Now, Voyager
Rookery Blues, Voyager, Sheryl Crow, Larry Allen, Trashed Toolbox
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This week’s issue includes my five favorite Sheryl Crow songs, the first novel I read by Jon Hassler, a seafood restaurant that quickly reopened following recent storm damage, a singer/songwriter from the Missouri bootheel, one of the greatest offensive linemen in NFL history, and a discarded namesake. I hope you like the picks and pics.
On Friday night we played bridge online with our friends Tim and Kathy Poor. They were in Missouri, and we were in Michigan, but we were able to enjoy an evening of bridge by using Bridge Base Online while talking on the phone. This is one good outcome of the pandemic — we get to play bridge far more often than we did before, especially with friends who are in other locations.
On Saturday we dined out with our friends Jeri and Kyle Johnson and Mark and Diane Mitra. Following dinner at Voyager (this week’s Restaurant Recommendation), we returned to the Johnsons’ house to play six-handed euchre. Euchre is a game played by most Michiganians and some people in a few other nearby states. We learned it after moving to Michigan in 1986, and I like to describe it as bridge if you have had a lobotomy.
In normal four-handed euchre, the two jacks of the same color as the trump suit are the highest trump cards, ranked above the ace. There are 24 cards in the deck — all cards lower than the 9s are removed. In the version of six-handed euchre we like to play, the 7s and 8s are restored. The two jokers are also added and become the two highest trump cards. There are two teams of three players, in our case, the men versus the women. There was a lot of trash talking by the women, who prevailed, and we had a great time.
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Fave Five 88: Now, Voyager
Minnesota Music (Rookery Blues), Storm Survivor (Voyager), Songbird Sheryl (Sheryl Crow), Legendary Larry (Larry Allen), and a Trashed Toolbox.
Fave Five Lists: Five Favorite Sheryl Crow Songs
On Monday I watched Sheryl, an absorbing documentary from 2022 about Sheryl Crow, this week’s Marvelous Musician. Here are my five favorite songs from her long and distinguished career:
Mississippi (by Bob Dylan)
Book Best Bet
I read this book many years ago and loved it, which led me to finish all twelve of Jon Hassler’s novels. This one has a wide range of lively characters, great humor, and a wonderful musical theme. I highly recommend this as a great place to start savoring the works of a master.
From Amazon: Rookery State College in the late 1960s is an academic backwater if ever there was one--until the Icejam Quintet is born. With Leland Edwards on piano, Neil Novotny on clarinet, Victor Dash on drums, and Connor on bass, the group comes together with the help of its muse, the lovely Peggy Benoit, who plays saxophone and sings. But soon isolated Rookery State will be touched by the great discontent sweeping the country: the first labor union in the college's history comes noisily to campus. As a teachers strike takes shape, the five musicians must struggle with their loyalties—to the school, the town, their families, and one another.
Jon Hassler
Jon Hassler (born March 30, 1933 in Minneapolis, died March 20, 2008 in St. Louis Park, Minnesota) was an American writer and teacher known for his novels about small-town life in Minnesota. He held the positions of Regents professor emeritus and writer-in-residence at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota.
Much of Hassler's fiction involves characters struggling with transitions in their lives or searching for a central purpose. Many of his major characters are Catholic (or lapsed Catholics), and his novels frequently explore the role small-town life plays in shaping or limiting human potential.
His novels are Staggerford (1977), Simon's Night (1979), The Love Hunter (1981), A Green Journey (1985), Grand Opening (1987), North of Hope (1990), Dear James (1993), Rookery Blues (1995), The Dean's List (novel) (1998), The Staggerford Flood (2002), The Staggerford Murders (2004), and The New Woman (2005).
Restaurant Recommendation
Voyager Ferndale 600 Vester Steet, Ferndale, MI 48220
After closing due to storm damage on April 17, this seafood restaurant reopened on May 1. I reserved a table for six of us, and we all agreed that Voyager is a winner. Everyone loved the drinks, the food, and the service. It was a reminder of how much fun it is to dine out with good friends at a well-run restaurant.
I had a Smoked Trout Salad: local greens, smoked steelhead trout, potato, smoked trout roe, and dill vinaigrette. It hit the spot.
Barb had Lobster Fettuccine: Maine lobster, sauce Americaine, bottarga, and caviar. I had a taste, and it was sublime.
From the restaurant: A seasonal menu fit for the coast with drinks to match.
Marvelous Musician
I first learned of her music when I received a mailing offering a cutout CD of Tuesday Night Music Club, which did not sell well initially. I bought it, enjoyed it, and was surprised when it later rose to number three on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. I like all of her hits and many of her covers and duets.
From Wikipedia: Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962 in Kennett, Missouri) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actress. She is noted for her optimistic and idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released twelve studio albums, five compilations, and three live albums, and contributed to several film soundtracks. Her most popular songs include "All I Wanna Do" (1994), "Strong Enough" (1994), "If It Makes You Happy" (1996), "Everyday Is a Winding Road" (1996), "My Favorite Mistake" (1998), "Picture" (2002, duet with Kid Rock), and "Soak Up the Sun" (2002).
Crow has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide and won nine Grammy Awards from 19 nominations. Crow was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
While studying at Kennett High School, Crow was a majorette and an all-state track athlete, medaling in the 75-meter low hurdles. She also joined the pep club, the National Honor Society, and the National FFA Organization. She then enrolled at the University of Missouri in Columbia and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music composition, performance, and education from the School of Music. While at the university, she sang in the local band Cashmere.
Bob Dylan offered "Mississippi" to Sheryl Crow, who recorded it for her The Globe Sessions, released in 1998, before Dylan revisited it for Love and Theft. Crow's version reworked the song's melody, phrasing, and arrangement.
Strong Enough
Mississippi
If It Makes You Happy
My Favorite Mistake
The First Cut Is The Deepest
Sheryl (2022) Official Trailer
My Playlist
Sports Star
Larry passed away on Sunday. I was not familiar with his career, but after hearing about it, I realized how great of a player he was.
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell had this to say about his former teammate:
Anybody that was around Larry will tell you what an unbelievable dude he was, what an unbelievable human being, what an unbelievable teammate. Then his play on the field speaks for itself. He was a rare, rare player. What an outstanding human being L.A. was.
Larry Allen, Dominant N.F.L. Lineman, Dies at 52 by Alex Williams of The New York Times
Even on the star-studded Dallas Cowboys roster of the 1990s, he stood out with his head-turning strength and bone-rattling pancake blocks.
Working in the in the trenches, Allen did not stand out to casual fans in the same way his touchdown-scoring All-Pro teammates did. But those teammates keenly understood his value. “I always hear people say Larry was the best offensive lineman in the game, and that’s just not right,” Irvin once said. “Larry was the best player in the league, and it wasn’t even close.”
Larry Allen, one of the greatest offensive linemen in NFL history and a Super Bowl champion, has died at age 52 by David Close and Steve Almasy of CNN
According to the Cowboys, Allen was the strongest player to play in the NFL, having bench pressed 700 pounds and squatted 900 pounds.
His rise to NFL stardom was remarkable as he came from small schools, starting his college career at Butte Junior College in Oroville, California, before transferring to Division II school Sonoma State, near San Francisco.
Allen played in 203 career games and was the starting right guard for Dallas when the Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17 in Super Bowl XXX.
From Wikipedia: Larry Christopher Allen Jr. (born November 27, 1971 in Los Angeles, died June 2, 2024 in Mexico) was an American professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Butte Roadrunners and the Sonoma State Cossacks, and was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the 1994 NFL draft. Allen is regarded as one of the NFL's physically strongest players ever, while also capable of using his speed against defenders.
Spending his first 12 seasons with the Cowboys, Allen earned ten Pro Bowl selections and six first-team All-Pro honors. He was also part of the team that won a Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXX over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Allen played his final two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, where he received his 11th Pro Bowl selection. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
Picture Pun
This has my name written all over it.
