I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving weekend has been restful. It has not been the holiday many of us might have liked but it’s the one we get, and for that I am thankful. I must say I have not done much other than relax these past several days, though I did work half a morning this past Friday. Life has been so stressful on so many fronts recently that it’s been good to have a bit of a respite. There has been lots of jazz and Bob Dylan on the turntable as well, which is always a plus.

I was telling someone last night: there’s Bob and then there is everyone else. Essentially I rediscovered him over these past nine months of the shutdown. At least for me Dylan has been the ideal voice for the current moment. The trick with Dylan is to not take it too seriously and understand how witty, playful, and just plain funny the guy is. I think he takes the minute parsing of his life and lyrics with more than a little bemusement, and probably contempt and derision as well. And yet within all that he’s working on about 3-4 different levels. This is not bread and circuses.

It is a glorious Sunday morning here in New York City. Under normal circumstances we likely would have gone to a museum or something today. Maybe next year. Instead I will use the day productively to gear up for the remainder of the semester, clean the house, and get in a walk at Green-Wood. Whatever you do, make the most of the remainder of the weekend and these waning autumn days.