Dispatch #42 (August 2026)

August 2026 marks two big personal anniversaries: 25 years in Durham and 10 years in this house. Who would’ve thought? Certainly not Duke freshman Dave. Couldn’t be happier to be right here right now, though I might have made some different decisions had I known I’d be raising two small children in these increasingly cramped quarters. But that’s not how things work, is it? In July, we went down to Lake Norman for the Fourth. The highlight was hooking an inflatable raft up to one of the kayaks and towing the kids and their cousin Sully around. Otherwise, laid pretty low: museums, pools, farmers’ markets, Eno River, just classic summertime shit. Work was a bit stressful (tricky client situation) but I think we’re mostly through the woods there. My folks came down at the end of the month to celebrate my mom’s birthday. Here’s a new track, called “Asdreno Dreams” (title by my coworker’s young son, who makes fictitious track listings for fun): Apologies to Claire for having to listen to…