Northville Nightclub
Small World, NOMI, Tish Hinojosa, Phil Weaver, Reflecting Rubbish
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This issue includes book bromides, a novel spanning 170 years, a nightclub in Northville, a singer/songwriter who is the youngest of 13 siblings, a friend who played center alongside Tom Izzo, and a misplaced mirror. I hope you like the picks and pics.
Northville’s hottest club is… NOMI (the name formed from the first two letters of Northville and Michigan). On Thursday we dined there and listened to the singing of Robin Horlock with our friends Jeri and Kyle Johnson and Rebecca and Jerry Oljace. The food and drinks were great, as was the music and the setting.
Robin graduated from Northville High School in 1999. While there, he sang in Backbeat, an a cappella group that later included Roger Garfield and Greg Johnson. Robin’s covers and originals were tasteful. On Friday and Saturday, NOMI switches to louder, livelier dance music, but we enjoyed the softer sounds offered on Thursday.
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Fave Five 111: Northville Nightclub
Train Tale (Small World), Nightclub Noshing (NOMI), San Antonio Singer (Tish Hinojosa), Weaver the Wildcat (Phil Weaver), and Reflecting Rubbish.
Fave Five List: Stale Sayings in Small World
I noticed multiple clichés while reading this issue’s featured book:
Pages 51, 95, 205, 240, 274, 308, 368, 413: “none other than”
Page 307: “Top of the morning to you, sir.”
Page 378: “the Chens trusted Wang implicitly”
Page 393: “Nora nearly fell out of her chair.”
Page 447: “now thirty years old if she was a year”
Book Best Bet
Small World by Jonathan Evison
My sister Joan recommended this one to me. Bouncing between years ranging from 1851 to 2019 over 466 pages, it introduces multiple characters and plots. The title implies that Evison will weave together these otherwise unconnected people. Some of that occurs, but not in very meaningful ways. I liked the characters and the storytelling, winced at some the writing (see the list above), and expected more inspired plot twists to create the connections. A mixed review for sure, but a book that kept me reading eagerly until the end.
From Amazon: Four modern families aboard a passenger train hurtle into the night. One hundred and seventy years earlier their forebearers make their way in a young nation built on grand promises. Each family follows their own path, only to find that their destinies are linked inextricably, the culmination of five generations of shared history.
Jonathan Evison’s Small World is a novel that speaks to the present moment, a grand adventure that explores the American experiment in its most human and intimate aspects, a novel that asks whether America has made good on those early promises.
Humming with heart and adventure, and love and hope and ideas, Small World delivers the thrill of great storytelling straight through to its deeply satisfying conclusion.
A New York Times Editors' Choice!
One of Booklist’s “Top 10 Historical Fiction Novels of 2022”
One of the Los Angeles Times's “10 Books to Add to Your Reading List”
One of Book Culture's Most Anticipated Reads
“A bighearted, widescreen American tale.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Masterpiece . . . The quintessential great American novel.”—Booklist (starred review)
“A vivid mosaic.”—BookPage (starred review)
Jonathan Evison’s Small World is an epic novel for now. Set against such iconic backdrops as the California gold rush, the development of the transcontinental railroad, and a speeding train of modern-day strangers forced together by fate, it is a grand entertainment that asks big questions.
The characters of Small World connect in the most intriguing and meaningful ways, winning, breaking, and winning our hearts again. In exploring the passengers’ lives and those of their ancestors more than a century before, Small World chronicles 170 years of American nation-building from numerous points of view across place and time. And it does it with a fullhearted, full-throttle pace that asks on the most human, intimate scale whether it is truly possible to meet, and survive, the choices posed—and forced—by the age.
The result is a historical epic with a Dickensian flair, a grand entertainment that asks whether our nation has made good on its promises. It dazzles as its characters come to connect with one another through time. And it hits home as it probes at our country’s injustices, big and small, straight through to its deeply satisfying final words.
Jonathan Evison (born September 27, 1968 in San Jose, California) is an American writer known for his novels All About Lulu, West of Here, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!, Lawn Boy, Legends of the North Cascades, and most recently Small World. His work, often distinguished by its emotional resonance and offbeat humor, has been compared by critics to a variety of authors, most notably J.D. Salinger, Charles Dickens, T.C. Boyle, and John Irving. Sherman Alexie has called Evison "the most honest white man alive."
Small World was released in January 2022. The New York Times said of Small World: "The novel is easy to love in part because it deals in generosity and hope … Small World is ambitious, showing our interconnectedness across time, place and cultures." The Christian Science Monitor called the book "A Modern Classic." And in a starred review, Booklist called the book " A masterpiece . . . Such masterful strokes seem to qualify Small World as the quintessential Great American Novel as Evison eloquently shows that perhaps the most authentically American ideal is the ongoing, blended palette of stories."
Restaurant Recommendation
NOMI 133 W. Main Street, Northville, MI 48167
Our hometown has a new nightclub. It offers music that is lively and dining that is much better than the usual bar food typically offered in Northville.
Korean Beef Skewers: Kimchi, Wasabi Whipped Potato, Scallion
Kansai Chicken: Gochugaru, Chili Soy, Coriander
Truffle Fries: Roasted Garlic Aioli, Truffle Essence, Parmesan
From the restaurant: The Secret's Out in Northville Michigan. NOMI Lounge is a chic, glamorous throwback to the storied speakeasies of the Prohibition Era. Tucked away in the heart of Downtown Northville, we bring the razzle dazzle as soon as you enter our unmarked doors.
Our plush seating and golden ambience is complemented by a custom menu and live music performances. Indulge in refreshing libations designed by a master mixologist. Sink in to delectable, shared bites with friends. Mix and mingle while taking in a show. NOMI Lounge is your new favorite spot, brimming with sultry fun, and elevating the way you enjoy a night out.
Marvelous Musician
Ten years ago yesterday, Tish performed in our living room. She is one of my favorite singers.
I first saw her on Austin City Limits singing "West Side of Town" and fell in love with her beautiful voice. When I bought Homeland at Repeat the Beat in Dearborn, the store manager told me that someone else had also watched ACL and had just come in to buy Tish's entire catalog. I saw her at The Ark in Ann Arbor on June 17, 2012. Tish performed in our home on November 15, 2014. She was a great guest, and she cooked breakfast for us the next day.
From Wikipedia: Leticia ("Tish") Hinojosa (born December 6, 1955 in San Antonio, Texas) is a folksinger recording in both Spanish and English. Hinojosa was the youngest of 13 children. Hinojosa's parents were Mexican immigrants. Known for singing both traditional Mexican folksongs and her own original songs, both in Spanish and English, Hinojosa accompanies herself on guitar, which she plays right-handed although she is naturally lefthanded. Influenced by traditional Mexican, folk, Tejano, conjunto, and country music, Hinojosa considers her music to be music of the US/Mexico border. Using music to bring awareness to cultural issues, Hinojosa hopes to bring into focus the plight of migrant workers and children of the poor. Additionally, she often performs children's music of her culture to help children develop an understanding of the Southwest's Hispanic traditions.
In the 1970s and 1980s she lived in Taos, New Mexico and Nashville, Tennessee. In 2005, Hinojosa moved to Germany, and in 2013 returned to Austin, Texas.
The West Side of Town
Love Is On Our Side
Amanecer
Midnight Moonlight
San Antonio Romeo
By The Rio Grande
My Playlist
Sports Star
I was sad to learn from my son Roger that Phil had passed away on October 20, 2024. I met Phil in 2003 when Roger was a freshman at Kalamazoo College. Phil’s son, Phillip Jr., was a fellow freshman and member of the basketball team. Phil Sr. and I attended most of the Hornets’ games during the four years our sons played together. A former basketball player and coach, he was a knowledgeable and funny companion, and Barb and I became friends with Phil and his wife MaryAnn.
Phil played center on the Northern Michigan Wildcats basketball team from 1974 to 1977. The point guard on that team was Tom Izzo, who was the captain in the 1976-77 season. When I would ask Phil if he could get tickets to the Final Four when Michigan State (coached by Tom Izzo) had made it, he would change the subject. In 2005, I watched the NCAA regional final at the Weavers’ home in Paw Paw, Michigan when Michigan State played Kentucky. When the Spartans did something wrong, Phil would yell at the TV with sarcasm, e.g., “Way to go, Tom!” When this happened the third time, MaryAnn looked at me and said, “This is why Phil doesn’t get tickets from Tom.”
I learned a lot about basketball from sitting with Phil during Kalamazoo games. His favorite saying was, “It’s a simple game!” I recall driving three hours to North Manchester, Indiana on a cold Wednesday night in 2003, wondering how many other Hornet fans would make the trip to game at Manchester College. The answer was three: Tim Herman Sr., Dick Konwinski, and Phil Sr. The team didn’t win many games during the four years our sons played for Kalamazoo, but spending time with the other basketball parents was a lot of fun.
Phillip Wayne Weaver, aged 71, passed away peacefully in his home on October 20, 2024, in Caledonia, Michigan. Born in Royal Oak, Michigan, on October 30, 1952, Phil led a distinguished life marked by his dedication to his family and his servant leadership quality.
Phil completed his high school education at Royal Oak Kimball High School, where he was a multi-sport athlete in football and basketball. He joined the Army in 1972 and was stationed at Fort Dix in New Jersey. After leaving the military, Phil furthered his academic and athletic pursuits by earning a B.A. in Education from Northern Michigan University while a member of the men's basketball team and then followed with an M.A. in Education from Michigan State University.
Phil will be remembered for his profound impact on his community and the lives he touched. His passion for leadership and service was evident through his professional career, where he held the role of President and CEO of Hope Network for 16 years, guiding more than 2,500 employees which served over 30,000 individuals with disabilities and disadvantages. Prior to joining Hope Network, Phil was President and CEO of Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids and held several positions in human resources, organizational development, strategy, and executive operations management with Stryker Corporation, Ford Motor Company, Triple S Plastics, and Eimo Americas.
Phil believed that an organization’s leader needs to bring a passion and commitment for its mission and values and is responsible for communicating that mission to the community and other stakeholders. Phil also taught and coached for several years in public schools.
Weaver Has Passion For Goodwill
“People ask me all the time if I wish I would have stayed at Stryker,” Weaver said. “Everyone says, ‘You would have made so much more money!’ But everything is not about money. That experience taught me more about managing and putting things up and human beings than anything else. It taught me what it takes to be a good leader.”
Hornet History
In 2015, Roger (second from left), Phil Jr. (center rear), and other Kalamazoo teammates played basketball at the highest court in the land — the Supreme Court. You've heard of a kangaroo court — this was the Kalamazoo court.
Picture Pun
What’s wrong with this picture? I’m looking into it.
