Music and coffee for the ride to work

[Ed. note: with corrected Starbuck's link]

On the way to work yesterday morning, I heard East-West by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. It's probably been 30 years since I've heard it on the radio. The first time was late one night in 1968 as a new radio station in Boston (WBCN) was coming on the air. East-West remains one of my favorite tunes. I wore out my LP copy to the point that I was putting pennies on the arm of the turntable to keep the needle from skipping. That LP is long gone, replaced by a CD and then another. Ten years ago, the record company released a CD with three live versions of East-West. The sound is murky and the performances are sometimes uneven, but even when they're playing at less than their best, it's still a great band playing their best music.

My commute is quite manageable these days, certainly not like this guy's. On average, he drives 3 1/2 hours each way, each day, and has done so since 1989.

And for those 30 cups of coffee he drinks each day, he can step right into the coffee wars. Dunkin' Donuts is in the process of converting its shops to look more like Starbuck's.

William Sloane Coffin, former Yale chaplain and activist in the peace movement, died yesterday at his home in Vermont. My mother, not surprisingly, corresponded with him.

I had to stop at my doctor's office yesterday. As I left, I wondered why they would have a person with severe laryngitis answering the telephone. When I was talking with her, it was as though she standing out in the parking lot.

A week or so ago, Sandra and I received post cards inviting to a commemorative event for Ken Olsen and a new facility named in his honor at a local college. We're grateful for his brilliance and good work.

The good thing about HempPlus Toaster Waffles is that you don't need a Cinderella Waffle Iron. Hemp waffles? Some jokes just write themselves.