Midnight Musings – A journal by Jade Walker

In Memoriam: A Look Back At Many Of The People We Lost in 2020

December 28, 2020 / 1 Comment

Some people view obituaries as morbid stories, but in truth only one line of an obit deals with death. The rest of the story focuses on the amazing lives people led.

In 2020, these were the obituaries of people whose lives — and deaths — most affected me:

* Betty Pat Gatliff, forensic artist

* Neil Peart, drummer

* Michael Cafferty, author and attorney

* Mary Higgins Clark, mystery novelist

* Kirk Douglas, actor

* Katherine Johnson, NASA mathematician

* Clive Cussler, adventure novelist

* James Lipton, “Inside the Actors Studio” host

* Kenny Rogers, country music singer/actor

* Bill Withers, R&B singer

* Earl Deutch, ‘Kiss Cam’ favorite

* William Helmreich, sociology professor and New York walker

* Bob Otto, who played “Taps” at more than 5,000 veteran funerals

* Tom Burford, apple expert

* Kate Matte, bookseller

* Brian Dennehy, actor

* James M. Beggs, NASA administrator

* Madeline Kripke, doyenne of dictionaries

* Jack Randall, ichthyologist and coral specialist

* Little Richard, self-described “King and Queen” of rock and roll

* Roy Horn, illusionist

* Motoko Fujishiro Huthwaite, last of the “Monuments Women”

* Fred Willard, actor

* Ian Holm, actor

* Joel Schumacher, director

* Carl Reiner, comic actor/writer/director

* Hugh Downs, broadcast journalist

* Ennio Morricone, film composer

* John Lewis, civil rights leader and congressman

* Kelly Preston, actress

* Regis Philbin, talk show and game show host

* Olivia de Havilland, actress

* Wilford Brimley, actor

* Chadwick Boseman, actor

* Ruth Bader Ginsburn, Supreme Court justice

* Eddie Van Halen, rock guitarist

* Sean Connery, actor and original James Bond

* Luis Troyano, “Great British Baking Show” finalist

* Alex Trebek, game show host

* Jan Morris, travel writer, historian and memoirist

* Ben Bova, science fiction writer

* Betsy Wade, journalist

* Al Cohen, magician and magic shop owner
2020: The Year In Review

December 19, 2020 / 1 Comment

At the end of each year, I always take a moment to examine the ups and downs I experienced. What follows is my personal and professional review of 2020. I:

* Produced/edited hundreds of breaking news stories about the near-war with Iran, Trump’s impeachment trial, the massive wildfires in Australia and California, the coronavirus pandemic, the busy hurricane season, the racial injustice protests, the 2020 election and numerous celebrity deaths.

* Penned 16 journal entries.

* Passed the 60,000th tweet mark on my personal Twitter account (@jadewalker).

* Began a stay-at-home regimen due to the pandemic on Feb. 26. Took one COVID-19 test (negative) and purchased a dozen masks. Avoided getting sick.

* Maintained two Instagram accounts: @thejadewalker and @catsofjade.

* Read 64 books and numerous magazines.

* Watched 48 TV programs, 64 movies and listened to many podcasts.

* Participated in The Society of Professional Obituary Writers, the New Hampshire Writers Guild, the New York City Writers Group, the South Florida Freelancers Group, the Authors Guild, PEN America and the Silent Book Club, Manchester, NH chapter.

* Planted a container garden and launched a gardening journal.

* Spent months searching for our next home (alas, not in Scotland — damn pandemic). No luck yet.

* Tried to get more sleep. Failed miserably, due to stress.

* Fainted, landed face-first on hard tile, lost a few teeth, fractured my jaw and suffered through a lot of dental work. Now wearing braces.

* Decorated the front and inside of our house for Christmas and mailed 30 Christmas cards.

* Suffered from at least 33 migraines and lost 62 days of my life to pain. Average headache duration: 19 hours.

* Mourned the deaths of my dear Aunt Mona, several colleagues and our 14-year-old cat Brigid.

* Worked my 30th year as a professional journalist. Am once again facing possible layoffs since my news outlet has been sold.

* Celebrated my 20th anniversary as Jade Walker.

* Celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary.

* Turned 47.

Goals for 2021

* Change careers.

* Avoid any library fines.

* Organize the pantry.

* Plant more flowers and veg in the garden.

* Sleep at least 7 hours a night.

* Work on my fiction.

* Read at least 60 books.

* Practice hygge.

* Win the lottery.
My top 10 favs of 2020: A year spent reading, watching and listening to stories

December 6, 2020 / No Comments

Amidst the dumpster fire that was 2020, I consumed 64 books, 48 TV programs, 63 movies and many podcasts. These were my favorites:

(Note: Not all were released during the past 365 days.)

MY FAVORITE BOOKS – FICTION

1. If It Bleeds by Stephen King

2. “Fangs” by Sarah Andersen

3. “Book Love” by Debbie Tung

4. “The Starless Sea” by Erin Morgenstern

5. “Dead Things” by Stephen Blackmoore

6. “Broken Souls” by Stephen Blackmoore

7. “The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers (And Their Muses)” by Terri-Lynne DeFino

8. “This Is How You Lose the Time War” by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

9. “The House in the Cerulean Sea” by T.J. Klune

10. “One Hundred and Fifty-Two Days” by Giles Paley-Phillips

(Honorable mentions: “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” by Fannie Flagg, “Happily Ever After & Everything In Between” by Debbie Tung, “Before the Fall” by Noah Hawley, “The Chain” by Adrian McKinty and “Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre” by Max Brooks.)

MY FAVORITE BOOKS – NONFICTION

1. “52 Loaves: One Man’s Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning and a Perfect Crust” by William Alexander

2. “Spectacles” by Sue Perkins

3. “One Day: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary 24 Hours in America” by Gene Weingarten

4. “At Home: A Short History of Private Life” by Bill Bryson

5. “Chase Darkness With Me: How One True-Crime Writer Started Solving Murders” by Billy Jensen

6. “The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden” by William Alexander

7. “Flirting with French: How a Language Charmed Me, Seduced Me and Nearly Broke My Heart” by William Alexander

8. “Container Gardening Month by Month: A Monthly Listing of Tips and Ideas for Creating a Professional Container Garden” by Gloria Daniels

9. “My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me: A Memoir” by Jason B. Rosenthal

10. “The Ungarnished Truth: A Cooking Contest Memoir” by Ellie Mathews

(Honorable mentions: “Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving” by Mo Rocca, “Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death” by Caitlin Doughty, “101 Organic Gardening Hacks” by Shawna Coronado, “If You Lived Here You’d Be Home By Now: Why We Traded the Commuting Life for a Little House on the Prairie” by Christopher Ingraham and “The World According to Tom Hanks: The Life, the Obsessions, the Good Deeds of America’s Most Decent Guy” by Gavin Edwards.)

Overall reading ratio: I read 18,979 pages — 57% fiction, 43% nonfiction; 48% male authors, 52% female authors.

MY FAVORITE TV SHOWS

1. Escape to the Country
2. Gardener’s World
3. Love Your Garden
4. The Great British Baking Show
5. Somebody Feed Phil
6. Travelers
7. Evil
8. Chef’s Table: BBQ
9. Why Women Kill
10. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

(Honorable mentions: 9-1-1, Supernatural, Diagnosis, The Mandalorian, Lenox Hill, America’s Test Kitchen, Nadiya’s Time to Eat, Grand Designs, Flashpoint, The Resident, 9-1-1 Lonestar and Barry.)

MY FAVORITE MOVIES

1. The Booksellers
2. If Anything Happens I Love You
3. Dear Santa
4. The Report
5. 1917
6. Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind
7. Bushwick
8. Betty White: First Lady of Television
9. The Quiet Place
10. Kedi

(Honorable mentions: The Old Guard, Enola Holmes, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Marriage Story, Toy Story 4, Christopher Robin, Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story and Onward.)

MY FAVORITE PODCASTS

1. Lost at the Smithsonian with Aasif Mandvi
2. Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me
3. Small Town Dicks
4. Against the Rules
5. Mobituaries
6. Christmas Past
7. 99% Invisible
8. Clear+Vivid With Alan Alda
9. The Anthropocene Reviewed
10. David Tennant Does A Podcast With…
and
Sue Perkins: An Hour or So With… (tie)

(Honorable mentions: Radiolab, Criminal, Death Sex & Money, Sidedoor, Fresh Air, Dear Hank & John, Nocturne, Awards Chatter, The Christmas Stocking and The Daily.)
Quote of the week

December 2, 2020 / No Comments

“Books are quiet and interior experiences in a very loud world.” –John Green
Getting to know all about you

December 1, 2020 / 4 Comments

Steve Glassman, one of my oldest friends, spent last month blogging like a maniac as part of Nano Poblano. I followed his posts, and even after knowing him for more than three decades, managed to learn some new things.

Since Steve opted to be so candid, I felt it only fair to reply in kind. These are my responses to the questions he answered here:

What’s the #1 most played song on your playlist?

I checked the play counts in my iTunes app and found “Virtuoso” by Black Violin was at the top of the list. The other most-played app-toppers:

“Uncharted: The Eldorado Megamix” by DJ Shadow
“(The Forgotten People)” by Thievery Corporation
“Fresh Blood” by Eels
“Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked” by Cage the Elephant

Are these my favorite songs? No, though I do love ’em. But they are the songs I listen to in the middle of the night, during a long drive, while working out or when I just need an extra boost of “Jade” energy.

Apple has also created a “smart playlist” of the songs I listen to most often. Other than the ones listed above, my top five were:

“Do I Wanna Know?” by Arctic Monkeys
“Calm the Storm” by Graffiti 6
“Come Over Here” by Sam Bettens
“Escape Artist” by Zoe Keating
“Dead Souls” by Nine Inch Nails

What is one of your favorite quotes?

“Just once in a while let us exalt the importance of ideas and information.” –Edward R. Murrow

Alas, we live in an age where millions proudly disdain seekers of knowledge and worship “reality tv” personalities.

What sound do you love?

I love eavesdropping on the conversations of trees.