My apologies to subscribers who may not be interested in this kind of thing – My mom passed away a few weeks ago, and I’m finding that losing your second parent is definitely one of life’s more momentous passages. More info below

George and Ann Yourek were middle-class Americans who lived in central Illinois, unexceptional in pretty much every way -- they grew up in the 1940s and 50s, got married, had two kids, got to travel a bit, had grandkids, and finished out their lives in the typical quiet way. There must be tens of millions of families that are more or less similar.

But in looking through the bins of photos, I was struck by a certain humble majesty that is present in every person’s life, if we stop to notice it.

My compliments to Ryan Stewart, for his perfectly elegiac music. I’ve folded together parts of his ‘Equanimity’ and ‘Memories’ for this 8-minute version.


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