a.m. and i spent some days last week on orcas island with my parents. orcas, part of the san juan islands in northern washington, is one of the most beautiful places i have ever been. it was nice, and slightly stressful, to spend days with my parents. in the end i always value the time to get to know my parents and my family history better.

we were listening to ray charles (on the ipod, which was a godsend for the 6 hour drive, more on the marvels of the podcast later), when i explained how much i would have loved to see ray charles live. my father recalled vividly and fondly seeing charles in the fifties, my father was in his teens. ladies swayed up to the stage, transfixed by charles. my mom thought i had seen him too, but it was my older siblings who accompanied him at the oregon county fair. my mom and i decided that i must have been in utero, right there for the show, shaping my eventual love for charles.