Robin’s Nest

by Robin Munson

You know, we never discuss politics on MLR.  It’s okay.  My mother taught me never to talk about religion or politics in mixed company.  In fact, she taught me never to talk about religion or politics at all! It always leads to big arguments.  It ruins friendships, wrecks marriages, and nobody ever gets converted.  To put it another way, as Art and I have so often observed, “You can’t tell anybody anything!” So, we won’t start talking politics now.

However, we can talk about meta-politics.  (I just made that word up.)  In other words, we can talk about how politics, on the whole, affect us.  And that, I think, most of us can agree on.  Say what you will about the past year, but it’s been full of politics!  People have been yammering away about what’s happening in Washington, and the talk has not been pretty! (more…)

by Robin Munson

It’s Crunch Time. We are a few weeks from Christmas and Chanukah. Once again, we must gather whatever remaining strength we have at the tail end of a challenging year and summon up the holiday spirit. We have shopping, cleaning, cooking, family gatherings. Some of us might have holiday gigs, musical or non. You might be tempted to drown your sorrows in Haagen-Dazs. (I might be!) So how do we take care of ourselves at a time like this? (more…)

by Robin Munson

A while back, Art and I had a gig! We played at the annual holiday brunch at the community clubhouse.  It was the first time we had played out in a very long time. (Like, decades!) I played piano and Art played acoustic guitar.  We were joined by our neighbor, Gary, who plays violin in a local symphony and string quartet, and later (quite spontaneously) by our neighbor, Vib, on his harmonica.

There were around 50 people there of all ages, milling around the clubhouse, eating a potluck brunch, laughing, joking, and wishing each other the joy of the season. As people were streaming in we played quietly in the background, just to help create the holiday mood.  (more…)