Hello friends,
This week I’m sending you this newsletter from Florida, where I’ve landed for a work trip. The scenery is beautiful, but the weather has played a cruel trick on us. Yesterday I spoke to two women from Alaska who reported that it was ten degrees warmer at their house than it was here.
But at least it isn’t dark here.
The Part Where There’s an Essay: Some Lovely Things from 2024
From where I sit, 2024 has gotten a pretty rough reputation as it has passed by. To be sure, it was not my favorite year in the recent past. But some lovely things occurred in spite of everything else, and I thought it might be nice to remember a few of them before we set the year to rest. Here are my entries for Loveliest Moments of Last Year. Just to keep you in suspense, I didn’t even put them in order. What would you add?
Tracy Chapman, in a win for all Generation X women, got a nice moment in the spotlight at the Grammys. She wrote this song in tribute to her mother. I love her smile when she realizes the crowd is cheering for her, not Luke Combs:
The United States Men’s Gymnastics team won the hearts of the nation and gave us our next Clark Kent/Superman incarnation: Pommel Horse Guy.
There was a total eclipse for much of the United States. We were thrilled that we made the effort to experience it with my husband’s family in southern Indiana.
Shohei Ohtani joined the 50-50 club (fifty home runs, fifty stolen bases), and when he did so, fans from both teams stood to their feet to applaud and call him out of the dugout for a curtain call.
A local entry: downtown Concord, North Carolina has been suffering through what must be the longest public construction project since The Big Dig in Boston1. In the fall of 2024, the shops finally got their wide sidewalks back. We weren’t sure if any of those stores would survive, so this was a win and hope for what’s to come.
The Northern Lights made their way to the South. While our neighborhood largely prevents viewing of this phenomenon, I did see a tiny bit of it. The pictures from locales much, much further south than my house were the truly amazing part.
Freddy Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam home run for the first time in World Series history—plus it was over the hated Yankees. How can you not be romantic about baseball?!
Reporter Evan Gershkovich was freed, along with other Americans:
Notre Dame Cathedral reopened. I have never been to Notre Dame (I hope to visit one day), but I wept when it burned. The restoration has been heartening, not to mention quite stunning:
And we’ll end with man’s best friend: Kirk Herbstriet’s golden retriever, Ben, who accompanied him around the country to football games over the last few years. Ben succumbed to cancer this past fall, and ESPN put together this tribute.
We love dogs.
For the Anglophiles
In a UK entry from the Behold the Lamb of God tour, Andrew Osenga tells us the story of the night he flopped in Edinburgh. “I want my excellence to inspire and encourage people, but instead, it’s my flop sweat and failure. I want people to be wowed by my amazing brilliance, but what they need to see is a friend holding another friend’s phone for me so I can barely make it through.”
Reads & Listens of the Week
Home Cooking made a happy return! This little show delighted listeners through the days of cooking at home through pandemic lockdowns. Occasionally the hosts decide to do another episode. They love food, puns, and one another.
I enjoyed this profile of Adrian Wojnarowski (“Woj” to those who are familiar). The story spends time on the motivations behind Woj’s decision to leave the top tier of sports reporting for the relatively small world of his alma mater. “…the only reason to stay was the money. That wasn’t a good enough reason.”
on acedia and how we aren’t as happy as we’re going to be.Recently The Rest is History recorded two shows from Royal Albert Hall; one was on Mozart, and the other was on Beethoven. The usual chatty history fare is interspersed with great performances of the pieces they discuss.
“The message of the Gospel is not ‘off you go’ [released from punishment], but ‘in you come.’” -Sam Allberry
an exaggeration, but it doesn’t feel that way to the merchants.
Great roundup. Tracy Chapman ftw, Goldberry (and others) surviving, and a great commonplace quote from Mr. Allberry. Thanks!
Thanks Kelly! It was a rough year, no doubt. But I would have to agree that Tracy Chapman was one of the highlights for me too - and I will be singing her song for another month now that you reminded me :)