Home Sweet Home
The Weird Sisters, Appetizing Asian, Kyle Joe, Rory McIlroy, Slim Shaky
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This issue includes what I like most about being back home in Michigan, a novel about three sisters, two Asian restaurants I visited last Friday, a singer from Alto Michigan who keeps changing his performer name, the sixth golfer to achieve the career grand slam, and the thin man. I hope you like the picks and pics.
This year we were unable to celebrate Easter with our families on either coast. So we enjoyed seeing photos of our grandchildren in their Easter finest.
On Friday our next two house concert performers appeared in two separate concerts in Michigan. We saw Kylee Phillips and Chris DuPont at The Ark in Ann Arbor, while Caroline Cotter performed at Lakehouse Music in Bath. It’s too bad we were unable to be in two places at once. I hope many of you will join us on June 7 and November 14.
My friend Bill Sterling sent me the following article with this comment:
You have a doppelgänger in Michigan!
The Ford Executive Who Kept Score of Colleagues’ Verbal Flubs by Mike Colias of The Wall Street Journal
I admire Mike O’Brien’s efforts to document every instance of mixed metaphors and malaprops uttered in Ford meetings. I used to publish bad grammar and word usage examples every week. I eventually gave up because the volume kept increasing. Here is a list of what I have written about this topic:
When I introduced Mark Erelli in our living room 15 years ago, I riffed on Mark's song lyric and said that Roger had "come all the way from Baltimore" (well, Washington). Now this has come true, as he will be teaching and coaching in the Baltimore area. Roger's goal of becoming head coach at a school that excels in both academics and athletics has been realized. Congratulations to Roger! I told him that I am available to be his emergency scorekeeper if needed.
Loyola Blakefield Names New Varsity Basketball Coach
Roger Garfield has been named Loyola Blakefield’s new Varsity Basketball Coach. Garfield brings a wealth of experience, having served as an Assistant Coach at Gonzaga College High School since 2016, including as Associate Head Coach from 2022 to 2025. During his tenure, the Eagles secured two Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championships and three District of Columbia State Athletic Association titles. Additionally, Garfield has been the Head Coach at the Mater Dei School since 2011, where he has coached basketball and taught English at the all-boys Catholic school serving grades 1-8. He also served as an Assistant Coach at Georgetown Preparatory School from 2010 to 2015. In addition to his coaching duties, Garfield will also be taking on a teaching role at Loyola.
Mark Erelli: Baltimore
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Fave Five 133: Home Sweet Home
Sister Story (The Weird Sisters), Appetizing Asian (Jiang Nan, Shalimar), Michigan Man (Kyle Joe), Sixth Slam (Rory McIlroy), and Slim Shaky.
Fave Five List: Highlights of Home
Last week I listed the things I miss most from our time in California. This week I turn to the things for which I am grateful in our home state.
Good friends: On Friday we were joined for dinner and a concert by friends from Brighton (David and Diane Esper), Franklin (David and Barbara Osher), and Northville (Ann and George Kruszewski). The photo below was taken at The Ark by another friend, John Bommarito of Plymouth. We love spending time with these and our other great friends in Michigan.
Great listening rooms for acoustic music: The Ark in Ann Arbor, 20 Front Street in Lake Orion, and Trinity House Theatre in Livonia are our three favorites.
Beautiful walking paths close to home: Maybury State Park, Hines Drive, and Bennett Arboretum Pathway are all nearby in Northville, are lined with trees, and lead to ponds, rivers, and lakes.
Good Teams: The Detroit Pistons play first-round playoff game 3 against the Knicks tomorrow, with the series tied at 1-1. The Detroit Tigers are tied for first place in the American League Central. The University of Michigan Men’s Gymnastics Team just won the NCAA Championship and Western Michigan University won the NCAA Men’s Hockey Championship. Other Michigan teams have also done very well this year.
Prices: We certainly don’t miss the high prices of food and gas in California. At the Wagon Wheel Lounge in Northville, the price of Reuben is up to $10 and a fish slider is now $4, but these are still half of what they would cost in California. Gas here is under $3 a gallon, while it is well over $4 in California.
Recycling cans and bottles: In California, to claim your deposits, you have to return cans and bottles through an arduous process at one of a few recycling centers. In Michigan we can take them to any grocery store and feed them into any one of multiple machines at each store.
Book Best Bet
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
I read a review in the newspaper and bought the book. It was well-written and creative.
The beloved New York Times bestseller from acclaimed author Eleanor Brown about three sisters who love each other, but just don't happen to like each other very much.
Three sisters have returned to their childhood home, reuniting the eccentric Andreas family. Here, books are a passion (there is no problem a library card can't solve) and TV is something other people watch. Their father—a professor of Shakespeare who speaks almost exclusively in verse—named them after the Bard's heroines. It's a lot to live up to.
The sisters each have a hard time communicating with their parents and their lovers, but especially with one another. What can the shy homebody eldest sister, the fast-living middle child, and the bohemian youngest sibling have in common? Only that none has found life to be what was expected; and now, faced with their parents' frailty and their own personal disappointments, not even a book can solve what ails them.
A major new talent tackles the complicated terrain of sisters, the power of books, and the places we decide to call home.
The Andreas family is one of readers. Their father, a renowned Shakespeare professor who speaks almost entirely in verse, has named his three daughters after famous Shakespearean women. When the sisters return to their childhood home, ostensibly to care for their ailing mother, but really to lick their wounds and bury their secrets, they are horrified to find the others there. See, we love each other. We just don't happen to like each other very much. But the sisters soon discover that everything they've been running from-one another, their small hometown, and themselves-might offer more than they ever expected.
Eleanor Brown
From Wikipedia: Eleanor Brown (born 1973) is an American novelist, anthologist, editor, teacher, and speaker. She is the New York Times and international bestselling author of novels The Weird Sisters and The Light of Paris.
Brown was born in Washington, D.C., and is the youngest of three sisters. She has lived in Minnesota, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Florida, and England. She resides with her partner J. C. Hutchins in Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Restaurant Recommendations
Appetizing Asian
On Friday I had lunch with my knowledge management colleagues Anna Cangialosi and Lee Romero in Farmington Hills in a stretch of Orchard Lake Road where many Asian restaurants are located. Later I had dinner with the friends pictured above in Ann Arbor at a place right across the street from The Ark, where we attended a concert after dining.
Jiang Nan Noodle House 29222 Orchard Lake Rd Farmington Hills, MI 48334
Dan Dan Mian: Szechuan Noodle with Pepper Sauce - this had an unusual spice flavor that produced a tingle when I drank a glass of water
Shalimar Cusine of India 307 S Main St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Chicken Tikka Masala: Boneless chicken tikka in a chef’s special sauce of fresh onions, tomatoes, cream, herbs and spices - Barb ordered this
Chicken Punjabi Masala: Chicken cooked with onions, garlic, ginger, tomato, herbs and whole spice - I ordered this; the Chicken Tikka Masala was much better
Marvelous Musician
He has recorded and performed as Chain of Lakes and as Kyle Rasche. Now he is using his first and middle names to avoid having his last name pronounced as “rash.”
I first heard him on two of John Bommarito's Acoustic Alternatives podcasts. We saw Kyle at The Ark on April 18, 2025. We all enjoyed his songs, performance, and stage presence. John introduced him to me after the show.
Very few people pronounce Kyle Rasche’s last name correctly. It rhymes with “Kashi”, but with an R. Try it. Now put more emphasis on the RAH than the SHEE. RAH-shee. Rasche. Kyle Rasche. There. See? You nailed it.
At risk of missing out on the always enjoyable experience of being called “Rash” on live radio, Kyle Rasche named his moniker Chain of Lakes, after the swimming holes surrounding the family cabin in northern Michigan. Now 12 years, seven records, and countless collaborations in, his Chain of Lakes have aged well; supplying the Midwest with earnest, atmospheric, and soulful songs that can evoke both tears and laughter from verse to chorus.
Simply put, Kyle Rasche has carved his place as one of West Michigan’s most dependable songsmiths of the poetic, soul-bearing sort. 2021/22 saw his foray back into the solo-songwriter world, with a pile of new songs, and an updated list of accolades - including being named a winner in Kerrville Folk Festival’s prestigious NewFolk Songwriting Competition in 2022 (also a finalist in 2021), and a runner-up badge from Great River Folk’s 2021 Songwriter Contest.
2022 was also a prolific year for Rasche who recorded a collection of children's songs, work on two new original musicals, and released two full-length LPs: May's The Catch Album, and November's Songs That Didn't Make The Record
"Easy" Does It: Singer-songwriter Kyle Joe explores the light and dark on a new album with Chris DuPont by Lori Stratton
On Take It Easy, Rasche explores those light and dark elements through honest lyrics, soft vocals, and emotive folk instrumentation.
“I think, that our job as songwriters, is to put something out that other people can grasp,” he said. “It’s not [just] about my story, but it might be about our [collective] experiences and set of circumstances.”
Sonically, he turned to Ypsilanti producer, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Chris DuPont to evoke the album’s poignant vibe.
Acoustic Alternatives Podcasts
June 14, 2022
March 23, 2025
Brave Marie
Catch
Take it Easy
Solo Version
Michigan Man
My Playlist
Sports Star
I promised to feature Rory this week after he finally won the Masters. The story below is by my good friend David Westin, who was the subject of a previous Fave Five.
Six male golfers have achieved the Career Grand Slam in professional golf: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy. The Career Grand Slam is defined as winning all four major championships (the Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, and The Open Championship) at least once in a player's career.
'It's been everything': How Rory McIlroy finally ended his Masters frustration to claim the green jacket by David Westin
Every year since 2015, Rory McIlroy has faced the same question from the media at the Masters Tournament: Winning at Augusta National Golf Club and thus achieving the career Grand Slam.
Some years he’s been expansive in his answer. This year, he labeled it “noise” and was ready to move on to the next query.
That “when will you win” question was put to rest Sunday, when the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland won the 89th Masters, beating Justin Rose on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.
“I'd like to start this press conference with a question myself,” McIlroy said when he reached the interview room of the Press Building after his victory. “What are we all going to talk about next year?”
It will probably be about how he overcame what he termed a roller coaster round ― two double bogeys, two bogeys and five birdies in regulation before his playoff winner ― to be the last man standing.
“Look, it's a dream come true,” said McIlroy, who rolled in a 4-foot birdie putt on No. 18 after Rose missed his 15-foot attempt. "I have dreamt about that moment for as long as I can remember."
From Wikipedia: Rory Daniel McIlroy (born May 4, 1989 in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position during his career. He is a five-time major champion, winning the 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 and 2014 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship and 2025 Masters Tournament – one of six male golfers to achieve a modern career grand slam and the only European to do so.
McIlroy had a successful amateur career, reaching number one on the World Amateur Golf Ranking as a 17-year-old in 2007. Later that year, he turned professional and soon established himself on the European Tour. He achieved his first win on the European Tour in 2009 and on the PGA Tour in 2010. In 2011, at age 22, he became the youngest player ever to reach €10 million in career earnings on the European Tour. In 2012, he became the youngest player to reach $10 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour. In 2022, he became the first person to win the FedEx Cup three times, surpassing Tiger Woods' two. He won The Players Championship in 2019 and 2025.
McIlroy has represented Europe, Ireland and Great Britain & Ireland as both an amateur and a professional. He has played for Europe at the Ryder Cup in every edition from 2010 to 2023, with Europe winning in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2023. For his achievements, he has twice been named RTÉ Sports Person of the Year, in 2011 and 2014.
Rory McIlroy wins the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam
Picture Pun
When I complimented him on his slim figure, he turned red with embarrassment.
Congratulations to Roger.