Tale of Two Tributes
Ernest Hemingway: A Biography, Taco Crawl, Sixpence None The Richer, Kalif Raymond, Monster Mansion
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This week’s issue includes the third in a series of five favorite kinds of sandwiches, an in-depth biography of a great writer, three Mexican restaurants in Silver Spring, a band with a memorable late nineties hit, the latest Lions hero, and a house that is long in the tooth. I hope you like the picks and pics.
In the past week I participated in tributes to two departed friends, to whom I dedicated my fifth book last year. Last Wednesday we held a food crawl in Steve Carter’s honor, and on Sunday we walked in memory of Max Bromley.
The second Steve Carter Memorial Food Crawl took place in Silver Spring, Maryland. My son Roger and Steve’s son Zach visited the three Mexican restaurants featured in this issue. The first crawl was in 2022, and we missed last year, so it was good to resume this tradition in Steve’s memory.
On Sunday I led the third annual Max Bromley Memorial Walk which covers the entire 17.5-mile length of the Edward Hines Drive, from Dearborn to Northville. This year there were five of us who successfully completed the full walk: Max’s wife Sandy, his nephew Matt and his wife Tanya, and my long-time friend David Esper. We had a perfect day for the walk, there were no closures or detours, and we finished with a fine meal that I will feature in the next issue.
Max and I first completed this walk in 2021. The previous memorial walks were in 2022 and 2023.
On Thursday Barb, John Bommarito, and I were at The Ark in Arbor for Sixpence None The Richer. Kylee Phillips (with Chris DuPont) opened. I had just booked the recently engaged couple to appear as our next house concert performers on June 7, 2025, so it was nice to see them. Kylee recently released a new EP, The Good Parts. You can view John’s Acoustic Alternatives podcast with the couple and his individual podcasts with Chris and Kylee. Mark your calendars to see DuPont Phillips perform in our living room next year.
My brother David released a new single on Friday, a cover of Bruce Hornsby’s “The Way It Is”. I am pleased that he chose to record it after I suggested it to him, and I think it turned out pretty well. I also recommend David’s video telling the story of how he recorded a cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” with Michael McDonald, Don Henley, Richard Marx, David Pack, Paulette Brown, and Bill Champlin on vocals, accompanied by David, Steve Ferrone, Michael Landau, Steve Lukather, Benmont Tench, Joe Sample, Lenny Castro, Larry Klimas, and others.
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Fave Five 108: Tale of Two Tributes
Acclaimed American Author (Ernest Hemingway: A Biography), Silver Spring Taco Tasting (Tacos Don Perez, Taqueria Sabor Mixteco, Lime & Cilantro), Recently Reunited (Sixpence None The Richer), Remarkable Returner (Kalif Raymond), and a Monster Mansion.
Fave Five List: My Favorite Pork Sandwiches
Muffaletta
Roast Pork
Italian Sub
Pulled Pork
Pork Tenderloin
Book Best Bet
Ernest Hemingway: A Biography by Mary Dearborn
While I was on my walk on Sunday, my sister Joan texted me to ask if I am a Hemingway fan. She had just finished a biography of his widow. I replied that I am. This got me thinking of the biography of Ernest that I had read. His life story is fascinating and very sad.
My similarities to Hemingway are that we were both born in Oak Park, Illinois; we both enjoyed Michigan summers on Lake Charlevoix and Walloon Lake; we both enjoyed winters in Florida; we both started out in journalism; we both loved to write; and we both married women from St. Louis (although I married just one).
From Amazon: The first full biography of Ernest Hemingway in more than fifteen years; the first to draw upon a wide array of never-before-used material; the first written by a woman, from the widely acclaimed biographer of Norman Mailer, Peggy Guggenheim, Henry Miller, and Louise Bryant.
A revelatory look into the life and work of Ernest Hemingway, considered in his time to be the greatest living American novelist and short-story writer, winner of the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Mary Dearborn's new biography gives the richest and most nuanced portrait to date of this complex, enigmatically unique American artist, whose same uncontrollable demons that inspired and drove him throughout his life undid him at the end, and whose seven novels and six-short story collections informed--and are still informing--fiction writing generations after his death.
Mary Dearborn
From Wikipedia: Mary Dearborn is an American biographer and author. Dearborn has published biographies of Norman Mailer, Henry Miller, Peggy Guggenheim and others. Dearborn received a Ph.D. in English and comparative literature from Columbia University in 1984.
After the publication of her 2017 biography of Ernest Hemingway, Dearborn wrote a critical essay regarding his antisemitism. She reflected on her experience writing, where many sources sought to decrease the extent of his prejudices due to the time period. She emphasized that she did not believe the antisemitism was reason to stop reading his works, but instead provided another perspective to study his work from.
Restaurant Recommendations
Silver Spring Taco Tasting
I previously wrote about my one-man Santa Barbara taco crawl. I was happy to be joined by Roger and Zach for this one in Maryland last week. We tried tacos al pastor at each stop to serve as a benchmark.
Tacos Don Perez 12321 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20906
I featured this place in a previous issue. It’s a favorite of Roger’s, and it seemed even better this time. I thought the tacos were the best on the crawl. I liked the consommé so much that I drank the leftover portion after we finished dipping our birria tacos in it.
Tacos Al Pastor
Tacos Birria
Taqueria Sabor Mixteco 2462 Ennalls Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20902
Zach suggested this place. Both tacos were outstanding. The tortillas were freshly made and warm.
Alambre Campechanos: Suadero (Braised beef), chorizo (Mexican pork sausage), poblano peppers, onions, cilantro, and melted cheese served with six tortillas
Tacos Al Pastor: marinated pork in adobo, pineapple, cilantro, and onions
Lime & Cilantro 1909 Seminary Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Zach read a glowing review, Masterful Latin cooking in Silver Spring, in The Washington Post, so we made this the final stop on the crawl. I didn’t care for the taco, but the torta was great. And it was odd that we had to ask for limes to be brought out in a place called Lime & Cilantro.
Tacos Al Pastor: Adobo Marinated Pork, House Made Pineapple Kimchi, Gochujang Aioli
Pastrami Spiced Chicken Torta: Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cheese, Poblano Aioli, Caramelized Onions, Sliced Avocado
Marvelous Musicians
I was delighted to learn that this band had reunited for a new album and tour. I bought tickets as soon as they went on sale for their show at The Ark in Ann Arbor, and it was a lot of fun.
When “Kiss Me” first came on the radio, my daughter Tracy thought that it was by Lisa Loeb. We listened to it on a speaker hidden inside a fake rock by the pool at our hotel on Hilton Head Island in February, 1998. I liked the song and bought the album on which it appeared. I also like the band's covers of “There She Goes” by The La's and “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Crowded House.
From the band’s site: Sixpence None the Richer began taking shape in New Braunfels, Texas in the early ‘90s, when guitarist Matt Slocum met vocalist Leigh Nash at a church retreat. The group recorded a demo before eventually signing with R.E.X. Records. Their debut LP, The Fatherless & the Widow, appeared in 1993 and their sophomore effort, 1995’s This Beautiful Mess won a Dove Award and was followed by the Tickets for a Prayer Wheel EP.
In 1997, Sixpence None the Richer released their self-titled album and two years later exploded globally when the track “Kiss Me”, from that album, was released as a single. The song has been featured in countless movies and TV shows and catapulted Sixpence None the Richer’s star power into the mainstream, earning airplay in more than ten different countries.
Accolades continued as the band’s rendition of the La’s “There She Goes” also became a major hit. In fall 2002, Sixpence None the Richer returned to form with Divine Discontent. The band’s cover of the Crowded House classic “Don’t Dream It’s Over” pushed Sixpence None the Richer’s name back into the charts in early 2003. Although the group quietly disbanded in 2004, they remained active as individuals and continued to release music periodically, including the albums Dawn of Grace and Lost in Transition.
Fast forward to 2024 and all-original members (Leigh Nash, Matt Slocum, Dale Baker, and Justin Cary) have reunited and are writing and recording new music and preparing for a world tour.
From Wikipedia: Sixpence None the Richer (also known as Sixpence) is an American alternative rock band that formed in New Braunfels, Texas, and eventually settled in Nashville, Tennessee. They are best known for their songs "Kiss Me" and "Breathe Your Name" and their covers of "Don't Dream It's Over" and "There She Goes". The name of the band is inspired by a passage from the book Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. The band received two Grammy Award nominations, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "Kiss Me" and Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album for Sixpence None the Richer (1997).
Kiss Me
There She Goes
Don't Dream It's Over
Breathe Your Name
My Playlist
Sports Star
Detroit Lions’ wide receiver Kalif Raymond had 190 punt return yards against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, highlighted by a 90-yard touchdown, and he was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 8.
Raymond fell 17 yards short of the NFL record for punt return yards in a game, set by LeRoy Irvin in 1981. His average of 38 yards per punt return against the Titans is the highest average in a game with at least five punt returns since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger.
Kalif Raymond embodies everything the Detroit Lions are about by Max DeMara
The Detroit Lions have established a team that is all about grit, from the top players all the way down. Nobody embodies that spirit better than Kalif Raymond.
Mitch Albom: Kalif Raymond shows even smallest Lion has mighty roar
Kalif Raymond waited for the ball to come out of the lights, then caught it on the 10-yard line and took off running. He passed the first Tennessee defender as if he’d been blown over backwards, cut past the second like a water bug cuts past a lily, then left the rest of the defense behind like a cannonball leaves behind the cannon. He reached the end zone so fast, even the cheerleaders felt a crick in their necks.
Whiplash. With over 200 yards worth of punt returns and receiving — and two touchdowns — Raymond had the day of his dreams. And he’s been dreaming for a long time. This is a guy who went undrafted eight years ago and played for four different NFL teams before he caught his first touchdown pass. He’s had more short-term contracts than a Motel 6. He’s been cut more times than sushi.
Yet at age 30, he did something Sunday that no Detroit Lion ever had — returned a punt for a touchdown and caught a TD pass in the same game — and was the most unlikely star of a most likeable afternoon.
Dan Miller on the 🎙️ for Kalif Raymond’s punt return TD
Picture Pun
Sometimes you eat candy from the house, and sometimes the house eats you.
