’s get our heads back on straight.  We stopped that game to prevent player injuries that could impact the remainder of the season.  So, in reaction, we said “This time it counts”.  Now we have ruined the Mid-Summer Classic to affect change to the Fall Classic.  Stop already.  Leave the All-Star game as a fun, fan friendly exhibition and find a better way to determine home field advantage.  I have heard many good suggestions.  Among them; simply use the best record, best inter-league record (either for the individual team or the league as a whole), or just go back to alternating. 

3.      Figure out the designated hitter. I must admit I struggle a bit with this one, but we need to figure it out so fans will not have to endure hours of announcers, commentators and reporters droning on about the differences between the leagues.  Personally, I love pitchers that hit.  I love the strategy involved and managers having to think innings ahead.  Teams also get a big boost with a pitcher who can handle a bat.  I feel if you only want to see balls mashed over the fence, go watch beer league softball.  Even in the American League, small ball still works.  Thank you, Tito!  I know the DH will never go away, but let’s find common ground so we can talk about more interesting things.

4.      It is time for MLB to move into new territory.  I fully realize this is years, maybe even decades away, but I would love to see teams in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico and eventually Japan.  Yes, I know there are economic and political barriers to overcome.  Why can’t baseball help pave the way?  Looking past those barriers, I do have a concern that this could, in turn, hurt the existing leagues that have been thriving in those countries for the better part of a century.  I think it is worth exploring.

5.      Hall of Fame, figure it out already.  I think the Hall has made progress in the election of new members.  However, we still face the inevitable steroid discussion every winter and at the ceremony when Hall talk is in the news.  My personal feeling is, it happened, move on.  Put Bonds, Clemens, Palmeiro and anyone else deemed worthy in the hall.  Let’s face it, with the number of reprobates currently in the Hall, are we truly hurting the aura of membership?  Bob Costas suggested putting a sign at the entrance stating essentially that the era happened and you can make up your own mind.  I agree. 

6.      It is time to help the Umpires out.  As I mentioned above, I was an umpire. I understand how good they are.  I was also privileged to have been mentored by a former Major League Umpire, so I have insight.  Knowing how difficult it is to call a 90-something mile per hour pitch on the corner of the plate, I can tell you they do an amazing job.  If you have not seen a baseball moving in the mid-80s break about two feet, you should try it.  I could not have more respect for what these men do.  That said, they face constant scrutiny over every pitch.  I have seen a number of systems and I think they could be close to helping on balls and strikes without slowing down the game.  I know the men in blue don’t want to give up the control, but we have proven that replay works and your reputations are only helped, not hurt.  Let’s give it a try.  Side note to the fans at every level, give them a break.  Most umpires do it for the love of the game, not to sway an outcome.  Mistakes happen.

7.      College Baseball deserves more respect.  College baseball is gaining popularity and MLB teams are now looking at top players differently than they had several decades ago.  We should too.  I am glued to ESPN every June to watch the sport’s pinnacle in Omaha.  There are future Major Leaguers on almost every team.  The games are beautiful to watch.  For a baseball fan, this is every bit as great as March Madness.  If all you know of the college game is the piercing “ping” of the bats, times have changed.  While the bats are still aluminum, new technology has reduced the flight of the ball and dampened the sound considerably.  Gone are the slugfests.  The game now closely resembles the pros.  If you have not watched a college game, I encourage you to try one.  I am sure you will love it.

8.      The Majors should take a page from the minors.  Have you been to a minor league baseball game any time, ever?  It is one big party.  In between watching the game’s rising stars, most all minor league games feature mid inning games, entertainment and just plain silliness. Let’s keep in mind, it is still a game.  Now, a few major league teams get it to a lesser extent, but why can’t we have more fan participation at the highest level of the game?  No sport anywhere appreciates their fans more than baseball.  I believe that.  We have interactive fun throughout the minors.  Games in Latin America feature constant music, live music, during the games.  Japanese games are more fan inclusive.  But when we get to the highest level of the sport we want fans to watch and be entertained.  Forget that, let’s have fun!  (Just not the wave.  I hate the wave.)

9.      Patience is a virtue, ask a Cubs fan.  Indians fans, just wait, it will come.  I can say this as a lifelong fan of a team that waited 97 years (76 if you only count the modern game) for their first championship and another 28 for the second.  I am watching the rebuilding process now in hopes of number three.  Keep in mind you do have a pennant to look at in the outfield.  There are eight teams led by the Rangers who have not won their first series.  Washington as a city is now on their third team with no championship since 1924.  While no team should have to wait 108 years, with 30 teams, a drought is inevitable. 

10.  To casual fans and Seamheads alike, I say expand your horizons.  I am not going to go into great detail here.  I will instead give you something to explore if you wish.  Here is a list of teams who have won championships this year.  If you want to grow your love of the game, google some of these teams to discover where they are from and what they are about. 

a.      Chicago Cubs

b.      Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

c.      Venados de Mazatlan

d.      Maine-Endwell

e.      Netherlands

f.       Santurce

g.      Brisbane Bandits

h.      Doosan Bears

i.       Coastal Carolina University

j.       McGill University

k.      Pericos de Puebla

l.       Ciego de Avila

m.    Leones de Escogido

n.      Tigres de Aragua

o.      EDA Rhinos

I would love to hear from all baseball fans no matter your level of interest.  I would like to know what you love about our game.  

It’s Summer, How Bad Could It Be?

Here we are in early November, signs of change are all around.  Where I am, the leaves are in full red and gold.  The air is getting crisp at night and the days are getting cooler.  Some parts of the country are well past this point now.  The leaves are already on the ground.  Each night brings a new frost.  The thought of snow will be creeping in very soon.  In other areas, the oppressive heat of summer gives way to milder more comfortable temperatures.  Everywhere we look, it is Autumn.  The sporting world has changed over for another year.  Baseball gave us another great fall classic and handed the baton to Football.  Tailgating, the art form that it has become, is the pregame ritual for millions this time of year.  There are still many harvest and craft fairs to be celebrated and long fall foliage drives to be taken. 

I do enjoy all of these things.  But I am a summer kind of guy.  I always have been.  Growing up, summer meant endless baseball games.  What inning is it?  It’s not dark yet, keep playing!  That’s what inning it is.  It was swimming with my friends.  It always meant a family vacation.  (Not the Griswold family kind.)  It was snow cones and cookouts.  I loved it.  As I became an adult and no longer had the free time I used to have, summer was still my favorite time.  I was an umpire for baseball and softball from the Little League level through high school and college.  I became pretty good at it and I was even recruited to work a top level wooden bat league for college players.  Now that I had a yard of my own, I found myself enjoying what used to be a chore.  Mowing and landscaping became an enjoyable getaway for me.  I would make time to get to the golf course and backyard barbeques were still an important part of the season. 

This is my time of year.  Just not this past summer.  For the first year in my life, I was looking forward to summer ending.  This one started off like most other ones.  Spring came and the weather warmed.  Sweatshirts and jeans gave way to tee shirts and shorts.  I began to spend more time outside.  I cleaned up the remnants of winter that littered the yard.  I began to mow and trim the grass.  I took time to carefully prune the shrubs by my front porch.  It all seemed like the start of a very normal summer.  Then just before the official start of summer, June 16^th happened.

It started out like any other Thursday.  I woke up early.  I went to work for a completely uneventful, unmemorable day.  I came home and ate dinner and settled in for an evening with my wife and dog.  I thought a little television and pleasant conversation was all that was in my immediate future.  Then as the evening progressed, we each received a buzz on our phones.  We looked to see we had thunderstorm warnings.  Okay, we are inside.  We are dry, the air conditioning was keeping the heat at bay.  I expected nothing more than a light show and some noise.  In fact, I rather enjoy a nice thunderstorm.  I know that seems odd, but I always have. 

Little did I know, this one would be different.  This was not a hurricane.  It had no name.  We were not watching it approach for days.  But it did bring a new word to my vocabulary. 

When it hit, it came all at once.  Within minutes, we had a torrential downpour and a very active storm.  Lightning flashes were only seconds apart followed by the accompanying thunderclap.  Then we heard it.  A cacophony of sound.  There were multiple flashes and a continuous roar of thunder to the point the house shook.  Almost at the same instant, the power went out.  With the violence of what had just happened, I began to go to windows on each side of the house checking for damage.  The only thing I saw in the glow of another lightning flash was one very large branch that had been ripped from the top of one of our back-yard trees.  In a few more minutes, the storm would be just like any other.  So, we sat, waiting for the lights to come back on, entertaining ourselves with the remaining batteries in our phones.  When the power did not come back on, we went to bed, hoping by morning it would be back.

The next morning started at my usual 5:15 AM.  It was still dark when I looked out the front window.  With no light in the neighborhood, I became annoyed as to why we were still in the dark.  I readied myself for work, skipping the cold-water shave.  I figured, it was Friday, my boss won’t mind.  I walked out our side door around 6:15. The sun was just beginning to rise and I could now see around our yard.  Oh, my God!!!  I looked into the back yard and the largest tree we had was torn out by the roots.  This was a tree forty to fifty feet high.  One of the tallest in the neighborhood.  I would come to discover the diameter of the trunk at its base was nearly five feet.  This was a huge tree.  When it came down, it also took out five or six other trees as if they were bowling pins.  This would explain the house shaking thunder.  It was more than that. 

I immediately woke my wife and briefed her on the situation and headed into work.  As I began to leave my block, I realized, this was not just my yard.  This was much larger.  The more I had to weave through debris the more I knew this was serious.  A few blocks from my house, it hit me how truly lucky we were.  A tree, about the size of the one in my yard, had split a home in two.  I took a moment to hope the family who lived there was safe and I continued to work. 

When I got there, I found the generators working properly.  Maybe I could find out what the hell happened.  As people arrived, I heard the stories of downed trees and powerlines.  I pulled up the website for the power company and the magnitude of the storm hit.  Tens of thousands of people were in the dark, the same as us.  I spoke with my boss and decided I would leave for the day to try to deal with the situation. 

The situation was the after effect of what I came to find out was a weather phenomenon known as a derecho.  Maybe you have heard about this, but up until now, I had not.  I won’t get into meteorological creation and mechanics that I would come to learn.  That is for another time.  For now, my concern was the damage.  By the time I arrived back home, the sun was up and I could see the true damage.  Along with the other smaller trees that a knew about, this tree completely crushed a garden shed like a beer can.  It had also taken out a fence and the power lines behind us.  I also knew how lucky we were.  After seeing the devastated house that morning, I realized, it could have been much worse.  This tree stood near four houses and fell in a way that it did not damage any of them. 

As fate would have it, the week after the storm was a scheduled vacation week for me.  Unfortunately, we sat without power for a full five days.  So much for the relaxing time off.  We lost all of our perishable food.  We had to go out to eat for every meal.  Then there was the cleanup.  First there was the insurance adjusters, then the experts for the estimates, finally the actual work.  By mid-July, the tree itself was gone.  The stump had been ground down leaving an enormous mound of dirt and mulched wood.  This work was mine to do. 

I spent a few days working on it and had apparently gotten into some poison ivy.  I have never had too much of an issue with that before.  A few days of itchy skin, a little Benadryl and it would be gone.  Not this time.  This time it would not clear up.  It only seemed to get worse.  By the time I finally went to the doctor, I was beginning to wonder if this was something much worse.  No, it was poison ivy.  It was eating into my right forearm to the point that the doctor said it had penetrated through to my muscle.  I was now on a three-week steroid course and some antibiotics.  Slowly, I got this under control.  By early August, I was feeling better and back out on the lawn.  Time for the weekly mow.  Think again.  Eleven hornet stings later, I was back inside.  I had ice packs on my legs and using language that made my dog blush.  More time to heal.  I was tired of this summer now.  I want it to end.  For the first time. 

Here we are in early November, signs of change are all around.  My stings are gone.  I still have scars from the poison ivy visible on my arm.  I also still have a small mound of dirt left to move.  Now that it is cooler, it will be less taxing to finish.  I have leaves falling that will need to be cleaned up.  Far fewer this fall than last.  Winter will be here soon.  Winter is the time when the earth heals itself.  Spring is the time of renewal.  I know by the time the grass begins to grow again my wife will give me that look, the one I get when spring training starts.  It is the time I begin to look forward to summer.  Although I am now happy that the summer of 2016 has ended, I know I will look forward to next summer. 

For now, I will start planning a new Thanksgiving dinner with my family.  Christmas and New Year will come and go.  February rolls in next with three wonderful events; my wife’s birthday, our anniversary, and the look.  Then it is only a blink of an eye until the grill is fired up, and evenings are spent on the back patio enjoying a glass of iced tea and a summer breeze.  I think next summer will be better.