Mmmm, food.

The Twin Cities' Best Restaurants of the year.

But, Juliana! I don't live there! Why should I go read the article? Because Dara is freakin' hysterical and one of the best writers out there, and she will probably be snatched up to Chicago or L.A. or New York soon. So, go. Read.

(And ignore the fact that there's still no original content here.....)

Men and Dads.

I'm protesting the '70s glam icon quiz (though I got Lou Reed), because there's no women on it. I'm not conversant enough with that part of music history, but I'm pretty sure there weren't any women in glam rock (so it makes the protest kind of silly, I admit).

But it got me to thinking, and I realized that the '70s - in my whacked-out head - are very male years. Yes, there's disco and the transsexualness of that, but disco was so loudly drowned out by punk, by angry white men, by Viet Nam, that the '70s feel male. Beyond punk, there's Alabama and Lynrd Skynrd and CCR and generally shaggy men with facial hair and bell-bottoms.

There's folk, which was heavily female, and there's Joan Armatrading and Joan Baez and Pat Benetar. I know all of that. But that's not my immediate reaction to the concept of the '70s. Huh.

(I repeat, all of this is in my head. I'm aware that I'm woefully undereducated in a lot of areas. Someday, I may do something about that.)



Tying in nicely to that is - Rob. (Most of my favorite pictures of Rob are one's from the '70s and early '80s, where he's all shaggy and bad-ass, teaching his son how to drink....)

Rob scared me a little. His eyes always had a touch of wildness to them, so that you weren't quite sure what he was going to do next. Normally, it was mocking you, but he could have just as easily jumped up and suggested taking a joyride in a tank. And then gone and done it. I don't think he understood the concept of "impossible to do".

Neverless, I loved and adored him, for a few reasons. One, he and Sadie raised this awesome, wonderful, loving man named Zach. Two, he welcomed me into his Corner of Snark whenever Sadie's family gathered for the holidays (they're loud and hyper. We'd just sit and drink and make comments to each other). Three, he was, um, well.... I was going to say a good father figure, which he was, but in an entirely unconventional and very Rob-like way. Hence Zach's first full sentence: "No thanks, Dad, I don't want any more beer." He was a good Dad, and that's something I've lacked in my life, something I've looked for. Fourth, he adored me, and a Curtis's adoration is an all-encompassing, forceful thing. It's not something you brush off lightly or fail to return.


I don't know if I can ever explain the past year and a half. It's chronicled here and in the hearts of my loved ones, but I don't know that any explanation will be forthcoming. Falling back in love with Zach has actually made it harder to move past everything, because we (and I) need to confront and solve problems instead of just going "Well, that happened" and moving on. Which is where I was in September. I feel I've done the cha-cha many times this past year. Maybe now we can switch to a tango.

Miss you, Rob. I'll take care of your son and wife as best I can, then I'll catch you on the flipside.