Rockers are mortal, after all

It wasn’t always this way for me, but within the past couple of years the deaths of people I don’t know have taken on a whole new dimension. Whether I knew the person or not–and particularly if they were somebody famous for one reason or another– the first thing I want to know is how

All we can do is enjoy it

It embarrasses me to admit this, but the first time I ever flew in an airplane happened when I was 21 years old. I was a senior in college, and my girlfriend wanted me to come visit her in New Mexico over the holidays. The first time I flew was out of the Capital airport

And the lady she hails from Trinidad

Flying back home from a week in the Florida Keys was not something that I wanted to do, but the bills that will come in the mail someday must be paid. And while my two children could spend all their days on Duval Street, their teachers here in Chicago might eventually hold it against them.

I wish I had a pencil-thin mustache

Actually I don’t, but I’ve always thought of this song as a distillation of the ethos that fuels much of this blog. It’s about nostalgia for the past, in a world that no longer remembers–or cares much about–the subjects in the remembrances. Just the way that it used to be. I’m heading down to the

Everybody understands the impromptu

The title for this post comes from a Jimmy Buffett song called “Everybody’s Got a Cousin in Miami” from his Fruitcakes album, from some time in the 1990s before he started opening restaurants and selling beer. If a person can become a brand, Jimmy Buffett’s is about as interesting as it gets. So this song was

A sort-of homecoming on Chicago’s North side

The upcoming Bruce Springsteen concerts in Wrigley Field in September promise to be a good time. But it’s not widely-known that Springsteen’s first show that wasn’t on the East coast came way, way back in early 1973, at a Chicago club known as the Quiet Knight. I wasn’t in Chicago back then, but if I

Watching fireballs in the sky

Tuesday evening, July 3, Wilmette, IL The stage was set for a memorable evening. The weather was warm, but tolerable after an uncomfortably muggy day. A full moon hung low in the sky, as if to add extra illumination for the proceedings to come. And the majestic Baha’i Temple–the closest thing the North Shore has to a

Appreciating American music

As I was returning home from a long and most enjoyable vacation today, I commenced the battle of finding something on the radio. I wrote about this once before, and it makes me appreciate the concept of satellite radio. You pick a station you like, and never have to worry about whether it comes in

Paris, not horrible at all

When I was young, maybe in the first or second grade, there was a schoolyard chant that was directed at me. Kids being kids, the chant wasn’t very kind. It went like this: Horrible Harris Went to Paris To go see Roger Maris To a seven year-old kid, who didn’t know anything about Paris, or

Some of the concerts I’ve seen

  Photo ©1995 robbi cohn/dead images I wrote this for my sister a few years back, as we were getting ourselves psyched up for our first Springsteen concert. With the new Springsteen tour going on, and a concert at Wrigley Field in the near future, I wanted to dust this off. A few edits have

There’s a Cowboy in the Jungle

Today was the first day of school for my two kids. We had a great summer, from the first weekend in New York City to the last week in South Dakota. It didn’t matter where we were or what we did, it was all good in the summertime. Having summers off–while they no longer serve