Tag: dad

• Memoir: A summer job (1981)

  

  So much great culture was happening for me in 1981. My high points: Starting Gravity’s Rainbow (1973)–this book challenged my powers of attention and my notions of what a novel could do. I took a year to finish it. Seeing My Dinner With André–a film that both of my parents (divorced) enjoyed with me. Great…

  abendelow

  October 28, 2025

  memoir

  1981, alcoholism, Brian Eno, Chevy Malibu, dad, David Byrne, drug test, illinois wesleyan, Kmart, marijuana, memoir, music, poetry, pot, Psychedelic Furs, self-acceptance, venture store, X

• Memoir: A thought experiment concerning Dad (1973-80)

  

  How would my father be doing if he were alive and well today, if he hadn’t died at 59 of bowel cancer? I think Dad might have adapted pretty well to the current culture. Several times, I saw him accommodate powerful changes in mores that happened around him in the 1970s.  A professional adaptation occurred…

  abendelow

  February 5, 2025

  memoir

  12 steps, 1970s, aa, Al-anon, alcoholism, cannabis, dad, divorced dad, family, jazz, life, love, MAGA, memoir, music, new wave music, oak park, oakbrook terrace, parenting, punk, Rochester Germicide Company, rock, suburbs, Trump

• Memoir: a near miss (1972)

  Far surpassing the brightness and rapidity of burning firecracker powder, the shell’s gunpowder burn is intense, a satisfying reward for the effort it takes to dislodge the pin.

  abendelow

  November 30, 2023

  memoir

  dad, lack of supervision, shotgun shells, violence