ben wakeman : : Journal

Catching Up

September 6, 2005

I think I'm missing the point with this whole journal thing. I put off writing until I feel like I have something significant to say, or there is some major event to chronicle. Well, over a month has passed since my last entry, and it's not as if nothing has happened. I intend to make an effort to just write. I think the value of writing daily or close to it is that you begin to discover the hidden, transient moments that we experience everyday and just take for granted.

I woke up early yesterday morning which was Labor Day and there was a different quality to the air. I walked out onto the screen porch and was overwhelmed by the cool fresh breeze that seemed to carry with it the scent of honeysuckle and cut grass. It's amazing how sometimes over the course of one night, the seasons begin to change -- as if the nine hours you were sleeping were actually three weeks and you are waking up to a different world. I feel guilty to be waking up to such sweetness and prosperity when so many other people are waking up to the stench of death, standing water and the knowledge that the lives they have known will never be the same. It's almost surreal what has happened in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

I think as a culture we are all so far removed from each other -- so out of touch. With all of the instantaneous media coverage you would think we would feel more connected, more in tune, but I think the reality is that in some ways the images make it all less real. We see people suffering through the same medium that we watch Spongebob Squarepants and Iron Chef on the Food Network. It's not reality. All of the realty shows manufactured every season and still for us, none of it is real. I think we are hungry for something real, but we are looking in the wrong places. What's happening right now in New Orleans is real, but somehow, seeing it on TV with the network "Branding" of the event accompanied by the soundtrack of a Sheryl Crow song remove the component of the tragedy that we require to be connected to it. I hope all of these displaced people will find peace soon and one day soon wake up the smell of sweetness and prosperity.

In less worldly significant news, the lives of the Wakeman clan continue to unfold. Catherine turned 33 last month and we celebrated at home with the boys. Ian and Dylan are both in school again and begging to be home schooled! Ian is convinced it would be easier. Dylan is convinced that anything Ian says must be the truth.

Catherine and I are getting excited about our long overdue honeymoon to Tuscany at the end of this month. We have waited ten years to do this, and provided I can properly sedate her prior to boarding the plane, everything should be wonderful. I plan to take a lot of pictures, so I'm sure benwakeman.com will soon look like a freakin' travel guide.

On the music front I have been writing when I can, but struggling to finish anything. I have a lot of ideas that I get halfway into and lose the inspiration. In honor of my current favorite songwriter Sam Beam of Iron and Wine, I grew a big silly beard over the summer which you can see pictured here. Sadly, the extra facial hair did not seem to help me pen anything nearly as eloquent as his work, but it was fun for a while.

Ian is taking guitar lessons now with a brilliant guitarist named Charles Williams who plays in a local band called the Bonaventure Quartet. I cannot believe how he's suddenly taken to it. He makes the most awesome faces when he is working through the chord changes of the Beatles songs he is learning. I'll have to get some pics of those.

Finally, Screen Door is back out playing again, and Tom and I had a wonderful gig at Eddie's Attic on Friday. We had a good crowd and were lucky enough to have the brilliant Kevin Leahy sit in on drums with us. There's something about playing with a great drummer that makes everything just work.