- Walking miles to the lake.
- The Cubs fan who almost thought it was OK to put his toddler in a Divvy bike basket and ride to the stadium.
- Watching fireworks from Casey’s office window.
- The near-constant lightning raining down over Chicago.
- Casey avidly monitoring radar as extreme thunderstorms and wind travel from Iowa toward Chicago.
- Piano moving attempt 2 [2022-06-28]. This time, with real pros. They made it look easy.
- The bar at the new Judson & Moore distillery in Chicago, made out of a tree from one of the owner’s childhood home.
- Getting back in the studio after a COVID-caused quarantine.
- Appreciating that it’s illegal to turn right in front of a CTA bus because it precludes the stress of trying to turn right in front of a CTA bus.
- The Park District’s rolling metal cart of old school roller skates with bright orange wheels.
- Covering nearly every inch of my skin for sun protection.
- “Long before Frank Oz brought many Muppets to life, his father, an amateur Dutch puppeteer, made a Hitler marionette as an act of defiance. He buried it during the war.” NYTimes.
- The PHILCO street ads right outside of Pitchfork Music Festival.
- Vacuuming puddles again.
- Trying, using my finger, to clear away the mud from a clogged storm grate.
- The festivalgoer who asked about the origin of Jason’s rain overalls as if they were a high fashion item.
- The security guard purposely collecting rain in the lap of her poncho.
- The ULINE catalog in the festival crew’s porta-potty.
- Dad and Japanese Breakfast singing her song “Kokomo, IN.”
- The security guard’s tattoo of a flaming heart with a Bitcoin logo inside of it.
- The corn hole boards on which, my coworker alleges, his cousins commissioned him to paint the Monster logo.
- The mounds of ice discarded from coolers, dotting the grass outside the festival park’s playground.
- The veritable festival of earthworms revealed by rolling up a huge, portable metal walkway.
- Rehearsing for our Millennium Park show.
- Playing Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park!
- Playing Old Town School of Folk Music with Joan Shelley!
- Witnessing the incredible beauty of ████ playing ████.
- Singing background vocals with Liam for the ████ album.
- The Baby Bjorn-esque front-pack Casey bought for carrying Basil.
- Day one of Postock. An impromptu set by Casey and band! Our friend doing sound with one arm while holding his newborn daughter in his other arm.
- Holding my friend’s slinky, skinny ferret.
- Watching Divino Niño play an awesome show in a sweaty barn.
- The aftermath of Aux Thom at Postock: percussion instruments and sheet music strewn around the barn.