MUSIC IN THE PARK
Each spring, Chamber Music Raleigh holds one of its concerts in a public park. Last Sunday, we spent a most pleasant two hours in Ritter Park in Cary listening to the American Brass Quintet. The weather was warm, not hot, and metal picnic tables under a canopy provided seating, shading us from the sun.
The quintet consists of two trumpeters, two trombonists (one a bass one) and a French horn player. The players are all men except for Hillary Sims on trombone. Their selections were varied, most of them new to us, and wonderful, especially David Biedenbender’s four movement piece, Sacred Geometry, composed in 2022.
AUTHOR TREAT
Earlier this week, I enjoyed a Wake County Library webinar with author Virginia Evans. Her novel of letters, The Correspondent, became a surprise bestseller. It’s one of the best books I’ve read so far this year and, after seeing Ms. Evans on the screen, I’d be happy to reread it.
Evans answered questions that had been submitted by readers as well as those of the librarian moderator. She told us that the character of Sybil, the letter writer, came into her head fully developed (not always the case) and was inspired by her mother-in-law. She hoped that by the ending, readers would feel that despite sorrows and disappointments that Sybil had a life well lived.
The novel took a long time in the writing, and it was on her 36th birthday, that she was notified that the publisher accepted it. Today, Evans is 39, a resident of Winston Salem and the mother of two young children; her life has become something of a whirlwind. Throughout the conversation, she was real and unpretentious and someone it would be a delight to meet in person.
READING: ANOTHER WELL-LIVED LIFE
The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man by David Von Drehle
What is it like to meet your across-the-street neighbor at 102 years old and be friends with him for seven years? Von Drehle and his family moved from Washington, D.C. to the outskirts of Kansas City, Missouri in 2007. Charlie White was their neighbor, and his son-in-law lived next door to them and also became a friend.
Born in 1905, Charlie’s life spanned an amazing array of changes and inventions from the first automobiles to the development of penicillin to the first computers. He became a doctor when there were no antibiotics, and medicine consisted mostly of providing care and kindness for anything other than easily tended cuts and scrapes.
He suffered the early loss of his father and two difficult marriages, yet he rose above these and persevered. Charlie is a case study in resilience and confidence. He seemed able to let the past go and see ahead to what made sense to do next. He was sanguine when necessary and always enterprising. Von Drehle tells Charlie’s story but also uses it as a way to relate American history over the past 100 years. An inspiring read! (~JWFarrington)
PIZZA—THE REAL THING!
The Chief Penguin and I joined my sisters and one spouse (the other was at a glass workshop) for lunch in Carrboro on Saturday. Destination: Pizzeria Mercato. This small unadorned place serves some of the best pizza I’ve eaten outside Italy!
We all started with one of their tasty salads. C.P. and I opted for the panzanella which included green beans and slices of beet with leafy greens and croutons in a luscious smooth dressing.
We then ordered margherita pizzas with prosciutto while the others went for mushroom pizzas. They are generously sized, so we all had extra slices to take home. The crust is thin and crisp, and the toppings not overdone, making for a lighter version of this Italian favorite.
Note: Pizza photo ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)
