Lost and Gone Forever by Guster. If ever there was a band made for college radio, it was Guster. I don’t know how many college radio stations still exist, but the band’s appeal endures — especially on their best album, 1999’s Lost and Gone Forever. It features their early acoustic sound: warm harmonies, clean guitar lines, and plenty of hand percussion (bongo-heavy Guster was the best Guster). There’s emotional depth running through even the more upbeat songs, and the slower songs carry a reflective, wistful mood that conjures up poignant and nostalgic feelings — even when you can’t name exactly what you’re connecting them to. Particular standouts: “Happier,” “Two Points for Honesty,” “Either Way.”
The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. I first read this back in college and remember enjoying it, so I decided to give it a re-read as a 43-year-old. Enjoyed it again! The Seven Storey Mountain is Merton’s spiritual autobiography. He takes the reader through how a restless, intellectually voracious kid converted to Catholicism and eventually decided to become a Trappist monk. Merton is a genuinely gifted writer who weaves personal narrative, theology, and philosophy together without ever getting preachy about it. Sort of reminds me of Augustine’s Confessions. Whether you’re religious or not, watching someone work their way through a momentous life decision (becoming a monk is definitely that) is useful to get some ideas on how to navigate your own crossroads.
Ski Valley Salsa Verde. I like hot sauces, and there are certain ones that I like with certain foods. Frank’s Hot Sauce is great with sardines and oysters. Ski Valley Salsa Verde is my go-to for my morning eggs. Been using it for years. Adds some flavor and just enough heat to wake up a plate of eggs without overwhelming them. It reminds me of New Mexico, which is either a selling point or meaningless depending on whether you’ve got a connection to that state.
The Boys Who Watched the Sea. Kate and I have a longstanding interest in the youth character-building organizations that cropped up during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most people know about the Boy Scouts, but there was a whole ecosystem of these groups — the Woodcraft Indians, the Sons of Daniel Boone, etc. — each with its own philosophy about how to shape young people. This piece from AVANT covers the Sea Scouts — the little-known maritime branch of Baden-Powell’s Scouting movement — and their role in WWI Britain as a coastal watch network. Boys would be tasked with standing on the British shorelines in heavy wool jumpers, scanning the water for German ships. The article focuses mostly on the Sea Scouts’ uniform, but I learned some interesting things, like the fact that an organization called the Sea Scouts even existed. Worth a read.
On our Dying Breed newsletter, we published Sunday Firesides: Cultivate the Tomorrow Judgement Today and Why Some Communities Spark and Others Don’t.
Quote of the Week
People who cannot find time for recreation are obliged sooner or later to find time for illness.
—John Wanamaker
