Every year, my friend Brandi takes her preteen niece Paige on a trip for spring break, and this year, June and I went along. Last week, the four of us spent four days exploring the Grand Canyon and nearby Antelope Canyon, eating trail mix (the kind with M&Ms in it, the only kind), and feeling a quasi-religious level of gratitude that the flat tire we got while driving between the aforementioned canyons didn’t occur in the desolation of mid-desert but rather in the parking lot of one of only two gas stations along the route.

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Somehow, June is now big enough to carry her own backpack. My life passes before my eyes.

Back at home, I find that we have reached, yet again, the time of year when the weather in Seattle feels its most Seattle-ish, the rain’s last hurrah. It’s another early spring, another March, another year that I again listen to the music that makes Seattle feel most Seattle-y, by which I mean Mother Love Bone’s “Crown of Thorns” and Pearl Jam’s “State of Love and Trust,” both from the Cameron Crowe film Singles. I love Singles with the kind of single-minded devotion adolescent boys lavish on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In my next life, FYI, I will be Bridget Fonda in Singles.

Also, from a similar era, hey, don’t forget about Mazzy Star’s “Fade into You.” Man.

On a wholly different note, Ethan Hawke – who, now that I think about it, made his name in that same era – is a top-notch person. I listened to him on WTF with Marc Maron this morning as I waded through the bills that accumulated in my absence, and I loved what he had to say about acting, art, Richard Linklater’s approach to moviemaking, and the importance (or lack thereof) of plot in storytelling.

A wholly different thing from that, but another top-notch person, our friend Edouardo Jordan, chef-owner of Seattle restaurant Salare, was profiled in a recent issue of Lucky Peach. What he has to say about being black in a professional kitchen is very important, and it’s a great read.

Last but not least, thanks for the very kind things you said about Dino’s.

Be well out there, and happy week.