Thank you Jesse, I loved reading your musings. I too had trouble getting going this morning. It's a grey and drizzly morning here in Ireland & the thought of walking my dogs through wet fields doesn't appeal. But I know I'll feel better once out there! I am a lover of spring, not autumn! Thank you for the opportunity to read your Substacks. X
October ended for us with a howling--a typoon blew through Taiwan yesterday, so the day was spent inside with the family. The sounds of rain, often coming as if in waves, and wind blowing between buildings and rattling anything loose in its wake were near-constant. No energy to work on anything personally, but I spent a lot of time with my wife and son. We watched "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (with "Garfield's Halloween Adventure" serving as the pre-feature feature) and spent most of the day laying about snacking, reading or playing games. All things considered, not a bad day, though I badly wanted to go out for a walk but couldn't. (It would've been dangerous.)
I hope your day and everyone's went peacefully, joyfully and/or smoothly, and so too today!
Hello Jesse, and thank you! Your Substacks always arrive at just the best times, and all of them are just so excellent for the messages that you bring with them! Merci mille fois!
Thank you for sharing your autumn thoughts. I'm navigating difficult nights as I suffer from insomnia... while my 5-month old daughter sleeps beside me. I love fall. The smell is unmistakable. This year, mushrooms are everywhere, even in the flower pot on my balcony! Every day is different. And yet I try to find some routine. What I do at this time of the year is, I write on a card, in black felt tip and capital letters, things that I must not forget to do every day. Like you, I sometimes don't hydrate enough, which is bad on so many levels. So the first thing on the list is: "BOIRE" ("drink"). I also changed the decoration above my desk. I hung some felt decorations I made last year, autumn symbols in orange felt on a brown felt square : a pumpkin, an acorn, an oak leaf, a fox, a mushroom, a squirrell. I'm going inward, slowing down, while trying to be present for my baby, my partner and precious people around me. A difficult balance. An exercise in equilibrium.
I'm very tired. I got the corona jab two weeks ago. I try to write in between my work and family worries. So I'm trying to take my rest. Thanks for your post en have a good time.
I hope you had a good week and you’re feeling well. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, this is the time of year when I get more contemplative than usual and tend to retreat a bit from the outside world. There are new layers of cobwebs on my brain and a heavier weight of emotional gravity, so I need extra silence and space to reflect, to fall deeply with trust into the familiar well, to write and play piano in privacy and secret solitude before doing too much public output or shared expression. This year is no exception. If I didn’t have things like music and Substack, I might be more of a hermit and find you again in mid-November, however, as you know, I cherish having this community, and it’s a gift to have a warm hearted place to stay accountable and connected with society. <3
“You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light.” - Ernest Hemingway
I know many of us feel this way, with our own personal reasons, connected with grief and memories, anniversaries, or the general energy surrounding us. It makes extra sense during this major shift of the season, the climate, the weather, the light. Everything is exaggerated, spotlighted, amplified in that particular autumnal way. We fall subconsciously into the moves of nature. Into this strange mix of intense slowness and intense change. Things are suddenly ending and we find ourselves even faster in preparation mode. Wild animals anticipate the changes and go into prep-mode, too. Some for long travel, others for a long and restorative sleep. The foliage shows its range of colors, and we marvel at the annual show, knowing the leaves will eventually turn to brown and release from their trees, covering the ground with the familiar image that reminds us of the past, of change, of death, the beginning signs of transformation - the earth wearing its beautiful coat. And we cover ourselves with one too, hiding from the elements, protecting our bodies, readying our shields. Sunlight starts to dissipate, and we see less of it. We see less of each other. We travel inward without warning, witnessing new or unexpected details around our inner workings. We spend more time alone - in the quiet, in the cold, in the dark, inside. Struggles that always existed take the forefront and new struggles emerge as we listen more closely to what lies within us. We battle allergies and sicknesses, trying to keep our immune systems strong, our alert systems up, seeking quick refuge at the sound of a sneeze. So much is happening on so many levels, external/internal sensory overload, and productivity is expected to remain unchanged - in fact as it gets colder and the notion of holidays draws closer, it’s expected to get higher and we’re expected to do more. We are doing less and yet we’re doing more.
Does any of this resonate with you today?
“At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is in no way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, and more honeysweet where you feel it touching the first sounds. Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke
This of course is not all that autumn is about, the world is not so black and white, just as the autumn season looks and feels different all over the country and the world. There can be countless ups and downs within a season as within a day. We can enjoy the autumnal splendor of fall AND be navigating through heavy times. We can pause to savor a precious moment while anticipating the future. It’s a lot to carry and navigate, and some days are tougher than others. All the days though, the rough ones and the nice ones, have their magic and their lessons, and today is no exception.
How are you feeling? I wanted to do a post for a bit of a check in. I’ll start:
Thank you so very much for being here. If you’d like to receive posts and stay connected, please subscribe below.
Subscribed
Nearing the Close of October Questions
Name: Julie Dinger
Date, Time, Location: Monday October 28 at 11:15am, Minneapolis
How are you feeling today: I am feeling hungry and a little sad.
What are you listening to: It’s very quiet and I can hear the construction noises from the building being built across the street on campus.
Any other sensory elements around you: The ringing in my ears.
What are you working on: I'm at work so it's all work. I'm going to be staffing virtual library chat soon.
What was the best part of the day today: Being sad. I mean, my heart is working.
What was the hardest part of the day today: Not crying.
What are you excited about: Writing to a friend sometime this week.
What are you grateful for today: That my daughter loves me and will tell me how she feels.
Is there anything else you would like to accomplish today: I would like to take a walk outside.
What are you looking forward to for tomorrow: Leftover vegetarian chili and cornbread for lunch.
What’s something you can do a little better tomorrow than you did today: I'm not sure.
What can you let yourself be proud of today: That I am sober and will be for the rest of the day. Even though things can be difficult I am still sober.
What is a quote/affirmation that resonates with you today: From Senator Paul Wellstone: We all do better when we all do better.
How are you feeling now: More upbeat than when I started answering these questions.
Name: Hal Gill (well, actually, legally Harold Bledsoe Gill, III)
Date, Time, Location: October 27, 2024 - 6:30 PM - 2103 ½ S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
How are you feeling today: Content
What are you listening to: The Fare Thee Well Concert #1 being played by Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzman, with Trey Anastasio, Jeff Chimienti, and Bruce Hornsby in June 2015
Any other sensory elements around you: My wife and the aromas of our condo - scented candle burning on a small bookcase given to us by a friend from Sardinia (originally) upon her move to Ireland.
What are you working on: Answering these questions - but I have established an LLC for stewarding my father’s legacy - it’s called the Harold B Gill Foundation and is supported by a Substack that I call “Harrowings” which is publishing some of his articles (so far) but there are so many artifacts that I have collected from his study that I am a bit overwhelmed with it all.
What was the best part of the day today: Being here with my wife is the best part but I also got in a long walk down 19th Street that found me at the park dedicated to the signers of the Declaration of Independence on a pond between the World War II Memorial, Constitution Avenue and the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. There were a lot of sunfish and a blue heron along with many ducks and the weather was beautiful. I walked down to the National Gallery of Art wearing my “Unbroken Chain” T shirt which has the lyrics “Listening for the Secret/Searching for the Sound” on the back - and wearing my “Rex Foundation” hat - and took in the Paris 1874 exhibition - then I sat for a while in a Barcelona chair in the East Wing and responded to your Mother’s post on Lou Reed’s passing, Jesse. I then walked to the Archives/Navy Memorial Metro - filming the passing show on Facebook live as I walked. It’s a part of my discipline to create these short bits of video and share them publicly on Facebook on the “Never Delete” setting as primary documentation for historians in the future.
What was the hardest part of the day today: Knowing that this is all fleeting - and that it’s likely we won’t actually be having days like this forever. Knowing that being seen and heard in the cacophony of cyberspace is rare….and that we may never be known to each other in a deep and meaningful way.
What are you excited about: I can’t let that cat out of the cag just yet!
What are you grateful for today: Breathing - always - and that I get the opportunity to play through creation - that I’m allowed to run around free (ostensibly) - or as free as any of us are.
Is there anything else you would like to accomplish today: I want to post this and more to my substack for my subscribers because I want to give them something to chomp on with their minds.
What are you looking forward to for tomorrow:
What’s something you can do a little better tomorrow than you did today: I can be a better editor of myself so that I can amplify my signal through my own noise. It’s what fifers do - amplifying signals though the noise.
What is a quote/affirmation that resonates with you today: “Choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil” - Jerry Garcia (and probably a host of others).
...and now I have to own the fact that I did not actually take up your prompt when I got home. I was exhausted - and didn't even go out to "Death Punch" - a venue where Gordon Sterling and the People were performing with special guest, Melody Trucks. So it goes. Now to get to it as I watch the "Core Fore" performing "Alligator" at the Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California 9 years ago - warm up of the "Fare Thee Well" shows in Chicago coming up in July 2015. Phil could sure play. We won't see his like again....Your mother's reflection on Lou Reed's passing is also on my mind. Life is a continual series of losses...
Date, Time, Location: October 26th, 2pm, São Paulo-Brazil
How are you feeling today: Calm, thinking about things that ended
What are you listening to: Caetano Veloso - a great artist from Brazil. Also listening to the rain falling and the noise of cars driving in the rain
Any other sensory elements around you: Despite the rain, the windows on my apartment balcony are open, so there is a light, cool breeze. It is spring here, but it is 17 degrees Celsius. In São Paulo, the weather varies from day to day. There is a nice smell of rain too.
What are you working on: Today I'm just reading. I realize that I'm reading two Brazilian writers: Clarice Lispector and Adriana Lisboa.
What was the best part of the day today: Today is a good day, very calm. We have elections for mayor and I already voted, before the rain... I took the opportunity to walk a little.
What was the hardest part of the day today: Maybe process losses.
What are you excited about: Hoping for good election results. This week I'm going to meet loved ones who live in another country.
What are you grateful for today: I am very privileged by my family, my work, the kind of life I have
Is there anything else you would like to accomplish today: Today is a day to rest!
What are you looking forward to for tomorrow: I hope the work tomorrow goes well.
What’s something you can do a little better tomorrow than you did today: Physical activity.
What is a quote/affirmation that resonates with you today: I'm listening to a song right now that says: "tempo, tempo, tempo / Compositor de destinos / Tambor de todos os ritmos..."
How are you feeling now: I just read that Patti Smith will be coming to São Paulo in 2025. I hope I can see her! It makes me very happy.
I really like your newsletter! This text about autumn is very beautiful. Here, we have flowers blooming even in this stone city! Ah! Practicing my English with these answers...!
Dear Jesse, this post of yours is beautiful and super interesting! I love autumn so much even if it brings with it many problems, first of all the accentuation of depression and the lack of energy. I like it, in a very different way of course, as much as spring…! We returned from the holidays at the seaside in Puglia with our grandparents, school started again, the fireplaces were lit… and the warmth of being together with the family was something very sweet ❤️!
You must excuse me if I can't say more interesting things but I hope that they will please you anyway.
A warm greeting to you, dearest Jesse, and to all you readers 🤗.
Hello Jesse, what a wonderful post so full of positive energy.
My name is Jayne, I’m from Australia so I feel qualified to tell you to go very, very easy on the Vegemite! It’s also good with cheese.
I’m camping up in the highland country with my husband, so feeling very “ cruisy “ we are sitting in a brewery waiting to hear the band play. My husband was a drummer in a few bands, he misses live music as it was such a big part of his life. Personally I’m listening to Bob Marley a lot lately. Such a great thinker and a true human. I wish I could be more like that, I try, but I keep failing. Something inside tells me off when I have an unkind thought, so I feel at least my soul is doing a better job!
Right at this moment “Don’t worry be happy!” Is playing on the bands player.
So I guess I won’t !!!!
Have a great time with all you do, and remember 👆🏼
Once again, a deeply touching and insightful piece. Your ability to eloquently share so much about yourself is a priceless gift.
The encounter with the stranger who returned your dropped papers is also a little hidden sign that even when you feel lost you are supported by the universe.
I had an experience, which although not entirely similar, had a similar message, It was actually on my way to the Antiquarian Book Fair panel morning earlier this year. I was racing to get uptown and swiped my card in the turnstile several times and it registered as 'insufficient fare' even though I had just purchased a new ticket the day before. Seemingly out of nowhere a Venezuelan student popped up and offered me his card to use. I thanked him profusely. We actually got off at the same stop!
I raced around to the book fair entrance and met your mother on the way in. I was still amazed at what had just happened on the subway and breathlessly shared my story (I always strive to make a good impression lol) after which she smiled and told me, "It's going to be a good day"....and it was.
On the way home I realized that I had actually thrown out the new card I purchased and was using the old card for the subway...no wonder it didn't work:)
Anyway, the moral of this tale is, we are always supported by unseen forces. I was that day and you were when you dropped your papers.
Now I have said so much that I can't answer the questionaire:)))
I hope you had a wonderful time with your mother and enjoy a relaxing Sunday. I had to work all day today and tomorrow is what I like to always call "Daddy and Rico Day" Yes a day with my bird when I do not step foot outside of my apt:)
Such a beautifully written and thoughtful piece, Jesse. Autumn has long been my favourite season but your writing and the quotes have given me a new perspective. It is a season of great beauty touched by a shade of melancholy. A friend sent me a photo this morning of a tree she saw during a walk. Its leaves blazed in glorious oranges and reds. Two weeks from now, though, those branches will be stark and barren. I've been writing all afternoon so I will tackle your questions tomorrow. But I will leave with a haiku I wrote last Fall.
leaves blown by the wind
a colourful scattered dance
I reach for my rake
Thanks again, Jesse. Take good care.
Oh what the heck. I'll do the questions now.
Jim
Oct. 26/6:06PM/Toronto
Feeling okay. It hasn't been a bad day.
I'm listening to the Grateful Dead as an on-going tribute to Phil Lesh.
A dog barking outside my apartment window.
I'm working on a children's book that I set aside a few months ago but have been inspired to finish.
The best part of the day was making progress on the book.
Today didn't really have a hardest part. Just the usual afflictions of aging. And, yeah, watching the world spin more and more into madness.
I'm excited about my story, tonight's World Series game and re-reading Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norell.
I'm grateful for my sons and my friends and my books and my music.
I should have done more exercising but that ain't gonna happen.
Tomorrow I want to make more progress on the book and finally clean the bathroom.
Exercise.
'For us there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.' Eliot. (Sorry. I didn't look up the line breaks.)
I get that feeling of nostalgic sadness in the Fall. It usually starts with the sounds of the Canada Geese rallying and calling each other flying overhead away to the South. The conservation area where I spend a lot of time becomes much more muted and solemn as well.
I then begin to focus on the smaller and quieter miracles like the stunning red colours of Northern Cardinals or the cheerful chirps and calls of Black-capped Chickadees. The year-round birds are my constant trail companions on my hikes and keep me in a positive mood. They always make me smile on a hike and even more so in Fall and Winter.
I am grateful today for those moments of being greeted by a Black-capped Chickadee or Northern Cardinal chirping in a tree just off a trail. I am looking forward to my Sunday hike to see hat miracles Nature will reveal in Fall.
Thank you Jesse, I loved reading your musings. I too had trouble getting going this morning. It's a grey and drizzly morning here in Ireland & the thought of walking my dogs through wet fields doesn't appeal. But I know I'll feel better once out there! I am a lover of spring, not autumn! Thank you for the opportunity to read your Substacks. X
Hi Jesse,
October ended for us with a howling--a typoon blew through Taiwan yesterday, so the day was spent inside with the family. The sounds of rain, often coming as if in waves, and wind blowing between buildings and rattling anything loose in its wake were near-constant. No energy to work on anything personally, but I spent a lot of time with my wife and son. We watched "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (with "Garfield's Halloween Adventure" serving as the pre-feature feature) and spent most of the day laying about snacking, reading or playing games. All things considered, not a bad day, though I badly wanted to go out for a walk but couldn't. (It would've been dangerous.)
I hope your day and everyone's went peacefully, joyfully and/or smoothly, and so too today!
Hello Jesse, and thank you! Your Substacks always arrive at just the best times, and all of them are just so excellent for the messages that you bring with them! Merci mille fois!
Thank you for sharing your autumn thoughts. I'm navigating difficult nights as I suffer from insomnia... while my 5-month old daughter sleeps beside me. I love fall. The smell is unmistakable. This year, mushrooms are everywhere, even in the flower pot on my balcony! Every day is different. And yet I try to find some routine. What I do at this time of the year is, I write on a card, in black felt tip and capital letters, things that I must not forget to do every day. Like you, I sometimes don't hydrate enough, which is bad on so many levels. So the first thing on the list is: "BOIRE" ("drink"). I also changed the decoration above my desk. I hung some felt decorations I made last year, autumn symbols in orange felt on a brown felt square : a pumpkin, an acorn, an oak leaf, a fox, a mushroom, a squirrell. I'm going inward, slowing down, while trying to be present for my baby, my partner and precious people around me. A difficult balance. An exercise in equilibrium.
I'm very tired. I got the corona jab two weeks ago. I try to write in between my work and family worries. So I'm trying to take my rest. Thanks for your post en have a good time.
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Nearing the Close of October
How are you doing?
Jesse Paris Smith
Oct 26
READ IN APP
Hello everyone,
I hope you had a good week and you’re feeling well. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, this is the time of year when I get more contemplative than usual and tend to retreat a bit from the outside world. There are new layers of cobwebs on my brain and a heavier weight of emotional gravity, so I need extra silence and space to reflect, to fall deeply with trust into the familiar well, to write and play piano in privacy and secret solitude before doing too much public output or shared expression. This year is no exception. If I didn’t have things like music and Substack, I might be more of a hermit and find you again in mid-November, however, as you know, I cherish having this community, and it’s a gift to have a warm hearted place to stay accountable and connected with society. <3
“You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light.” - Ernest Hemingway
I know many of us feel this way, with our own personal reasons, connected with grief and memories, anniversaries, or the general energy surrounding us. It makes extra sense during this major shift of the season, the climate, the weather, the light. Everything is exaggerated, spotlighted, amplified in that particular autumnal way. We fall subconsciously into the moves of nature. Into this strange mix of intense slowness and intense change. Things are suddenly ending and we find ourselves even faster in preparation mode. Wild animals anticipate the changes and go into prep-mode, too. Some for long travel, others for a long and restorative sleep. The foliage shows its range of colors, and we marvel at the annual show, knowing the leaves will eventually turn to brown and release from their trees, covering the ground with the familiar image that reminds us of the past, of change, of death, the beginning signs of transformation - the earth wearing its beautiful coat. And we cover ourselves with one too, hiding from the elements, protecting our bodies, readying our shields. Sunlight starts to dissipate, and we see less of it. We see less of each other. We travel inward without warning, witnessing new or unexpected details around our inner workings. We spend more time alone - in the quiet, in the cold, in the dark, inside. Struggles that always existed take the forefront and new struggles emerge as we listen more closely to what lies within us. We battle allergies and sicknesses, trying to keep our immune systems strong, our alert systems up, seeking quick refuge at the sound of a sneeze. So much is happening on so many levels, external/internal sensory overload, and productivity is expected to remain unchanged - in fact as it gets colder and the notion of holidays draws closer, it’s expected to get higher and we’re expected to do more. We are doing less and yet we’re doing more.
Does any of this resonate with you today?
“At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is in no way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, and more honeysweet where you feel it touching the first sounds. Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke
This of course is not all that autumn is about, the world is not so black and white, just as the autumn season looks and feels different all over the country and the world. There can be countless ups and downs within a season as within a day. We can enjoy the autumnal splendor of fall AND be navigating through heavy times. We can pause to savor a precious moment while anticipating the future. It’s a lot to carry and navigate, and some days are tougher than others. All the days though, the rough ones and the nice ones, have their magic and their lessons, and today is no exception.
How are you feeling? I wanted to do a post for a bit of a check in. I’ll start:
Thank you so very much for being here. If you’d like to receive posts and stay connected, please subscribe below.
Subscribed
Nearing the Close of October Questions
Name: Julie Dinger
Date, Time, Location: Monday October 28 at 11:15am, Minneapolis
How are you feeling today: I am feeling hungry and a little sad.
What are you listening to: It’s very quiet and I can hear the construction noises from the building being built across the street on campus.
Any other sensory elements around you: The ringing in my ears.
What are you working on: I'm at work so it's all work. I'm going to be staffing virtual library chat soon.
What was the best part of the day today: Being sad. I mean, my heart is working.
What was the hardest part of the day today: Not crying.
What are you excited about: Writing to a friend sometime this week.
What are you grateful for today: That my daughter loves me and will tell me how she feels.
Is there anything else you would like to accomplish today: I would like to take a walk outside.
What are you looking forward to for tomorrow: Leftover vegetarian chili and cornbread for lunch.
What’s something you can do a little better tomorrow than you did today: I'm not sure.
What can you let yourself be proud of today: That I am sober and will be for the rest of the day. Even though things can be difficult I am still sober.
What is a quote/affirmation that resonates with you today: From Senator Paul Wellstone: We all do better when we all do better.
How are you feeling now: More upbeat than when I started answering these questions.
Just posted this as a note:
Nearing the Close of October Questions
Name: Hal Gill (well, actually, legally Harold Bledsoe Gill, III)
Date, Time, Location: October 27, 2024 - 6:30 PM - 2103 ½ S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
How are you feeling today: Content
What are you listening to: The Fare Thee Well Concert #1 being played by Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzman, with Trey Anastasio, Jeff Chimienti, and Bruce Hornsby in June 2015
Any other sensory elements around you: My wife and the aromas of our condo - scented candle burning on a small bookcase given to us by a friend from Sardinia (originally) upon her move to Ireland.
What are you working on: Answering these questions - but I have established an LLC for stewarding my father’s legacy - it’s called the Harold B Gill Foundation and is supported by a Substack that I call “Harrowings” which is publishing some of his articles (so far) but there are so many artifacts that I have collected from his study that I am a bit overwhelmed with it all.
What was the best part of the day today: Being here with my wife is the best part but I also got in a long walk down 19th Street that found me at the park dedicated to the signers of the Declaration of Independence on a pond between the World War II Memorial, Constitution Avenue and the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. There were a lot of sunfish and a blue heron along with many ducks and the weather was beautiful. I walked down to the National Gallery of Art wearing my “Unbroken Chain” T shirt which has the lyrics “Listening for the Secret/Searching for the Sound” on the back - and wearing my “Rex Foundation” hat - and took in the Paris 1874 exhibition - then I sat for a while in a Barcelona chair in the East Wing and responded to your Mother’s post on Lou Reed’s passing, Jesse. I then walked to the Archives/Navy Memorial Metro - filming the passing show on Facebook live as I walked. It’s a part of my discipline to create these short bits of video and share them publicly on Facebook on the “Never Delete” setting as primary documentation for historians in the future.
What was the hardest part of the day today: Knowing that this is all fleeting - and that it’s likely we won’t actually be having days like this forever. Knowing that being seen and heard in the cacophony of cyberspace is rare….and that we may never be known to each other in a deep and meaningful way.
What are you excited about: I can’t let that cat out of the cag just yet!
What are you grateful for today: Breathing - always - and that I get the opportunity to play through creation - that I’m allowed to run around free (ostensibly) - or as free as any of us are.
Is there anything else you would like to accomplish today: I want to post this and more to my substack for my subscribers because I want to give them something to chomp on with their minds.
What are you looking forward to for tomorrow:
What’s something you can do a little better tomorrow than you did today: I can be a better editor of myself so that I can amplify my signal through my own noise. It’s what fifers do - amplifying signals though the noise.
What is a quote/affirmation that resonates with you today: “Choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil” - Jerry Garcia (and probably a host of others).
Thank you, Jesse Paris Smith, for the prompts!
...and now I have to own the fact that I did not actually take up your prompt when I got home. I was exhausted - and didn't even go out to "Death Punch" - a venue where Gordon Sterling and the People were performing with special guest, Melody Trucks. So it goes. Now to get to it as I watch the "Core Fore" performing "Alligator" at the Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California 9 years ago - warm up of the "Fare Thee Well" shows in Chicago coming up in July 2015. Phil could sure play. We won't see his like again....Your mother's reflection on Lou Reed's passing is also on my mind. Life is a continual series of losses...
Name: Fernanda
Date, Time, Location: October 26th, 2pm, São Paulo-Brazil
How are you feeling today: Calm, thinking about things that ended
What are you listening to: Caetano Veloso - a great artist from Brazil. Also listening to the rain falling and the noise of cars driving in the rain
Any other sensory elements around you: Despite the rain, the windows on my apartment balcony are open, so there is a light, cool breeze. It is spring here, but it is 17 degrees Celsius. In São Paulo, the weather varies from day to day. There is a nice smell of rain too.
What are you working on: Today I'm just reading. I realize that I'm reading two Brazilian writers: Clarice Lispector and Adriana Lisboa.
What was the best part of the day today: Today is a good day, very calm. We have elections for mayor and I already voted, before the rain... I took the opportunity to walk a little.
What was the hardest part of the day today: Maybe process losses.
What are you excited about: Hoping for good election results. This week I'm going to meet loved ones who live in another country.
What are you grateful for today: I am very privileged by my family, my work, the kind of life I have
Is there anything else you would like to accomplish today: Today is a day to rest!
What are you looking forward to for tomorrow: I hope the work tomorrow goes well.
What’s something you can do a little better tomorrow than you did today: Physical activity.
What is a quote/affirmation that resonates with you today: I'm listening to a song right now that says: "tempo, tempo, tempo / Compositor de destinos / Tambor de todos os ritmos..."
How are you feeling now: I just read that Patti Smith will be coming to São Paulo in 2025. I hope I can see her! It makes me very happy.
I really like your newsletter! This text about autumn is very beautiful. Here, we have flowers blooming even in this stone city! Ah! Practicing my English with these answers...!
Dear Jesse, this post of yours is beautiful and super interesting! I love autumn so much even if it brings with it many problems, first of all the accentuation of depression and the lack of energy. I like it, in a very different way of course, as much as spring…! We returned from the holidays at the seaside in Puglia with our grandparents, school started again, the fireplaces were lit… and the warmth of being together with the family was something very sweet ❤️!
You must excuse me if I can't say more interesting things but I hope that they will please you anyway.
A warm greeting to you, dearest Jesse, and to all you readers 🤗.
Luca 😍🐞🍂❤️☮️🍁🦉
It felt good to read your lovely, thoughtful post with perfect quotes for the autumn season!
Hello Jesse, what a wonderful post so full of positive energy.
My name is Jayne, I’m from Australia so I feel qualified to tell you to go very, very easy on the Vegemite! It’s also good with cheese.
I’m camping up in the highland country with my husband, so feeling very “ cruisy “ we are sitting in a brewery waiting to hear the band play. My husband was a drummer in a few bands, he misses live music as it was such a big part of his life. Personally I’m listening to Bob Marley a lot lately. Such a great thinker and a true human. I wish I could be more like that, I try, but I keep failing. Something inside tells me off when I have an unkind thought, so I feel at least my soul is doing a better job!
Right at this moment “Don’t worry be happy!” Is playing on the bands player.
So I guess I won’t !!!!
Have a great time with all you do, and remember 👆🏼
Once again, a deeply touching and insightful piece. Your ability to eloquently share so much about yourself is a priceless gift.
The encounter with the stranger who returned your dropped papers is also a little hidden sign that even when you feel lost you are supported by the universe.
I had an experience, which although not entirely similar, had a similar message, It was actually on my way to the Antiquarian Book Fair panel morning earlier this year. I was racing to get uptown and swiped my card in the turnstile several times and it registered as 'insufficient fare' even though I had just purchased a new ticket the day before. Seemingly out of nowhere a Venezuelan student popped up and offered me his card to use. I thanked him profusely. We actually got off at the same stop!
I raced around to the book fair entrance and met your mother on the way in. I was still amazed at what had just happened on the subway and breathlessly shared my story (I always strive to make a good impression lol) after which she smiled and told me, "It's going to be a good day"....and it was.
On the way home I realized that I had actually thrown out the new card I purchased and was using the old card for the subway...no wonder it didn't work:)
Anyway, the moral of this tale is, we are always supported by unseen forces. I was that day and you were when you dropped your papers.
Now I have said so much that I can't answer the questionaire:)))
I hope you had a wonderful time with your mother and enjoy a relaxing Sunday. I had to work all day today and tomorrow is what I like to always call "Daddy and Rico Day" Yes a day with my bird when I do not step foot outside of my apt:)
Hi Lee, what a beautiful reply to this wonderful piece by Jesse!
A big hug 🤗 to you and lots of little caresses to Rico 🦜!
Luca 😊🍁🍃🌲🍂
Thank you Luca:)
I saw a glimpse of you and your brother on the rnr hall of fame broadcast. Congrats on behalf of your father. You should be proud.
Such a beautifully written and thoughtful piece, Jesse. Autumn has long been my favourite season but your writing and the quotes have given me a new perspective. It is a season of great beauty touched by a shade of melancholy. A friend sent me a photo this morning of a tree she saw during a walk. Its leaves blazed in glorious oranges and reds. Two weeks from now, though, those branches will be stark and barren. I've been writing all afternoon so I will tackle your questions tomorrow. But I will leave with a haiku I wrote last Fall.
leaves blown by the wind
a colourful scattered dance
I reach for my rake
Thanks again, Jesse. Take good care.
Oh what the heck. I'll do the questions now.
Jim
Oct. 26/6:06PM/Toronto
Feeling okay. It hasn't been a bad day.
I'm listening to the Grateful Dead as an on-going tribute to Phil Lesh.
A dog barking outside my apartment window.
I'm working on a children's book that I set aside a few months ago but have been inspired to finish.
The best part of the day was making progress on the book.
Today didn't really have a hardest part. Just the usual afflictions of aging. And, yeah, watching the world spin more and more into madness.
I'm excited about my story, tonight's World Series game and re-reading Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norell.
I'm grateful for my sons and my friends and my books and my music.
I should have done more exercising but that ain't gonna happen.
Tomorrow I want to make more progress on the book and finally clean the bathroom.
Exercise.
'For us there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.' Eliot. (Sorry. I didn't look up the line breaks.)
I'm feeling like I'm ready for supper.
Thanks again, Jesse.
Jim...you haven't cleaned the bathroom yet???!! Sorry I couldn't resist, I recall you saying that on another post:))
Yeah, that was three days or so ago. It’s always easy to find something else more appealing to do. Tomorrow is the day. Take good care, Lee.
I get that feeling of nostalgic sadness in the Fall. It usually starts with the sounds of the Canada Geese rallying and calling each other flying overhead away to the South. The conservation area where I spend a lot of time becomes much more muted and solemn as well.
I then begin to focus on the smaller and quieter miracles like the stunning red colours of Northern Cardinals or the cheerful chirps and calls of Black-capped Chickadees. The year-round birds are my constant trail companions on my hikes and keep me in a positive mood. They always make me smile on a hike and even more so in Fall and Winter.
I am grateful today for those moments of being greeted by a Black-capped Chickadee or Northern Cardinal chirping in a tree just off a trail. I am looking forward to my Sunday hike to see hat miracles Nature will reveal in Fall.