Yup, it’s been eight years since we tied the knot. Each one’s better than the previous one.

I love you, lady!

At Thanksgiving my Mom gave me an envelope full of old family photos. They’re all great, but the one above is particularly notable. Taken in 1933, it depicts a young Nana and Popop out for a drive with a friend. Doesn’t Popop look kinda like somebody?

Popop and Nana are together again. I just learned from my mom that my grandfather Bill passed away this morning. It’s as much a relief as it is a sorrow. He’d been wasting away since his Charlotte died, and it was very sad for the family to watch him suffer. He died at home, which is a rare and beautiful thing for someone his age. Now he’s with his Lord and his wife.

He was an impressive man and made quite an impact on me as I grew up. He was quiet and gentle but spoke and prayed with a certain authority. He had a kind face and a dry sense of humor. He spent many years as a welder, yet he loved to tend his garden and bake bread. He was Popop. We all loved him.

(Side note: I know it’s just an odd coincidence, but Popop is the third person named Bill that I knew personally who’s passed away this summer.)

She’s totally in your face!

Well there hasn’t been a comment on the site in over 30 hours. That can only mean one thing: you people want to see photos of my wife as a little girl! I’ve been scanning Burrell family photos for various reasons and there are many images of my better half when she was an excruciatingly adorable child. I’m passing the savings on to you.

Haven’t posted a picture of Her Royal Cuteness in a while. (That’s my wife Shereen with our great niece Jade, by the way.)

On Saturday we made our annual Christmas visit to NYC. The day began with a visit to Shereen’s last Juilliard opera workshop class, in a stuffy little studio on a high floor of the Carnegie Hall building. I met the Maestro, heard Shereen sing in front of her classmates, then joined everyone for a carol sing around the piano. Need a dose of humility? Try singing Christmas carols with a dozen competitive opera singers.

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