Owl At Home, by Arnold Lobel

Rachel Abramson

My mom often read me this book, Owl At Home, by Arnold Lobel, when I was a kid. It’s about an owl who lives alone in a big old house, and is often at home in his bathrobe and pajamas. Owl worries about the bumpy shadows that his knees make against the wall when he’s in bed, and he wants to know how to be in two places at once, so he doesn’t have to miss his upstairs when he’s downstairs, and miss his downstairs when he’s upstairs. My mom especially loved one of the chapters of the book, called “Tear-Water Tea,” where Owl takes time to cry into a teapot about things that are sad. As a kid this book disturbed me a little, but nevertheless, Tear-Water Tea became part of my personal vernacular for a certain kind of sadness, and a certain sort of intensity that is a very real part of both my mother and me. This is a tiny ode to my mom and Owl At Home.

Music = John Coltrane, “Acknowledgement.” Love Supreme. Impulse! Records, 1965.

Episode #3: September 2014

Sisters at Santa Rita Abbey. Picture by Brian Powell

Sarah with her cows. Picture by Brian Powell

Hi y’all! Here’s what’s happening in Episode #2:

1. Rabies shots gone wrong: Reyes Suarez’s plan to skip class gets out of control!

2. Stop the Rosemont mines: Residents of Sonoita, AZ talk about their relationship to the land they live on…and how a proposed copper mine would change that.

Music on the podcast (in order of appearance): Ray Charles, Henry Reiser, Gus Coliadis, the sisters of Santa Rita Abbey.

Episode #2: February 2014

a. Run-aways heading towards Colonial Williamsburg

b. A tale of bravery at sea in the Greek Islands

c. Dolls! Terror!

d. My grandma’s last days, Alzheimer’s, and the power of music therapy (this one’s less funny)

Come back soon! Thanks for stopping by!

November 2013 Episode 1: