Orel Family

We can't see every big show that comes through Detroit. Money and sanity are limiting factors. But, sometime after initially getting in to the Beatles -- and before keying in to Bruce -- Aaron had found The Who. He found The Seeker  on Guitar Hero III , and, as is his fashion, subsequently devoured every recording I had of them. Last summer, he brought to my attention that they -- well, Roger and Pete, anyway -- would be coming to Detroit, for a revival Quadrophenia  tour, and he wanted to go. Frankly, the prospect of a Quadrophenia tour didn't thrill me. It was hardly my favorite work, and besides, Lori and I saw The Who put on a Quadrophenia show at The Palace in 1996, back when John Entwistle was still alive. My main memories were that Pete Townshend played only acoustic guitar during the album presentation that evening, and that the tour program I had purchased was missing many of its pages. Then there was the ticketing: for the kind of seats I might want, I might have t...

Elianna, on dad's shoulders with her new hat, takes in Obama's speech in Detroit, September 5, 2011 (photo: Aaron Orel) Elianna wearing the hat at school, September 6, 2011  (photo: Hillel Day School) Over the past two decades, one might say that I've had my share of blessings. Happily married, living in the same home since 1994, two beautiful and wonderful children. Occasionally, I write something family-oriented, and I try to be fair to the children. This blog piece, however, is going to be somewhat one sided. It's about Elianna. And her hat. And their adventures over the past year. It's a bit of a photo-essay, with occasionally useful words. I have included 45 still shots; 26 of them I took myself, and the others, I tried to credit when I knew who took them. There are youtubes for some of the events described below, but for this note I am sticking to the still pictures. This note doesn't have only Elianna. Aaron's in it, and Lori and I are e...