Author Archives: Alan Ilagan

A vase of carnival-colored tulips stands in the center of our living room greeting guests for a Saturday brunch and insisting on spring even if the weather itself isn’t quite cooperating yet. It’s been so long since we’ve had a proper brunch, the day feels celebratory, and perfectly emblematic of the season of renewal and new beginnings. 

In the air the sounds of ‘Perpetual Optimism’ as performed by Herlin Riley scatter from room to room, the title a living testament to how we will choose to have our brunch today – with hope and optimism, laughter and joy, indulgence and glee. 

There is perhaps no greater reservoir of hope and promise than a Saturday morning in early spring. Easter is almost upon us, the wilderness of March recedes into dim memory, and a lively bit of jazz sets the tone for the day. Anything is possible, and it’s ok to embrace that at last. 

Get out there and make your own fun this weekend. Spring is here. Let there be love. 

It was an early Friday afternoon, and I’d taken an early lunch to beat the forecasted spell of rain scheduled to take place just at my usual lunch break time. Count on snow squalls and rainstorms and general meteorological fuckery whenever I plan on taking lunch outside the office. It’s the way the world runs. 

On this day, I carried my umbrella, and just as I arrived at Stacks, the rain arrived on cue, so I ordered a coffee and took up a corner seat overlooking the little park nearby. A couple of squirrels darted by, while a sporadic spattering of people paraded by the window – more than I was accustomed to seeing at my later lunch time. 

Allowing my cup of coffee to cool, I studied the reflections of tree branches on the surface of the liquid. A mist was falling, and low clouds hovered around the higher reaches of the surrounding downtown buildings. 

A song called ‘A Foggy Day’ by Ahmad Jamal seems a fitting musical accompaniment to close out this Saturday morning post. We are brunching soon… come back for lemon cardamom sweet rolls, a souffle, and a variation on a Bellini with orange blossom water. 

“I’m sure I should be myself were I once among the heather on those hills.” – Emily Brontë

Heaths and heathers are coming into their own at this time of the year, and while I’ve never grown them, I see them here and there, and anything slightly green or flowering is a glorious sight. Like the hellebores, they are early bloomers, with foliage that is often evergreen – unfortunately when it’s not, they can look a little ragged and bedraggled, which is largely why I have avoided them in our own garden. 

That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy them in others, and on a recent stroll in Boston I came upon these beauties, defying the current winter-throwback cold spell and bravely blooming in the face of all the ill wind. 

63 days ago I started playing Wordle.

For 62 days I managed to guess the word correctly.

That streak came crashing down the same night that the Oscars chose violence, and thankfully I was too shook by that to care much about Wordle.

I’d been mentally dreading this day (and jokingly tell friends I’d tentatively scheduled an extra therapy session for when it finally happened) but maybe I’d prepared myself without even realizing it. To get four out of five letters on the first try seemed a good omen, but each and every try after that proved elusive. 

Still, it feels like a respectable loss, and the world needs to be better about losing. 

It also frees me up to miss a Wordle now and then – the beauty of breaking with tradition.

Skip texted me he wasn’t sure about watching the Oscars this year, and I had to agree. Both of us weren’t really aware of the nominees, had seen even fewer of the movies, and after two years of weaning ourselves off cinema thanks to COVID, we weren’t as obsessed as we once were. To poorly paraphrase Edith Wharton, the world we knew had crumbled and rebuilt itself without us even noticing. 

That said, when Serena and Venus Williams introduced Beyonce for a visually-stunning performance of her Oscar-nominated song, I perked up, paid attention, and settled in for a surprisingly enjoyable Academy Awards event. The usual notifications from JoAnn on her favorite dresses came in – an annual tradition – and I marveled at some stunning use of color in this year’s ensembles. 

Overall though, the weight and import of such events has been diminished. There is just too much happening in our real lives, and in the world at large, to be as concerned and invested as I once believed myself to be. That sort of interest feels somewhat silly, and very far away. 

That doesn’t mean I can’t and didn’t enjoy it. I felt the frisson of seeing our superstars decked out and giddy with the excitement of their night. Feasting my eyes upon the various frocks and ensembles still inspired and delighted my senses. Thrilling at the colors of those who went bold, and winking at the edgier choices by the likes of Timothée Chalamet and Kristen Stewart, it was a return to glamour in a whole new world. 

{UPDATE: Right after this post was written, Chris Rock made a G.I. Jane joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s hair, and Will Smith walked up on stage and smacked him. He then said, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.” So it seems that this year even the Oscars had to be traumatizing. Enjoyable return to glamour? Not quite. If there was one place I thought someone would be completely assured and safe in NOT getting hit, it would have been live on stage at the Academy Awards. And as triggering as this was for me to see, I’m not going to comment on it one way or another. This blog was never intended for a deep exploration of anything other than myself.}

Wicked winds and squalls of snow are no surprise at this early stage of things, but Kira and I managed to have our first Spring Stroll this past weekend, avoiding the rain and finding the sun. But before all that fun (and it will be worth a look in a few days) let’s go back over the past week, which is personified by this casual/exhausted robe look. It’s Monday, let’s go easy on each other. 

Just put your hands together and pray.

A very prim spring.

Just say gay. 

Rising like Oz in downtown Albany. 

A cheer for spring.

A tea cup of contemplation. 

A baby seal in bed. 

The new ‘it’ girl… and she’s green.

Abba & Andy.

The return of the fig.

When it’s ok to have hope.

Zac Efron, gratuitously shirtless. 

Our duo of Dazzlers of the Day consisted of Congressman Paul Tonko and Sebastian Yatra.