Just A Peck 0061 // Maples, Movies, Molars

Just A Peck

Welcome to the latest issue of Just A Peck. I’m glad you’re here!

JOURNAL

It’s September! The weather here along the lake is still beautiful, but the crown of our big maple has started to turn, and clumps of rowan berries have appeared on our Mountain Ash trees like vibrant holiday ornaments.

The crown of our big maple against a blue sky, the topmost leaves just starting to turn orange

I had more free time this week than I’ve had in a while. I took advantage of that to catch up with some friends after work, including a lovely sunset beach chat with Kate on Tuesday, drinks and nachos with Jess and Sean on Thursday, and dinner with Alyson and Jason on Friday.

Blue dusk over Lake Superior, with soft clouds reflected in the calm water at the beach

I also broke the longest gap in my movie viewing that I can remember. After a month without watching a single thing, I had time to see two movies this week — one for our family movie discussion and one in the theater. (More below.)

An empty movie theater with rows of red seats, my feet propped up as the previews play on the big screen

This was Jody’s first official week back at work after her summer break (although she spent much of that break working). It was a mix of professional development, meetings, an open house, and prep for the arrival of her new class of students next week. Unfortunately, it’s also when the persistent tooth sensitivity she had been experiencing in August exploded into excruciating tooth pain. An emergency visit to the dentist on Thursday confirmed the need for a root canal, but the soonest they could get her in was next Wednesday. So we restructured our plans and spent our time dealing with pain management instead.

A cold pack, bottles of ibuprofen and Tylenol, and a tube of Orajel lined up on the kitchen counter

We had our monthly family movie club this morning to discuss Jody’s pick, Meet Me in St. Louis (a first-time watch for everyone but Kelsie). A great conversation, like always. We spent a lot of the time just quoting that sociopath, Tootie.

A four-way video call grid for family movie club: Alex and Kelsie on the couch with a puppy, Kaylee and Justin in the living room with Jody holding an ice pack, Spencer grinning in his blue shirt, and Corey snuggling Lyra

WHAT I WATCHED THIS WEEK

Meet Me in St. Louis poster
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). First time watch for me. Tootie as a compulsively lying proto-Wednesday Addams was fun. (Her terrified Halloween walk to deliver some cruelty to an innocent neighbor and the Lord of the Flies celebration with neighborhood hooligans afterwards felt like something out of an entirely different film.) Leon Ames and Mary Astor are great. Ma Kettle doesn't like her homemade ketchup too sweet.
The Dog Stars poster
The Dog Stars (2026). Solid performances and beautiful scenery in an otherwise grim, uneven post-apocalypse movie. I didn't have a bad time, but is this how the novel goes? The Zero Dark Thirty night-vision battle with the Mad Max war boys? The bonkers Fallout-esque video game level at the Grand Junction airport?

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK

Finished:

The cover of Last Day of a Prior Life by Andrés Barba on a Kindle screen
Last Day of a Prior Life, by Andrés Barba. "A ghost story without ghosts." A short, Shirley Jackson-esque piece of…poetic horror, maybe? Eerie existentialism? Liminal literary loneliness? A little scary at points, but mostly just sad and lovely. The first book I've read on the Kindle in quite a while. I still prefer physical books.

In Progress:

BOOKS I PURCHASED

MEMORIES

Five Years Ago:

We were getting promo shots and video for Spamalot, including this iconic photo of Phil as one of the French taunters.

Phil as a French taunter in a tall helmet, chainmail, and curled mustache, leaning over the castle wall with gloved hands dangling
The Spamalot cast in costume gathered on stage under the lights during the promo video shoot

Ten Years Ago:

We were dropping Spencer off for his sophomore year at college in the infamous “Five Guys” house, where he would stay for the rest of his undergrad.

Spencer in a black polo and jeans, smiling on the front steps of the Five Guys house

Fifteen Years Ago:

We dropped Alex off for his freshman year of college in Eau Claire, and took some notable First Day of School photos (Corey’s senior year, Spencer’s freshman year, Kaylee’s first year of middle school).

Alex with his arm around a young Kaylee in front of The Towers dorm in Eau Claire on move-in day
Spencer, Corey, and Kaylee on the front porch for first-day-of-school pictures
Spencer and Corey with backpacks and bags beside the car, ready to head off for the first day of school

WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT

A Chorus Line kicks off the new Duluth Playhouse season this week! An outstanding creative team on this one including Amber Burns as director, Kayla Schiltgen as choreographer, Jeff Brown as lighting designer, and Kaylee as the stage manager! It’s also a huge cast of incredible local artists. So many reasons to see it! Get your tickets here.

The Duluth Playhouse banner for A Chorus Line, a line of dancers standing with their backs to the camera

MY FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

RIP to Wendell Berry. In his honor, here is his piece entitled "Questionnaire":

1. How much poison are you willing to eat for the success of the free market and global trade? Please name your preferred poisons.

2. For the sake of goodness, how much evil are you willing to do? Fill in the following blanks with the names of your favorite evils and acts of hatred.

3. What sacrifices are you prepared to make for culture and civilization? Please list the monuments, shrines, and works of art you would most willingly destroy.

4. In the name of patriotism and the flag, how much of our beloved land are you willing to desecrate? List in the following spaces the mountains, rivers, towns, farms you could most readily do without.

5. State briefly the ideas, ideals, or hopes, the energy sources, the kinds of security, for which you would kill a child. Name, please, the children whom you would be willing to kill.

— Wendell Berry

That’s it for this week. Stay safe, friends. Thanks for reading!

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