The Byrne Diaspora

Happy birthday, Michelle!

 

I met Michelle my BFF in the fall of 1983 at Lebanon Catholic High School, when she had just transferred from Lower Dauphin.  Since then, she and I have celebrated our Taurus and Gemini days 26 times!  This year I'll see her in New York for her birthday, and I'm sooooo especially glad to see her, since she recently finished six weeks of daily radiation therapy for a brain tumor.  Still healing in body and spirit, nevertheless Michelle is back in the flow of life, which includes working as an assistant U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, being a great mom of three, riding horses, coaching hockey, and in general keeping on seeing what happens next in this wondrous life.  So, let this post be a collective prayer for her!--and for all those in hospitals, undergoing treatments, and recovering afterward.  There are so many.  These are such journeys going on around us all the time.  Meanwhile, here are some pics of visits with Michelle in the last year, including going to rad with her one day in March.--JEB

Dirty south

 

At long last, I've moved to Durham! And I have what Dad and Donny called a quintessential Durham place--a dirt front yard, a wild unkempt backyard, old fixtures, a gas stove, and well-worn hardwood floors. I love it. My neighbors are wonderful--I met one of them walking his dog at midnight, and another came over with a drill and bits and ladder and even a pair of safety glasses to help me complete my decorations.

Of the apartment's many qualities, perhaps the best is the huge back porch, where I've set up chairs and a wicker stool. Yesterday I sat there in the dappled sunlight and read Newsweek cover to cover. And so far, I've been very hermit-like...I take naps here, I write here, I'm letting the space own me. And vice versa. See more pictures here :)  --MCB

Lo!

 

Melleray has a new resident: A REFRIGERATOR. Lo! or, in the vulgate, zOMG!!!! 

It appeared in the night, and is powered solely by prayer. 

And thus we finally have enough room to store all the milk Donny drinks. 

The end. ;)  --MCB

Ka-BLOOM!!!

 

Dad told me that, when he goes out at night with his headlamp on, in the beam he can see blizzards of matter swirling sideways. In the morning, my car was coated in yellow. The next day, every time the wind blew, great clouds moved out of the trees like ghosts leaving their bodies.

Thank God I'm not allergic--but just the sheer mass of pollen had me coughing and blinking goombas out of my eyes. NPR says it's one of the worst pollen seasons on record. But...I'm not complaining ;)  Not only is it fun to watch, like some rare celestial event, but it means spring is in full bloom here! For example, today I went to Foster's of Durham, which has a patio covered in wisteria vine, which dropped grape blossoms onto my open book while I ate lunch. This is (just one reason) why I love North Carolina. Its beauty cannot be overstated. Especially in spring. 

See some photos of Melleray here (start at #64), from before and after the "blizzard"! ;)  --MCB

It's a boy!

He's not here yet!--but in July a new boy-baby shall be among us.  The little one will be Lakaisha Nicole and Don 3's firstborn, and here are the telltale sonogram photos.  Nicole and the baby are doing magnificently, and so are the resident father and grandfather, and so are the friendly beasts of Melleray, and so is alla Chatham County & far-flung supporters--"the village it takes."  Yay for babyboy!  Yay for new life!  And Happy Easter, everyone!--JEB

Every time I look at you

 

Something about Jesus Christ Superstar stirs up my world again every Good Friday.  Showing this person Jesus so worn down.  His best friend Judas so alarmed for him, and for everyone.  How in love the two were.  How even in love, or especially in love, things can go so wrong.  It's a day for the theology of everything going wrong...getting so out of hand...not having a plan.  I first saw the film in school at St. Mary's when I was 7 or 8, bug-eyed at the images and sounds, but knowing even then: this Jesus and this Judas and this Mary were realer.  Above are Carl Anderson and Ted Neeley, in director Norman Jewison's 1973 rendition of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice score, on location in Israel.  And here, from Judas and the heavenly host, are all the questions.--JEB