Melanie Chartoff

Larry D., Marilu and me celebrating the pickup of "Fridays" in 1981—thanks to Ruben Mazariegos for this blast from the past...

Talking about Jimmy McHugh songs and stories over lunch with Lee Newman — his grandson and grand promoter!

As August Softly Approaches
As August softly approaches,
the gardens have given what they could.
The longest evenings have already begun their gentle retreat.
Nothing is ending all at once;
everything is learning the art of letting go
without surrendering its beauty.
If we sit still,
the days reveal their hidden rhythm:
a bird calling from an unseen branch,
dew lingering like pearls upon the morning grass,
the slow drift of cloud across an open sky.
The last days of July invite us
to loosen our grip on urgency,
to remember that not every hour
must prove its worth.
The sun rises whether we hurry or not.
The moon keeps its quiet appointments.
The stars wait patiently behind daylight,
never anxious to be seen.
Perhaps wisdom is no more complicated than this:
to live with unhurried grace,
to rest without guilt,
to speak only when words carry kindness,
and to let silence finish what language cannot.
Soon August will arrive
with its deeper gold and longer shadows.
There will be other mornings,
other beginnings disguised as endings.
But today belongs to July,
to warm evenings,
open windows,
the soft hum of insects,
and the generous light
that lingers just a little longer than expected.
May these last days remind us
that life is not measured only by milestones,
but by quiet moments fully inhabited.
May we become, if only for an afternoon,
as unhurried as the clouds,
as rooted as the oak,
as open as the summer sky.
And when July quietly gives way to August,
may we carry forward its gentle wisdom,
grateful for what bloomed,
at peace with what is,
and ready to receive
the quiet grace of the season ahead.
~ 'As August Softly Approaches' by
✍️ Mary Anne Byrne
~ Art by Stephanie Lambourne

https://jewishjournal.com/culture/science_and_technology/390399/three-dates-to-dataland/

Three Dates to Dataland I took three different dates, ages 6, 72 and 35, to see Dataland, the unusual digital art experience in downtown Los Angeles.

Friday Flashback to the sold-out opening of halves of our one woman shows in "Half-Baked," performed to benefit Santa Monica Playhouse. With Laraine Newman.

Who else watched the tall ships floating up the Hudson in NYC 1976? I felt so lucky to live on W. 72nd St. near the river. Thrilling. This was the Amerigo Vespucci sailing in from Italy to celebrate America's birthday. May the fourth be with you!