Family Favorites
Mary Jane, The Grand Diner, Joni Mitchell, Bill Walton, Prone Pole
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This week’s issue includes my five favorite Joni Mitchell songs, a music-centric coming-of-age novel set in 1975, a grand diner on Grand River, another legendary singer whose songs recently returned to Spotify, one of the two greatest college basketball players of all time, and a woeful walk button. I hope you like the picks and pics.
I featured Ari Hest in the very first Fave Five. He is a family favorite, having sung a duet (Cranberry Lake) with Tracy in our home and with Kathy at Tracy’s wedding. In concerts, he has dedicated songs to Roger and Cristi (Bona Fide) and to Barb and me (I’ve Got You) on our anniversary. He wrote and sang a song (Sea of Truth) with my brother David.
We saw him perform at 20 Front Street in Lake Orion, Michigan on Friday. This is the fourth time we have seen him at this intimate venue. If you listen carefully, you can hear me singing along with him on Bird Never Flies:
He also did a creative cover of Take On Me. The concert was fabulous. We hung around to chat with him after the show and bought his two new CDs. I have been listening to both as I drive around town, and I love them.
If you would like to attend a concert in our home like the one Ari performed in 2011, we have two coming up this summer with outstanding young singer/songwriters:
June 28, 2024 - Katie Pederson - originally from Ann Arbor, now lives in Nashville
August 14, 2024 - Anna Smyrk - on tour from Australia
Update
Last week’s featured Sports Star, Jaylen Brown, failed to make any of the three All-NBA teams when they were announced last Wednesday. So he went out and scored 40 that night and was eventually named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. Usually after I feature an athlete, it works as a short-term curse, but not this time.
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Fave Five 87: Family Favorites
Baltimore Book (Mary Jane), Novi Nosh (The Grand Diner), Saskatoon Songstress (Joni Mitchell), Beloved Bruin (Bill Walton), and a Prone Pole.
Fave Five Lists: Five Favorite Joni Mitchell Songs
This week’s Marvelous Musician is a greatly admired by both fans and fellow musicians. Here are my five favorite songs by this legendary singer/songwriter:
Book Best Bet
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
I saw Jessica Anya interview Nick Hornby in Santa Barbara last year. He recommended this book, so I bought it because I admire his work so much.
The book is lively, fun to read, and at times, moving. I do have five reservations about the writing, the story, and the characters:
There are far too many instances of people winking at each other or covering each other with kisses.
As a 14-year-old girl, Mary Jane can shop, clean, organize, and cook expertly for a large family. Based on my experience with 14-year-old girls, this seems unlikely. Similarly, Izzy, the five-year-old girl Mary Jane takes care of, is precocious. She can learn songs quickly, understand grown-up concepts, and assist capably in the shopping, cooking, and cleaning. I don’t recall my girls doing this when they were five.
A famous couple comes to live with Izzy’s family — the man is a rock star, and the woman is a movie star. Izzy’s father is a psychiatrist who spends every day of the summer providing therapy to the rock star to help him kick a drug habit. A patient who lives with his therapist? A doctor with a single patient? What is this, What About Bob?
As Mary Jane hears songs for the first time, she immediately memorizes the lyrics and starts singing perfect harmony parts. I would expect this to take a bit longer.
There are a few misused words, e.g., “rift” instead of “riff” when referring to a song.
Despite these minor criticisms, I did enjoy the book.
From Amazon: Almost Famous meets Daisy Jones & The Six in this "delightful" (New York Times Book Review) novel about a fourteen-year-old girl’s coming of age in 1970s Baltimore, caught between her strait-laced family and the progressive family she nannies for—who happen to be secretly hiding a famous rock star and his movie star wife for the summer.
In 1970s Baltimore, fourteen-year-old Mary Jane loves cooking with her mother, singing in her church choir, and enjoying her family’s subscription to the Broadway Showtunes of the Month record club. Shy, quiet, and bookish, she’s glad when she lands a summer job as a nanny for the daughter of a local doctor. A respectable job, Mary Jane’s mother says. In a respectable house.
The house may look respectable on the outside, but inside it’s a literal and figurative mess: clutter on every surface, Impeachment: Now More Than Ever bumper stickers on the doors, cereal and takeout for dinner. And even more troublesome (were Mary Jane’s mother to know, which she does not): the doctor is a psychiatrist who has cleared his summer for one important job—helping a famous rock star dry out. A week after Mary Jane starts, the rock star and his movie star wife move in.
Over the course of the summer, Mary Jane introduces her new household to crisply ironed clothes and a family dinner schedule and has a front-row seat to a liberal world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll (not to mention group therapy). Caught between the lifestyle she’s always known and the future she’s only just realized is possible, Mary Jane will arrive at September with a new idea about what she wants out of life, and what kind of person she’s going to be.
Jessica Anya Blau
Jessica Anya Blau was born in Boston, raised in Southern California and lives in New York. She sometimes works as a ghost writer and has taught writing at Johns Hopkins University, Goucher College, and The Fashion Institute of Technology.
Previous books:
The Summer of Naked Swim Parties
Drinking Closer to Home
The Wonder Bread Summer
The Trouble with Lexie
Restaurant Recommendation
The Grand Diner 48730 Grand River Avenue Novi, MI 48374
Tuesday was Coney Day at The Grand Diner, so I had one of the specials of the day — a baby Greek salad and a Coney Island (a hot dog with chili, mustard, and onions). This place used to be Don’s of Traverse City, a southern location of Don’s Drive In (a family favorite when vacationing up north).
The atmosphere is classic diner, the staff is very friendly, and the food is tasty. The salad had an abundance of Kalamata olives, which was fine with me. The Coney had good flavor and the right balance of ingredients.
Baby Greek Salad
Coney Island
Marvelous Musician
My sister Joan was a big fan and that is how I first heard Joni's music. In 1972 I liked her single "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio." When I rediscovered folk music in the late 80s, I bought Ladies of the Canyon on cassette and really began to appreciate her songwriting, singing, and guitar tunings. Joni is also a favorite of my brother David’s. Her ex-husband, Larry Klein, is a long-time musical colleague of David’s.
From Wikipedia: Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell CC (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943 in Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Drawing from folk, pop, rock, and jazz, Mitchell's songs often reflect social and environmental ideals as well as her feelings about romance, confusion, disillusionment, and joy. She has received many accolades, including 11 Grammy Awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Rolling Stone called her "one of the greatest songwriters ever", and AllMusic has stated, "Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century".
While living at the Verona apartments in Detroit's Cass Corridor, Joni and Chuck Mitchell were regular performers at area coffee houses, including the Chess Mate on Livernois, near Six Mile Road; the Alcove bar, near Wayne State University; the Rathskeller, a restaurant on the campus of the University of Detroit; and the Raven Gallery in Southfield. She began playing and composing songs in alternative guitar tunings taught to her by a fellow musician, Eric Andersen, in Detroit.
From The Michigan Daily: Bob Franke had written a review of Mitchell’s first Ann Arbor show in ’67 and, in The Daily’s March 9, 1968 issue, penned the article “Joni Mitchell Yang, Dylan Yin,” which began with a simple command: “Joni Mitchell is playing at Canterbury House this weekend. See her.” Franke described Mitchell’s music best when he wrote, “Perhaps one of the best words to describe it is joy. Not happiness as such, but the positive unity of human experience.” With this glowing review in print, Franke wasn’t going to miss the show for anything. “Apparently, (Joni’s) manager had shown her the article and she was delighted by it because every artist wants to be heard, and I had heard her deeply and reported on that experience so she asked to meet me,” Franke said. “I was still taking money at the door and I just went right down, met her and she gave me a big hug, thanked me for writing the article and I’ve remembered that hug for the rest of my life.”
Both Sides Now
The Circle Game
Chelsea Morning
Carey
Big Yellow Taxi
My Playlist
Sports Star
Bill passed away on Monday. He and Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) both played for the UCLA Bruins, and they were the two greatest college basketball players of all time. UCLA’s record from 1971-74 (Bill’s years) was 86-4 (30-0, 30-0, 26-4), with two national championships. The Bruins’ record from 1967-69 (Lew’s years) was 88-2 (30-0, 29-1, 29-1), with three national championships. Nothing like that will ever happen again.
I was in St. Louis in 1973 when Bill shot 21 for 22 from the field in the NCAA championship game, but I was not in attendance at the St. Louis Arena to see it. I did not attend my first Final Four game until 1978, when the Final Four returned to St. Louis.
I was disappointed when UCLA lost to North Carolina State in the 1974 Final Four. Coach John Wooden didn’t use the four corners stall game when his team held the lead, even thought it was in vogue at the time. I thought it would have worked, and if so, Walton would have won national titles in all three of his varsity seasons at UCLA, just as Kareem did.
Walton won the NBA championship with Portland in 1977, the season after the merger of the ABA and the NBA. In the 1977 NBA Finals, five of the ten starting players were former ABA players (Julius Erving, Caldwell Jones, George McGinnis, Dave Twardzik, and Maurice Lucas). Walton and Lucas (a former Spirits of St. Louis star), teamed up to beat Dr. J and George McGinnis (two of the top ABA stars) and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Walton’s college color commentary was a family favorite. Roger could do a worthy impersonation, vocally and in writing, using all caps to CAPTURE THE ENTHUSIASM OF THE BIG RED-HEAD.
Bill Walton, N.B.A. Hall of Famer and Broadcasting Star, Dies at 71 by Richard Sandomir of The New York Times
Bill Walton, a center whose extraordinary passing and rebounding skills helped him win two national college championships with U.C.L.A. and one each with the Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics of the N.B.A., and who overcame a stutter to become a loquacious commentator, died on Monday at his home in San Diego. He was 71.
A redheaded hippie and devoted Grateful Dead fan, Walton was an acolyte of the U.C.L.A. coach John Wooden and the hub of the Bruins team that won N.C.A.A. championships in 1972 and 1973 and extended an 88-game winning streak that had begun in 1971. He was named the national player of the year three times.
Walton’s greatest game was the 1973 national championship against Memphis State, played in St. Louis. He got into foul trouble in the first half, but went on to score a record 44 points on 21-for-22 shooting and had 11 rebounds in U.C.L.A.’s 87-66 victory. It was the school’s ninth title in 10 years.
Today I had to say goodbye to a great friend that I will always miss.
From Wikipedia: William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952 in La Mesa, California; died May 27, 2024 in San Diego) was an American professional basketball player and television sportscaster. He played college basketball at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Portland Trail Blazers, San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers, and Boston Celtics. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
Walton rose to prominence in the early 1970s as the starting center for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins. The 6-foot-11-inch-tall Walton won three consecutive national college player of the year awards (1972–1974), while leading UCLA to NCAA championships in 1972 and 1973 and an 88-game winning streak. After being selected as the first overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft, Walton led the Portland Trail Blazers to the team's first NBA championship in 1977, earning the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. The following season Walton was the 1978 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP).
However, Walton's professional career was significantly hampered by multiple foot injuries requiring numerous surgeries. Walton sat out the 1978–79 season and was then signed by the Clippers, for whom he played four injury-plagued seasons. His career was rehabilitated during two seasons with the Celtics at the end of his career. Playing as a backup center behind Robert Parish, Walton earned the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in the 1985–86 season, winning his second NBA championship. He was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams. Walton was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
After retiring from the NBA, Walton overcame stuttering and embarked on a second career as a sportscaster, working both as a studio analyst and color commentator with several networks and teams. He earned an Emmy Award in 1991. Walton was a fan of the Grateful Dead, as a self-described "Deadhead", and often mentioned them in his broadcasts. He hosted several podcasts and satellite radio programs featuring the music of the Grateful Dead.
College Basketball's Greatest Players
44 Points vs Memphis State in 1973 NCAA Final
In Memoriam
Funniest Moments
Picture Pun
I guess I pushed the walk button a bit too hard.
