Little Big Moments

I heard Chapelboro’s own Victor Lewis say on the air that music with more synthesizers makes his...

As each of my children has gone to kindergarten, I have had occasion to think of my own experience at that age. Most of all, I remember my teacher.

On Sunday, I was part of a ceremony to recognize the beginning of a pastor’s service to a church. The one who was commissioned is a friend of mine, a gentleman who has already accomplished much in his life.

Here’s a small ode to the tiny brush that an umpire uses to clean the home plate. After whipping this brush out of the belt pocket, an experienced ump can clean the plate with only a few discrete snaps of the wrist.

The other day, my attention was directed to the nearby treetops, where a half-dozen crows were making a racket. A flock of these black birds is actually called a murder; maybe they were up to no good. Another winged creature thought so. A distinctive cry pierced the air, and a red-tailed hawk streaked into view like a feathered arrow.

My eight-year-old wanted a computer game. Instead of negotiating with me, he opted to set up a table in front of our house and sell merchandise.

The annual physical at the doctor’s office. You’ve been there. You know the drill. How the automatic glass doors open to reveal a receptionist, pleasant but brisk, who pulls you up on the computer. You are a number — first a birthday, then an insurance policy.

The sunlight dappled the trail before me, and the birds rejoiced in song. I was the mind of Thoreau, who said when walking in the woods, “There is so much more air and sunshine in our thoughts.”

I listened to Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” on a CD that my wife burned for me years before we were married, right when we had first started dating. It’s a sad song, but one that still fills me with a certain set of emotions.

I drink coffee every day, but I cannot detect traces of milk chocolate, walnut, or toasted marshmallow in the brew. I am a student, however, of the subtle notes and flavors of Art Chansky’s voice.