I was out of town on vacation and got tied up with a few work things, so I haven’t done much updating here for the last couple of weeks. In that time:

1. Another white emo guitar guy won The Show. Wow, what a change of pace. I think it’s time to adjust the judging process here so the Army of Tween Girl Texters don’t continue to control the outcome.

2. I saw (part) of my family at a Georgia sea island vacation. We all rented a vacation cottage together, and I got to see my brother and three of my sisters (I’m from a family of seven kids). Also, Tybee Island is a great place to visit.

3. I made a discovery. As part of the process of cleaning out and repairing the shed at the house (see below), I found a box marked ‘books and electronics.’ I only saw books when I opened it — but when I got rid of the books, there were a half-dozen harmonicas and a microphone there. The mic was the one I used at my wedding, and it has a ceramic element that is much-loved by harp players and no longer made. I thought it was gone forever, but it’s just been in the corner of my shed for a decade. And the harps were kind of cool as well — there were a couple of Huang harmonicas in there, which were what I used when I was broke in the 1980s, along with several Lee Oskars and a couple of Marine Bands. I’ve cleaned them all and most of them work just fine.

4. The Washington Nationals have become more awesome. That Memorial Day game was an unfair travesty — they had to play a late-starting TV game in Atlanta, get on a plane and fly to Miami for a day game the next day — but the Nats continue to beat up on their National League East counterparts. Considering that almost every team in the East has had a little run this year and every team might crack .500, the team that can beat its in-division rivals is likely to be the one that wins the division (and conversely, the level of competition in the division means it’s less likely to produce a team with the record needed to be a wild card). And remember: Michael Morse, Drew Storen, Jayson Werth et al are still out of service. This is going to get better. And don’t forget about the Orioles — I definitely have a pilgrimage there in my future.

Previously: The shed | Hokum home