kevdonahue.com

Jason Isbell – Better Than Ever

August 8, 2023

I’ve seen Jason Isbell — with and without the 400 Unit — 16 times since 2014. And I have to say, he’s never sounded better, more sure of himself and his music, than last week at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, N.J.

It’s hard to quantify, because I have seen some great concerts — the Saturday night at Shoalsfest 2021, New York’s Beacon Theater in February 2016, my initial concert at Union Transfer in January 2014 (check out this setlist! Streetlights!!!) — but there’s always been something, a hesitancy, a reluctance, a choosing of one against another. There was none of that at the State Theatre.

That could be the absence of his wife, Amanda Shires, a prodigious talent in her own right but a superstar extra in the 400 Unit. She seems to be sitting out this tour, as she concentrates on her own career. Or maybe she is just giving the guy some room. The two famously almost divorced during the recording of his previous album, Reunions. (Don’t believe me? Watch the HBO documentary, which darn near captures it.)

Anyway, Reunions was recorded as covid relented after two years of hell, and maybe we all were ready to divorce the person we had spent the past two years with. Rather than record new material, Isbell then made good on a presidential campaign promise and kicked out Georgia Blue, a bunch of covers of artists from the fulcrum state in the 2020 presidential election.

That meant that by the time he recorded Weathervanes last fall, it had been a long-ass time since he produced original music.

And what music he created. It’s no great insight that he sensed that he lacked some rock-n-roll muscle in his shows over the past few years, and he remedied that with Weathervanes. There are at least 4 shit-kicking rockers in there. And seeing it performed live, I’m 400% convinced Dr. Isbell had arrived on the same diagnosis as me.

In order:

King of Oklahoma: It’s one of the songs on the record he said owe a debt to his time as a member of the Drive-By Truckers, and that is brought home live, where this song takes on a propulsive strength you just don’t get from the recording.

When We Were Close: About his one-time friend Justin Towns Earl, it’s a no-holds-barred remembrance that makes me think of what Jason’s mom told CBS News seven years ago. “We have a joke in our family,” she says. “Be careful what you say in front of Jason, or it’ll show up in a song usually.”

This Ain’t It: It starts like with this classic opening stanza:

Baby, how’d you end up here
In a Texas town in a wedding gown
With a near beer?

And then it just becomes an Allman Brothers Band song, just not by them. It’s an absolute killer live, with Jason and guitarist Sadler Vaden going at it. An instant classic. Can’t wait to hear it twice more in Nashville this October.

Miles: This isn’t a Drive-By Truckers song, it’s more like what would happen if Tom Petty and Paul McCartney had a song baby. It’s seven-plus minutes long, live it includes an ungodly loud bridge with two drummers beating the absolute hell out of their drum sets, and it might be the loudest Dad Rock in the history of the universe. Loved it.
What the heck … Asteroid City

July 9, 2023

My wife loves Wes Anderson. A couple of Christmases ago, she got a book about him and his movies. She thinks everything he has done is great — from Bottle Rocket to now.

Me? Not so much. I think there is good Wes (Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums, Moonlight Kingdom, Grand Budapest Hotel), bad Wes (The French Dispatch, Isle of Dogs and (sorry) The Fantastic Mr. Fox), and something in-between (Life Aquatic, I mean Bill Murray and Willem Dafoem, and Darjeeling Limited). And yesterday, we caught Asteroid City.

From the first scene, it’s a Wes Anderson movie — the cinematography, the dialogue, the story — all very framed and intentional. The object is nested, and nested again.

In this case, the object is a play, which maybe has been concocted by playwright Conrad Earp (Edward Norton — the cast is all the usual suspects, plus Tom Hanks but minus Bill Murray) and might even have existed in the real world, but maybe not. I’m really not sure.

The play happens in a sun-scorched American Southwest, with no shade in sight, though apparently no real heat either (which strikes me as strange as I have colleagues in Texas recently who tell me sun-scorched is very, very, very hot indeed).

I won’t get into the plot, for fear of spoilers, except to say that it conflates and compresses the play, its actual players, their relationships to the playwright and reality in ways that make it not easy to follow what the hell is happening. Oh, and there’s an alien.

What I do know, Jason Schwartzman is interesting, Scarlett Johannsen (above) is incandescent, Liv Schrieber and Rupert Friend will have you asking where do I know these two from, and the Faris triplets steal the show. And Jeff Goldblum was great as The Alien.

I liked it, mostly because it clocked in under 2 hours. I have no idea what it all meant. I put it above Life Aquatic but not quite in good Wes territory. We’ll see what I think on second watch.

What others thought:

NYTimes: Our Town and Country

Esquire: Is this the best Wes Anderson film?

NPR: Has Wes Anderson outdone himself with Asteroid City?
About raising kids — and a marriage

June 2, 2023
Something I wrote a decade ago, that I think is worth sharing now …

Families are like inchworms. Some members lead, some follow, but in the end they all end up in the same place, because it’s all one thing. If you’re at either end, it can be frustrating; that’s where the tensions start. But make no mistake, in the end, an inchworm is one thing.

Rev. Ken Beldon spoke Sunday at our Wellsprings Congregation service about people being buoyant. He said that the problem we run in to is when we forget that and try to hold on to the water, that if you can experience “flow,” and ride the ebb-and-flow of life, that you can avoid sinking.

That reminded me of something Virginia has said more than once, from her experiences working with families as a social worker: Kids are resilient. Given a chance, they can make it out OK.

And it made me think that we parents can overcomplicate and out-think the “problem” that is children. It really comes down to three things. I call it the Hippocratic Oath of Parenting. Do no harm. That does not mean that you can not challenge them; it does not mean you cannot discipline them; it does not mean that you cannot have days where you are not at your best.
- It means that you cannot incapacitate them. You cannot turn them into victims (of you, of a system, of their mother or father or whoever doesn’t live in the house now). You cannot insist they exhibit a disability (even if one previously existed but is no longer there) to keep money coming into the house. It means you keep alive the possibility of their flourishing, no matter the odds, no matter the circumstances. Your first duty is to keep alive their ability to dream.
- It means you should grant them security. You may or may not be able to provide economic security, or existential security. The security you can provide, or attempt to provide through another person or persons if you know you might not be up to the task, is the security that your child is loved, that he or she matters. Kids can survive the empty stomach, a life with a lot of uncertainty. They will not flourish if they suspect they do not matter.
- It means you should grant them opportunity, Opportunity is merely a vantage point. It’s access to experiences beyond their own. Some opportunity is expensive; some is exceedingly cheap. In my mind, opportunity is a function of being valued. You matter, and someday you will appreciate this experience. It’s a gift given freely.
That’s the task: defend capacity, nurture worth, feed it with experience.

Thought of this way, it makes me remember times when I’ve been with my sons but not present, not providing experience. And experience isn’t always a heavy lift — playing a board game or sitting together to watch your NBA team or a thunderstorm, all can provide value as easily as an expensive trip or lessons.

Lastly, it made me realize that marriages ebb and flow, and that there are times for more space and less space around the individuals. Both are important. And that when resentment is growing within me, that’s probably a good time to include a bit more space to better see the shape and structure of this thing we’ve built and feed together. Because when I do, I feel a flood of gratitude and a measure of patience flow through me. Good flow, indeed.
Some quick Oscar picks

March 11, 2023

These are weird times for movies. I don’t know if “going to the movies” is really a thing anymore, and movies now compete with all these TV shows for in-home screen time and attention. Over the last couple years, I just haven’t seen as many of the Oscar contenders as I used to, plus there’s the expanded field (which I think is just a dereliction of duty by the Academy).

Anyway, here are some of the major award picks, based on what I saw in 2022.

Best picture

Who should win: The Fabelmans

Of what I’ve seen, this was the best movie. Spielberg telling his own story. Would it be a “lifetime achievement” award? Of course, but he DESERVES a lifetime achievement award. What a body of work. And there’s not a better movie. Everything Everywhere is just too gosh-darn hectic at the start, and honestly, the mother-daughter parenting relationship gets very complicated by the multiverse thing. All I could think at the end was, how ’bout some consequences, Michele Yeoh? Doesn’t your daughter at least get grounded for a weekend for destroying multiple universes? Apparently not. Banshees is another Martin McDonagh movie moving people around like chess pieces or props. Fingers? Totally optional. Chopping them off? No pain. Ultimately, these are characters, not people. I felt sorrier for the donkey than any of the human characters in the movie. All’s Quiet was brutal and effective, but I’ve seen that movie before, maybe just a few years ago. Top Gun: Maverick might deserve the award simply for reminding us what a blockbuster looks like and saving the movie business. It’s an insane amount of the box office gross for the year. Elvis was .. not good. Afterward, I went to YouTube to see an Elvis with actual charisma. Also bad: Triangle of Sadness, which was a movie about pretty people posing into their phones (why go the movies? I can see this anyplace people congregate). And puke. Lots of puke.

Who will win: Alas, I think it’s gonna be Everything Everywhere …

Best Actor
Who should win: Paul Mescal. Loved him in Aftersun.
Who will win: Colin Farrell. He’s a proxy for the donkey, whom everyone grieved.

Best Actress
Who should win: Cate Blanchett
Who will win: Cate Blanchett

Best Supporting Actress
Who should win: Jamie Lee Curtis. I get this is total old white guy, but she was so much fun in this movie.
Who will win: Stephanie Hsu. She is deserving and was very good.

Best Supporting Actor
Who should win: Ke Huy Kwan, though Judd Hirsch and Barry Keoghan were great.
Who will win: Ke Huy Kwan

Best Director
Who should win: Steven Spielberg
Who will win: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

I haven’t seen enough or paid enough attention to do should/will, but here’s how I think these will go down …

Best Original Screenplay
Who will win: Banshees of Inisherin

Best Adapted Screenplay
Who will win: All Quiet in the Western Front

Cinematography
Who will win: Elvis

Best Visual Effects
Who will win: Avatar

Best Costume Design
Who will win: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Can We Give Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires Some Space? Or Vice Versa?

February 22, 2023

Jason Isbell remains my favorite musician these days, and there’s a lot of energy around him right now. There was a post on a Facebook fan group I enjoy for Isbell about how his wife Amanda Shires was not in the band photo that accompanied the release of the first single for his band’s upcoming album, Weathervanes. Amanda has, and hasn’t, been in those photos for years. With her decision to lean in on her solo career, with last year’s Take It Like a Man, she largely has been out of the orbit of the last tour. And that’s OK. I wrote:

Just my take, and your mileage may vary: Used to be they seemed a piece short when Amanda wasn’t there. On tour last year, that wasn’t the case. It felt like the fivesome was the default, because it was, and they cooked. Between what he releases as a solo or band project and accompanying photos of who “the band” is, Jason provides a lot of fodder for Isbell-ologists.

That said, and non-fans can stop here, if they wish, I’m going to delve into some serious Isbell-ology here.

Part of the story that served the two of them well initially was that Amanda staged an intervention (along with Ryan Adams, of all people) to get Jason professional help when he was at great risk due to his drinking and drugging. She is generally credited with saving his life. It had some very June and Johnny Cash, “Walk the Line” energy.

I spoke to Jason in 2015, for a piece in Men’s Health magazine, as Something More Than Free was landing, and he said this about that time. It’s stuck with me:

When Amanda [Shires] and I first got together and I was drinking a whole lot, I thought she wasn’t going to put up with it, but more than that, and she wouldn’t let on to this at that time — the way she would put it was, ‘Well, I’m gonna leave if you’re gonna keep doing this. I’m gonna leave’ — but I got the sense that she needed me to clean my act up and that I took on a little bit of that responsibility and that burden of her happiness and her well-being, and after that I looked at some other folks, like my mom and my little sister, and I started thinking, ‘Well, these people would really fall apart if I wasn’t here.’ If I drank myself to death or if I had a car accident when I was drunk — which is usually what happens to people my age, you know, your liver doesn’t quit quite that early — I thought that might affect these people’s lives in a way that might not be fixable for them. And I thought that, ‘Well, if they need me to be here , then I’m going to be here and I’m gonna try to be present.’ And I think where a lot of people fall into trouble and wind up repeating the same harmful patterns over and over is when they really don’t feel like anybody needs them around. And that’s a kind of out-of-touch that I never had to feel.

One of the things I’ve always loved about Jason is how self-aware he has been, even if it sometimes has come with a hefty dose of self-loathing.

Because that story was so compelling, a lot of us connected with it. Over time, they’ve shared that they’ve had difficulties, like couples do. Last year, though, Amanda’s highly acclaimed album, Take It Like a Man, took it up a notch, or three. It was very much about the challenges of their relationship and her need to stake out her own artistic space. The album was great, it got a lot of attention, and she toured with it. But it was so raw and personal that it felt a little like watching a couple you like fight at a party. It’s a mixed experience.

Supporting the album took her away from Jason’s band, the 400 Unit, where her vocals, violin and presence were a big part of its unique flavor. Without her, they became a very tight rock band. For the first time, I thought their shows when Amanda wasn’t there were as compelling and focused as the ones when she was there.

It seemed they had inserted some space in their artistic lives, and I guess I hoped that would give them some maneuvering room to tighten up their relationship and grant them some cover artistically. I wished them well; also, I wanted their relationship not to impinge on my enjoyment of both of them artistically.

So, the first single from Jason’s new album, Weathervanes, lands, and I find myself re-conflicted. The first song released from it is called Death Wish, and it’s about a guy trying to salvage a relationship, and a person, battling mental health demons. This follows TILAM, where Amanda sang about being dismissed as crazy.

I realize that art is born of experience and it’s not a mirror, that creativity sometimes means making it up. However, songs like this feel like an invitation to fans to try to read the lyrical tea leaves for clues to the “State of Jason and Amanda.” It make me uncomfortable (not uncomfortable enough to stop writing a long blog post, however ;) )

I guess what I’m thinking is, I want to step off that train. I want to judge the art as art, not as a relational report card. I liked a lot of TILAM, but my favorite song, Stupid Love, was not a dirge. And I hope there is a better song on Weathervanes than Death Wish. It has a beat and some truth to it, but it’s not essential Isbell, and that’s what I want from him. Something that rivals Elephant or Relatively Easy or Danko/Manuel or Vampires, something than exposes or clobbers me with or reminds me of an essential or half-veiled truth. The guy, and Amanda too, are such good artists, this are-they-in-or-out kabuki can be a distraction from the real question: Is there still a better song percolating inside you? Are you gonna share it with the world?

That said, I’m looking forward to Weathervanes and, especially, to seeing it toured this year. I’m penciled in to make it to the Ryman residency with friends. Looking forward to what comes next from Amanda. And the relationship is their business. By November, Amanda could be dating Pete Davidson. Heck, by November, Jason could be dating Pete Davidson. That’s on them. As artists, I hold them to what they create. I’m excited to hear more of it. And I want to stop holding them to a Johnny and June expectation that no longer serves them well. I don’t think it’s fair to them or their art.

Editor’s note: Of course I write this on their 10th anniversary. Good luck, you crazy kids! Now keep it to yourselves.

Happy 10 years of being married to me @JasonIsbell 🎂! I love you very much. pic.twitter.com/5hGUNt5Q4p
— Ol’ Monster Shires (@amandashires) February 23, 2023
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

P.S. Oh, and if you want a transcript of the full interview for Men’s Health, it’s here. He gave me a lot of time while sitting in the parking lot of a supermarket, I think, while we talked.
6 Things I Learned from Wordle

January 2, 2023
Like a lot of people, I played Wordle a lot this past year (see below). It’s ingenious, both simple and complex in the way that can remain intriguing over time. Six guesses to come up with a five-letter word sounds simultaneously super-difficult and pretty easy. Six seems like a lot, until you’re looking at S-A-E on turn number 4 and realize that there are A LOT of possibilities.

Wordle didn’t teach me a whole lot, but it reminded me of some pretty important things.
- There are no perfect beginnings. People spend a lot of time trying to optimize their opening word (a pair of MIT researchers even put their prodigious intelligence to solving it), but Wordle teaches you what you already know: There’s no one way to solve a puzzle. And looking at things a bit askew sometimes works out just fine. On Dec. 27, for example, I started with CORNY. I got the answer (CONDO) in three tries. My weird openers don’t always work out, but I remember when they do. And if it doesn’t work out, I HAVE ANOTHER TRY. And knowing what I do, I can come up with an intelligent follow-up. It keeps things fresh. And moving. And being perfect is rarely the best answer. Resilience is often a more durable response, In fact …
- Keep trying. There’s always another move — until there isn’t. And even then, there’s tomorrow.
- The solution is often closer than you think. My wife despairs after her first two guesses on a near-daily basis. At which point, I say, “You know you’re gonna get it in the next two guesses.” Which she does, except when she doesn’t. The truth is, in a lot of things, you don’t see the finish line until you’re tripping over it. Our whole lived experience is a caution to avoid freaking out as long as humanly possible. Then hold on a little longer. You’ve got this. And if not, remember, there’s tomorrow. (One exception to this rule might be global warming, but I remain skeptical that we won’t figure out how to atomize carbon or build a huge solar umbrella or somehow or other think our way out of armageddon. It’s what we’re good at. Now, agreeing to work together to deploy the global solar umbrella? Not our strength.)
- Regarding “you’re gonna get it,” who wants a partner telling them they’re not gonna get it, anyway? I’m 30 years married; I’ve learned a few things. If you think trolling your partner is good policy, I have news for you. You’re going to be looking for a new partner — soon.
- Language is a pattern. OK, it’s a lot of patterns. All those rules you spent learning in grade school, the stuff you claimed to have been bored out of your mind by, guess what, you paid super attention, because you play Wordle even a few times and you start remembering all the rules and patterns of words — how letters often double up next to each other, how “I” precedes “E” except after “C”, how “E” and “Y” end a crap-ton of words … all of that.
- Endings are elusive. I don’t know how many times I’ve had the equivalent of S-A-E after three turns and went SNAKE-SPARE-SLAVE only to find out the solution was SHAVE. At first, that left me really frustrated, but the point of the game is it is simple and complex, that the answers aren’t obvious, that sometimes I run out of time. As a larger point, that’s usually not that big a deal, when it is a big deal I need to own it, and even then, in most every circumstance, there’s a tomorrow.
That’s it. That’s what Wordle was kind enough to remind me of this past year. I’m curious what others take from games — be they Monopoly, or Bananagrams, or fantasy football, or blackjack.

To close the Wordle loop, I’m attaching my notes for (nearly) every game I played in the past year. If you’re a Wordle nerd, you might find them interesting. Or find out you are better at Wordle than me. And if you are not a Wordle nerd, stop immediately. And happy new year!

What is this? Learn more about Play | Full

Wordle Solutions 2022

Dec-31

Wordle 560 5/6

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜

🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩

⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word MANLY

Tried LAUGH-TALLY-DAILY on way to solution. Was thinking it might be a year-end kind of word, but didn’t really know what that might be.

Dec-30

Wordle 559 5/6

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜

🟨🟩⬜🟩🟨

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word MOLAR

Tried PARCH-SOLAR-ROYAL on way to solution. I can live with 5.

Dec-29

Wordle 558 4/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜

🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜

🟨🟨🟨🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First GRASP

Word HAVOC

Tried CLEAT and ACHOO on the way there. I’ll take it, not an easy word.

Dec-28

Wordle 557 4/6

🟨🟨⬜⬜🟨

⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜

⬜🟨🟨⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word IMPEL

Tried KELPY and SPELL on way to the word, which seems like only party of a word and annoys me. I was using it to lock down where the E should be and not much else. Anyway, shame on you, Wordle.

Dec-27

Wordle 556 3/6

🟩🟩⬜🟨⬜

🟩🟩⬜🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CORNY

Word CONDO

Second guess COLON. Confession, Virginia started playing in bed and I saw she had the O in the second spot. I thought about deliberately messing up my first guess, but that didn’t seem quite honest intellectually, plus I like using unusual opening words.

Dec-26

Wordle 555 6/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First GRATE

Word JUDGE

Almost blew it. All but had it on #2, still took NUDGE-FUDGE-BUDGE to get to JUDGE. Would have been an embarrassing start to the post-Christmas week.

Dec-25

Wordle 554 4/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨

🟨🟨🟨🟩⬜

🟨⬜🟨🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRICE

Word EXTRA

Tried TEARY and AVERT on way to solution.

Dec-24

Wordle 553 3/6

🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩

🟩🟨⬜⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRATE

Word POISE

Second guess was PINCE, just looking for another vowel.

Dec-23

Wordle 552 3/6

🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟨🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TRAIN

Word AORTA

Tried EARTH second and AORTA was supposed to lock dwn whether the A was first or last. Ends up it was both.

Dec-22

Wordle 551 4/6

⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜

⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First FOCUS

Word EXCEL

Tried PECAN-DICEY on way to answer. Lucky to get in 4, as I never go to

Dec-21

Wordle 550 2/6

⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PANSY

Word LUNAR

Got it in 2. Weird opener. Weird second guess, as E, O and Y were all on the board. Sometimes you’re just lucky.

Dec-20

Wordle 549 3/6

🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word THIRD

Second guess was SHIRT. That about got me there.

Dec-19

Wordle 548 4/6

🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩

🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟨🟩🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First SPARE

Word SLATE

Tried SHAKE and STALE on way to solution. Had nightmares of all the combos that go S-A-E. Must be 500 words like that. But got it.

Dec-18

Wordle 547 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨

🟩🟨🟨🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CLOUT

Word TAPER

Second guess was TRAPE, which got all the letters, strangely. I was mostly trying to see if there was an E at the end. Lost the battle, won the war..

Dec-17

Wordle 546 3/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word CHORD

Guessed FLOUR second, which gave me the O in the middle. Didn’t expect to get it on third guess.

Dec-16

Wordle 545 3/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩

🟨🟨⬜⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First SPATE

Word PROBE

Second guess was ROUGE, which was dumb because it didn’t have a P, which I got in the first one. All’s well that ends well, and a 3 is a happy ending.

Dec-15

Wordle 544 4/6

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜

🟨🟩🟨🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word RIVAL

Tried SALVO-VIRAL on way to solution. I never play a V that early and it paid off. I was 50-50 on solving in 3. Can live with it.

Dec-14

Wordle 543 4/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜

🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRATE

Word USUAL

Tried DAILY-ALOOF, didn’t believe it was a U. Turns out it was two U’s.

Dec-13

Wordle 542 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First LIGHT

Word SPOKE

Second try was PRATE. Total luck to get in 3. Was just trying to get letters on the board.

Dec-12

Wordle 541 4/6

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜

🟨⬜🟩🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First SLATE

Word APPLY

Tried VALOR-PUPAL. PUPAL helped a lot in locking down 2 P’s and one location.

Dec-11

Wordle 540 5/6

⬜🟩⬜🟨⬜

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩⬜🟨🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CATER

Word NAIVE

Tried SAUCE-FACIE-WAIVE on way to answer. Not great, but getting that A-E combo early leaves a lot of options.

Dec-10

Wordle 539 4/6

🟨⬜🟩⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩

⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CLOUT

Word KNOCK

Tried FROCK-SHOCK on way to solution. The unusual first word helped, I think.

Dec-9

Wordle 538 6/6

⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜

🟨🟩🟩⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First OLATE

Word BRAID

Not very good. CRASH-GRAVY-DRAWN-FRAUD on way to solution on guess #6.

Dec-8

Wordle 537 4/6

⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜

⬜🟨🟨🟩⬜

🟩🟩⬜🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ADIEU

Word INFER

Tried SINEW-INLET on way to solution. Words seem hard this week or maybe it’s just me.

Dec-7

Wordle 536 5/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜

🟨🟩🟩⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩

⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word JOUST

It’s been a hard week, another 5. Tried TOUCH-MOUNT-DOUBT on way to solution.

Dec-6

Wordle 535 6/6

⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨

🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟨🟨🟩

🟩⬜⬜🟩🟩

🟩⬜⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRATE

Word AMBER

Tried EARLY-SWEAR-ACHER-ADDER on way to AMBER. I’m in a slump.

Dec-5

Wordle 534 X/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨

🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜

⬜🟩🟨🟩⬜

🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word WOKEN

Didn’t get it. Guessed EMOJI-POSEY-CODEC-BOWEL-WOVEN. There are so many words with an O second and E fourth.

Dec-4

Wordle 533 4/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨

⬜🟨🟨🟩⬜

⬜🟨🟨🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CLEAR

Word ADORE

Tried TEARY-PADRE on way to ADORE. Fine w/4.

Dec-3

Wordle 532 3/6

⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜

🟨⬜🟨🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CRATE

Word TORSO

Second guess was SHORT, which got me almost all the letters, none in the right place. USed TORSO to lock down the O, and it just happened to be the answer.

Dec-2

Wordle 531 3/6

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word CHAFE

Second word was BLADE. After first word, I had the A-E combo and I was scared I could take 4 guesses and not get it. Too many options.

Dec-1

Wordle 530 4/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨

⬜🟨🟨🟩⬜

🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First STARE

Word EJECT

Tried RETCH-ELECT on way to answer. Been on a roll of sorts — three 3’s in a row and four of five! Happy with 4.

Nov-30

Wordle 529 3/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨

🟨⬜🟩⬜🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TRIED

Word STUDY

Second guess was DOUBT, which got me the U. From there, not too hard.

Nov-29

Wordle 528 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word UNDUE

Second word was PLUME. Guess #3 was pretty lucky.

Nov-28

Wordle 527 3/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨

⬜🟨⬜🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CRATE

Word TEPID

Second guess was STREP, which got me to 3 of the letters.

Nov-27

Wordle 526 4/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜

🟨🟩⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First FLARE

Word HAPPY

Tried PASTY-NAPPY on way to solution. Fine with 4.

Nov-26

Wordle 525 3/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜

🟩⬜🟨🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PINOT

Word CLEAN

Second guess was CRANE. This one was not heard if I got on 3 with an almost useless first word.

Nov-25

Wordle 524 4/6

🟩⬜⬜🟨⬜

🟩⬜⬜⬜🟨

🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word ITCHY

Tried IDIOT-IMPLY (oops, no T) on way to answer.

Nov-24

Wordle 523 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨

🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRIDE

Word FEAST

Second guess was STEEL. I feel like I shoulda got it in 2 guesses, as this was a bit obvious on Thanksgiving.

Nov-23

Wordle 522 4/6

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word DRIVE

Tried PRUNE-BRIDE on the way there. I’m OK with 4.

Nov-22

Wordle 521 4/6

🟨🟩⬜⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word PRIME

Tried PRICE-PRIDE first. Could have had it in two as easily as four.

Nov-20

Wordle 520 4/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜

🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PARSE

Word AXIOM

Tried FLACK and ABOUT to get to it. I’m satisfied with four on a word with an X.

Nov-19

Wordle 518 4/6

⬜🟨🟨🟩🟨

🟨🟨🟨🟩⬜

🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First STARE

Word AVERT

Tried TEARY (minor mistake as it put the A where I know it couldn’t be) and ALERT along the way.

Nov-18

Wordle 517 4/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜

⬜🟨⬜🟨🟨

🟨🟨⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRIDE

Word GLYPH

Other guesses were APPLY and LYMPH. Still had me scratching my head.

Nov-17

Wordle 516 4/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟨⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word THERE

Guessed CRIME-STORE on way to word.

Nov-16

Wordle 515 3/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CLAIM

Word BAKER

Second guess was WATER. Very strange way to start, but it apparently worked, or I lucked out. (I think I did luck out as there are many, many combos to -A-ER.

Nov-15

Wordle 514 5/6

⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟩🟩⬜

🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word SNARL

Tried OVARY-SHARD-SNARK on way to solution. Took a while but that’s OK.

Nov-14

Wordle 513 5/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩⬜🟨🟩

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩

🟨🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRIDE

Word MAPLE

Tried TRIED-CANIE-LAPSE in between. CANOE was an error. No P. Oh well. Still got it.

Nov-13

Wordle 512 4/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PARTY

Word INANE

Tried CLAIM and QUASI without much success. Lucked out a bit here. Score one for you should always have an E at the end of your first word.

Nov-12

Wordle 511 4/6

⬛⬛🟨🟨🟨

🟨🟨🟨⬛⬛

🟨⬛⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word VALET

Tried TEACH and ASSET along the way. Never felt comfortable. 4 is an OK result, all things considered.

Nov-11

Wordle 510 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨

⬜🟨🟨🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ROUGH

Word MEDAL

Tried CRANE and PLEAD after whiffing on the opener.

Nov-10

Wordle 509 3/6

⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩

⬜⬜🟨🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word UNITE

Second word was CHUTE.

Nov-9

Wordle 508 4/6

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟨⬜🟨

⬜🟩🟩🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CRATE

Word RAINY

Tried MAYOR and HAIRY on the way to the word.

Nov-8

Wordle 507 4/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨

⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜

🟩🟨🟩⬜🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRATE

Word SPELL

Tried KELPY (couldn’t believe it was even a word) and SLEEP before getting it right. Probably should have tried SLEEP second.

Nov-7

Wordle 506 4/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨

⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TOUGH

Word BEGIN

Tried something cute to start, because it’s been a lot of A-E stuff lately. I was kinda right, but in the wrong direction. Second-third was GRAPE-LEGIT. LEGIT was a good one.

Nov-6

Wordle 505 2/6

⬜🟨🟩🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word STALE

Sometimes you’re just on it early.

Nov-5

Wordle 504 3/6

⬜🟩🟨⬜🟨

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CRATE

Word DREAM

Second guess was BREAD. On a roll.

Nov-4

Wordle 503 3/6

🟩⬜⬜🟩⬜

🟩🟨⬜🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word PHOTO

Second guess was POUTY. Easy-peezy.

Nov-2

Wordle 502 4/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word ALOUD

Tried CABIN and SPLAY to get that A was first or last, and still needs to know about other vowels. Worked out.

Nov-1

Wordle 500 3/6

🟩⬜🟨⬜🟨

🟩🟨⬜🟨⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRIDE

Word PINEY

Guessed PETIT, trying to lock down a T, but there wasn’t one. It did help with placing the I second, and from there, not that many options.

Oct-31

Wordle 499 3/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜

🟩🟩⬜🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRICK

Word APTLY

Second guess was APPLE, just trying to lock down the P. Worked better than I expected. That was a pretty lucky 3, and score one for the unusual starting word.

Oct-30

Wordle 498 X/6

⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜

🟨🟩⬜🟩⬜

First IRATE

Word WALTZ

Never came close. PASTY-CANTO-FAITH-MATTY-LATTE. The last two I gave up as I needed to do tasks around house to clean up after floor refinishing.

Oct-28

Wordle 496 4/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨

🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜

⬜🟨⬜🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word SNEAK

Tried ABLED-PECAN on way to answer. I didn’t really believe it was SNEAK, I more wanted to see if there was an S in word, but whatever, I’ll take it.

Oct-27

Wordle 495 3/6

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRANK

Word CARRY

Second guess was EARTH. Was going to try MARRY, then decided to try CARRY instead. Good idea!

Oct-26

Wordle 494 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First SPACE

Word FLOUT

Second guess was GHOUL, just to put other vowels in place. Ended up better than hunting for an “I”.

Oct-25

Wordle 493 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩

🟨🟩⬜⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TRACE

Word FOGGY

Tried SHOWY-GODLY on way to solution. Pretty quick for a zero start.

Oct-24

Wordle 492 4/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜

⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word FAULT

Tried TAUNT and VAULT in between. TAUNT was a little inspired. Pretty much solved it.

Oct-22

Wordle 490 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨

⬜🟨⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word SPIEL

Second word was LIBEL, which wasn’t very skillful — but worked.

Oct-21

Wordle 489 4/6

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word GROVE

Tried CRONE-GROPE on way to word. I think CRONE has already been the word.

Oct-20

Wordle 488 3/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨

🟨🟩🟨🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word DENIM

Guessed MEDIC on second try and had it then. Good job, Kevin!

Oct-19

Wordle 487 5/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PARTY

Word QUIRK

Long, bad try until I stumbled to the answer. CROWN-REUSE-QUIRL before answer. QUIRL? What was I thinking? Wasn’t sure that was even a word. Guess I’ll take it.

Oct-18

Wordle 486 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First FABLE

Word EXIST

Tried GERMY and then stooped to ADIEU to do a vowel check.

Oct-17

Wordle 485 4/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨

🟨🟨⬜🟩⬜

🟨🟩⬜🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word STEIN

Tried TEPID and ETHIC, still wasn’t sure that STEIN was even a word, but had no other ideas.

Oct-16

Wordle 484 3/6

🟨⬜🟩⬜🟩

🟨⬜🟩🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word SPADE

Second guess was DRAPE. Had it then.

Oct-15

Wordle 483 X/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜

🟨🟨🟩⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

First SLATE

Word CATCH

Never got it. Tried ACTOR-MATCH-BATCH-WATCH-PATCH. Too many options. Oh well.

Oct-14

Wordle 482 6/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word FLOOR

Forgot about my R for quite a while. ROUGH-CLOWN-BLOOM-FLOOD. Might have been distracted.

Oct-13

Wordle 481 3/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨

⬜🟨⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First SIDLE

Word EQUAL

Second guess LEGAL

Oct-12

Wordle 480 5/6

⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜

🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TOUGH

Word IONIC

Tried ROCKY-COPSE-FOLIC on way. IONIC is pretty weird word, I’m OK getting it in 5.

Oct-11

Wordle 479 4/6

🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜

🟨🟩⬜🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word VALID

Tried PANIC and LABIA on way to answer.

Oct-10

Wordle 478 3/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨

⬜🟨🟨🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word ENJOY

Guessed VENOM as #2.

Oct-9

Wordle 477 4/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨

⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ADIEU

Word HOWDY

Oct-8

Wordle 476 5/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First POUND

Word VIGOR

Tried ORATE, FLOOR, VISOR on way to solution.

Oct-7

Wordle 475 5/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First LIGHT

Word DANDY

Irregular word didn’t work, but got there eventually. Had very little after first two rounds.

Oct-6

Wordle 474 2/6

⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word SLOTH

I don’t mean to say it was easy, but it was easy. I’m increasingly a fan of trying non-standard first words, as a way to learn more. My vowel-rich starters don’t get me to an answer. And many 5-letter words have very first vowels.

Oct-5

Wordle 473 6/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜

⬜🟨🟨🟩🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ADIEU

Word MARSH

Tried BLOAT-SHARP-CRASH-HARSH on way to answer. The many-vowel starter never seems to work well for me.

Oct-4

Wordle 472 4/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word BOUGH

Went DOUGH-COUGH, so I was on it. Actually had BOUGH as 3rd pick, but thought COUGH was more likely. Oh well.

Oct-3

Wordle 471 4/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜

🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜

🟨⬜🟩⬜🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word STING

Tried TOUGH-GRIFT on way to answer.

Oct-2

Wordle 470 5/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

🟨⬜⬜🟨🟩

🟩🟨⬜⬜🟩

🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First STUCK

Word TWINE

Went with unusual and pretty narrow first word. Followed with IRATE-TITLE-THINE. Got it, so no issues on my end.

Oct-1

Wordle 469 4/6

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩

⬜🟨🟩⬜🟩

⬜⬜🟩🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word LEAVE

Tried PLANE-SCALE on way to answer.

Sep-30

Wordle 468 4/6

🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜

🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟨🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First SLUMP

Word SCORN

Tried SHORE-SNORT on way there. Once again, trying an irregular first word pays dividends.

Sep-29

Wordle 467 4/6

⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word SCALD

Guessed POACH and SCALY on way to answer. SCALY was key, obviously.

Sep-28

Wordle 466 4/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨

⬜🟨🟩🟨⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TRICE

Word USURP

Tried FLOUR, BRUSK to get closer. Tried to get an A in there but it was hard to get it anywhere but the first spot, which seemed unlikely.

Sep-27

Wordle 465 4/6

🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜

🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜

🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First STARE

Word SOGGY

Tried SHOWN, SOUPY on way to the word.

Sep-26

Wordle 464 5/6

🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜

🟩🟩⬜🟨⬜

🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word BRISK

I went BROIL-BRICK-BRINK, so feeling fine about the 5. I was on it.

Sep-24

Wordle 462 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First FLOUT

Word GRATE

Second guess was IRATE, which is one of my normal starters. I might have gotten it in 2 if I started normally, but who knows.

Sep-23

Wordle 461 3/6

⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word GLORY

Second guess was FLOOD.

Sep-22

Wordle 460 4/6

🟨⬜🟨🟨⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟨🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word SAINT

Guessed TACIT and FAINT on the way.

Sep-21

Wordle 459 4/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨

🟨🟨⬜⬜🟨

🟩🟩🟨🟨⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First SLATE

Word RECAP

Tried EAGER and REACH on way to word.

Sep-20

Wordle 458 4/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩

⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First RIGHT

Word ALIKE

Tried SLICE and OLIVE till I realized I hadn’t tried A yet.

Sep-19

Wordle 457 3/6

🟨🟩⬜🟨🟩

🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CRATE

Word TRICE

Second guess was TRUCE and I thought that was better choice than TRICE. TRICE?!?!?

Sep-18

Wordle 456 4/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜

⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩

🟩⬜⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First BRAKE

Word STICK

Guessed CLOCK-SHUCK on way to answer.

Sep-17

Wordle 455 3/6

⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩

⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word CHUTE

Second guess was WROTE.

Sept-16

Wordle 454 X/6

⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨

⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩

⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩

First CRATE

Word PARER

Didn’t get it. Tried LATER-WAGER-PAYER-PAVER-PAPER. It happens.

Sept-15

Wordle 453 5/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜

🟨🟩🟩⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PARTY

Word DOUBT

Tried STOLE-TOUCH-MOUNT in between.

Sept-14

Wordle 452 5/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩

🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word THYME

Tried STORE-NICHE-THEME on the way to the answer.

Sept-13

Wordle 451 5/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜

🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜

🟩⬜🟩🟨⬜

🟩⬜🟩⬜🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word ALPHA

Took a while. Tried PALSY-APPLE-AMPUL (which I didn’t even think was a word).

We’re on a bad run right now.

Sept-12

Wordle 450 6/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word BOOZE

Took forever. ELOPE-SHONE-GUIDE-EVOKE. Wasn’t getting it at all.

Sept-11

Wordle 449 4/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜

🟨⬜⬜🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First HARPY

Word TIBIA

Tried SLATE and AWAIT. Once I had the -IA at the end and no A or E early, teh options were limited.

Sept-10

Wordle 448 3/6

🟨⬜⬜🟩⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word LOFTY

Second guess was BOOTY. I had seen Virginia’s first guess on her iPad (CHAIR). Not sure why I still used a first word that had letters I knew weren’t in the solution.

Sept-9

Wordle 447 4/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩⬜🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word THEME

Tried STOLE-CHUTE on way to word.

Sept-8

Wordle 446 4/6

⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩🟨⬜

🟨🟩🟩⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word CLASS

Tried BLACK-SLAIN along the way.

Sept-7

Wordle 445 3/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨

⬜🟩🟨⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TRIPE

Word LEERY

Second guess was JERKY. I’m on a bit of a roll, with unusual opening words, which might argue that they don’t matter that much.

Sept-6

Wordle 444 2/6

⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PAINT

Word TAUNT

Oh yeah! Score one for going with a totally new first word on a whim.

Sept-5

Wordle 443 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨

⬜🟩🟩🟨⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word WHOOP

Tried BOUGH, SHOWY on way to answer.

Sept-3

Wordle 441 6/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜

⬜🟩🟨⬜🟩

🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩

🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word GULLY

Yeah, that kind of a morning. Tried DOUGH-BUGGY-GUMMY-GUSSY before getting there. GUSSY? What was I thinking? Well, got it, if barely.

Sept-2

Wordle 440 4/6

🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ARISE

Word CHARM

Tried TARDY-POLAR on way to CHARM.

Sept-1

Wordle 439 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First STARE

Word FUNGI

Slow start and took a couple minutes to figure out how the word would end, which helped with how to start. Other guesses were COUGH-BULGY.

Aug-31

Wordle 438 5/6

🟨🟩⬜⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word PRIZE

PRIDE-PRICE-PRIME were guesses before I got it. Don’t use Z often.

Aug-30

Wordle 437 3/6

🟩⬜⬜🟨🟨

🟩⬜🟨🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word ONSET

Second guess was OUTED. They usually don’t use a word like that, but I wanted E in that fourth spot, which was correct.

Aug-29

Wordle 436 4/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

🟩🟩⬜⬜🟨

🟩🟩🟨⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First WEARY

Word CHIEF

Tried CHUTE-CHEMO to get there.

Aug-28

Wordle 435 5/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word GAUZE

Tried ALONE-PAYEE-SAUCE. I’m not on top of my game these days. Missed a bunch of days while traveling to NC.

Aug-25

Wordle 432 5/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜

🟩🟨⬜⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word CLOWN

Tried COUGH-CLOMP-CLOCK. I’m OK with it taking 5.

Aug-24

Wordle 431 6/6

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩

⬜🟩🟨🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First WEARY

Word NEEDY

Somehow it took me 6 guesses, but I got it. PETTY

Aug-23

Wordle 430 4/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨

⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word WOVEN

Other guesses were BORED and COVEN. I’m pleased with my progress.

Aug-22

Wordle 429 4/6

🟨🟨⬜🟨🟨

🟨⬜🟨🟩🟨

🟨🟩🟨🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word MERIT

Tried THEIR and REMIT in between.

Aug-21

Wordle 428 4/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩

⬜🟩🟨⬜🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First DRAPE

Word WASTE

Tried LATHE and TASTE.

Aug-20

Wordle 427 3/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜

🟩🟩🟨⬜🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First BIRTH

Word TREAT

Second word was TRADE. Did it all in about 45 seconds.

Aug-19

Wordle 426 3/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

🟨⬜🟨🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word SHRUG

Tried ROUGH second and had almost all the letters in the wrong places. Took a minute to land on the other letter, then it solved itself quickly.

Aug-18

Wordle 425 5/6

⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜

⬜⬜🟩🟩🟨

⬜🟨🟩🟩⬜

🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word TWANG

Tried PLANT, STAND, THANK to get there. As a TWANG fan, I should have caught on earlier maybe.

Aug-17

Wordle 424 3/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜

🟨⬜🟨⬜🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First EARLY

Word TWICE

Second guess was CHEST. Almost tried TRICE as third, but I didn’t think that could actually be it.

Aug-16

Wordle 423 4/6

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟨

🟩🟩⬜🟩⬜

🟩🟩⬜🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word GRUEL

Guessed GREEN and GRIEF on way to solution. I can live with 4 (especially after failing to find word the day before)

Aug-15

Wordle 422 X/6

⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨

⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛

⬛⬛⬛🟩🟩

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩

⬛🟩🟨🟩🟩

🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word POKER

Didn’t get it. My last guess was POWER, which I thought was way more likely. Anyway, should do it earlier in the day.

Aug-14

Wordle 421 4/6

🟨⬜🟩⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜

⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word KHAKI

Guesses

Aug-12

Wordle 419 6/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨

🟨⬜⬜🟩⬜

⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩

⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word LABEL

That was close. Guessed ADIEU-PANEL-GAVEL-BABEL(??) before getting it. Probably should have had it in 4.

Aug-11

Wordle 418 3/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨

🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word GLEAN

Tried ANGEL second and had all the letters in all the wrong places, a first.

Aug-10

Wordle 417 4/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜

⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜

🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word CLING

TrIed UNION and CHINK in between. Knew CHINK was unlikely but it helped with order.

Aug-8

Wordle 415 3/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜

🟩🟩🟨🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word UNFIT

Second guess UNTIL

Aug-7

Wordle 414 4/6

⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜

⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩

🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First WEARY

Word SMEAR

Tried CLEAR and SPEAR on way to the answer. Pretty humdrum.

Aug-6

Wordle 413 3/6

🟩⬛⬛⬛🟨

🟩🟨⬛🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word ALIEN

Second guess was ANGEL. That went well.

Aug-4

Wordle 411 4/6

⬛🟨⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛🟨🟩

⬛🟩🟨⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRICE

Word RHYME

The RH really threw me for a minute …

Aug-3

Wordle 410 3/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First DRAPE

Word YOUTH

Second guess was COUGH. Gave me the -OU-H. Not hard from there.

Aug-2

Wordle 409 4/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

🟩🟩⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟨⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word COYLY

Tried COUGH and COLIC on way to the word.

Aug-1

Wordle 408 5/6

🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨

⬛🟨🟨🟨⬛

🟨⬛🟩🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word QUART

I almost religiously avoid looking to the Q because it’s almost never applicable. Finally struck me that maybe I should pay attention. Other words CLEAR-PARTY-TIARA.

July-31

Wordle 407 4/6

🟨🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟨🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word CRAMP

Went GRAFT and PRAWN, which got me the -RA–. Then it was a matter of working with what was left.

July-30

Wordle 406 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛

🟨🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ARISE

Word BLUFF

Tough one. Not the best opening word and it didn’t get better for awhile. POUTY-CHUCK-FLUNG.

July-29

Wordle 405 4/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨

🟨🟨🟨⬛⬛

🟨🟨🟩🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word UPSET

Tried STEWY and PESTO to get there. Not my sharpest game.

July-28

Wordle 404 4/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛

🟩⬛🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First

Word STOMP

Tried TAUNT and SCOOP. SCOOP pretty much sealed it, which was lucky. I used the two Os so I could place it more accurately.

July-27

Wordle 403 4/6

⬛⬛⬛🟩⬛

⬛⬛🟨🟩⬛

⬛🟩🟩🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word MOTTO

Went CLOTH and POTTY. The TT and no Y at end helped a lot.

July-26

Wordle 402 3/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

🟩⬛⬛⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word CINCH

Second was COUGH. C—H left few options, and fewer without an O.

July-25

Wordle 401 4/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word ELOPE

Tried GLOVE and SLOPE before getting it right.

July-24

Wordle 400 3/6

🟨🟨⬛⬛🟨

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word POWER

Second guess was SOWER. I wanted to get the “S” in there.

July-23

Wordle 399 3/6

⬛⬛🟨🟨🟩

⬛⬛🟩🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRIDE

Word MIDGE

Second OLDIE. The D-E at the end really narrowed things down.

July-22

Wordle 398 4/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛

🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛

🟩⬛⬛⬛🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word TRYST

Others TONIC-TUMMY

July-21

Wordle 397 5/6

🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛

⬛🟨⬛🟩⬛

🟩⬛🟨🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word APHID

To get there FINAL-MANIA (oops, repeated the N)-AUDIO

July-20

Wordle 396 4/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨

🟩🟩⬛🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First SPORT

Word TRITE

Others TRAIN-TRIBE. Got there pretty quickly.

July-19

Wordle 395 3/6

⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛

🟩⬛⬛🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word ANGRY

Second guess was ACORN. Gave me the A and the R in right spot. Pretty simple.

July-18

Wordle 394 4/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛

🟨🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word FLOCK

July-17

Wordle 393 X/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩

First IRATE

Word WACKY

probably shouldn’t have done while distracted over breakfast.

MASHY-GAUZY BADLY FANNY PAPPY

July-15

Wordle 391 6/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word WEDGE

In between, I tried BLOKE-DUNCE- LEDGE-HEDGE

Phew!

July-14

Wordle 390 5/6

🟩🟨⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First LEAPT

Word LIVER

I almost had it on 2 again (but missed on LITER-LINER-LIFER)

July-13

Wordle 389 2/6

⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word BLAND

In 2. Total luck. You clear your mind and write a word.

July-12

Wordle 388 5/6

🟨⬛⬛🟨⬛

⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛

🟨🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟨🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word NIGHT

STICK-TIMID-PITHY got me to the H in the 4 spot, which helped. I had LIGHT, FIGHT, NIGHT, even WIGHT, as possibilities, so glad I hit on first of those possibilities.

July-11

Wordle 387 5/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word MADAM

On way to answer – LAUGH-CAPON-SAVVY. I was running out of letters, which I guess made it easier.

July-10

Wordle 386 2/6

⬛🟨⬛🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word BERTH

July-9

Wordle 385 3/6

⬛⬛🟨🟨🟨

⬛🟨🟨🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word STEAD

Second HATED. Almost too easy. All the obvious letters.

July-8

Wordle 384 3/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟨🟨⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ORATE

Word VOICE

Second was SCOPE. Not hard once I realized the C had to be #4.

July-7

Wordle 383 5/6

⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛

⬛🟨🟩⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟩⬛🟩

⬛⬛🟩🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CLEAT

Word AGAPE

YEARN-SHAKE-IMAGE on way there. Tough one for me. All I had were A-E after 3 rounds.

July-6

Wordle 382 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CRATE

Word FLUFF

Went through WOUND-PLUMP-FLUSH before landing on the triple-F

July-5

Wordle 381 3/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟨

⬛🟩⬛🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word FIELD

Second guess was VIXEN. I’m on a roll of late.

July-4

Wordle 380 3/6

⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨

🟩🟩🟨⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word SEVER

Second word was SERUM. Was on it pretty quickly.

July-3

Wordle 379 4/6

🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛

⬛🟩🟩🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word LILAC

BASIN and VILLA were guesses 2-3.

July-2

Wordle 378 5/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨

⬛🟨🟨⬛🟩

🟨🟨⬛⬛🟩

⬛⬛🟨🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word EGRET

Also WREST-REMIT-OVERT.

July-1

Wordle 377 5/6

🟨⬛⬛🟩⬛

⬛🟩⬛🟩⬛

⬛🟩⬛🟩⬛

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word PINTO

Took a while (FILTH-WIFTY-DITTO)

June-30

Wordle 376 4/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ROUGH

Word HUTCH

Guessed MUNCH-DUTCH. I’m satisfied.

June-29

Wordle 375 5/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨

🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛

🟨🟩⬛⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word GAWKY

Took a bit of weird guesses (COBRA-AWFUL-WASPY), but go there.

June-28

Wordle 374 2/6

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TRAIL

Word DROLL

Lucky. When I got the L at the end, figured I’d see if it was double-L. It was. Worked backward from there. The R in #2 spot cut down on options.

June-27

Wordle 373 3/6

⬛🟨⬛🟨🟨

⬛⬛🟩🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word RETRO

Second guess was CUTER. Once I got the T in the middle, it seemed to come together.

June-26

Wordle 372 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

🟨🟨⬛⬛🟨

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLACE

Word RUSTY

TRIOS and STRUT were guesses #2-3.

June-25

Wordle 371 3/6

⬛⬛🟩⬛🟨

⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word BEADY

Second guess was PEACH. Not sure how I got there in 3.

June-24

Wordle 370 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩

🟩🟩⬛⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CRANE

Word SMITE

In between PLUME – SMOKE

June-23

Wordle 369 4/6

🟨🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟨

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word BRINK

Second PRION and third DRINK (thought I had it, but only close)

June-22

Wordle 368 4/6

⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟨⬛⬛🟩

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLANK

Word AWFUL

Second and third were CAROL, VITAL. Can’t believe I never played E or U.

June-21

Wordle 367 4/6

⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛

🟨⬛🟩⬛🟩

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word GLOAT

Guessed ABOUT-FLOAT to get there. Pretty ho-hum. Never felt stuck.

June-20

Wordle 366 4/6

🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛

⬛🟨⬛🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRIDE

Word INPUT

June-17

Wordle 364 5/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word CACAO

Tough one. Couldn’t figure it out from the letters I hadn’t used yet, so doubled up on those already on the board. Guesses were SALVO-MACHO-WACKO before getting it.

Jun-16

Wordle 363 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CRATE

Word BLOWN

Third guess was BLOWS, just to get the S in, ended up I shoulda gone with the N. Word doesn’t add an S to a four-letter word and call it a Wordle answer.

Jun-15

Wordle 361 4/6

🟨🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word PRIMO

CRISP and PRION were guesses 2-3.

June-14

Wordle 360 4/6

🟩⬛🟩⬛🟩

🟩⬛🟩⬛🟩

🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word ATONE

Somehow took me four guesses even with the super-strong opener. Tried ABOVE and ALONE first.

June-13

Wordle 359 6/6

⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛

🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word DONOR

Took me a long time (guesses RIOTS-WORMY-BOUGH-DOLOR). Not my finest hour.

June-12

Wordle 358 3/6

🟨⬛⬛🟩⬛

⬛🟨🟨🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TREAD

Word FLOAT

Second word was STALK. That helped.

June-11

Wordle 357 6/6

⬛⬛⬛🟩🟩

⬛⬛🟩🟩🟩

⬛⬛🟩🟩🟩

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ARISE

Word GOOSE

Too many options, chose poorly. (MOOSE-NOOSE-GOOSE)

June-10

Wordle 356 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨

🟨🟨⬛🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ROUGH

Word PIETY

ROUGH was a rough start. Got me nothing.

PIETY was a stab. Lucky.

June-9

Wordle 355 3/6

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛

🟨⬛⬛🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First DRAKE

Word GIRTH

Got it pretty quick. Second guess was ROUGH, which eliminated a-e-o-u as vowels in play.

June-8

Wordle 354 5/6

⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLACE

Word TRAIT

Was struggling there …

June-7

Wordle 353 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ARISE

Word FLOOD

No matches on first guess was rough. Third was BLOOD. Could have had in 3.

June-6

Wordle 352 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TRACK

Word GLOOM

Not bad for covid brain fog.

June-5

Wordle 351 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨

⬛⬛🟨⬛🟨

🟩🟩⬛⬛🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word DEPTH

May-31

Wordle 346 4/6

🟨🟨🟨⬛⬛

🟨🟨🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟨🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word MANOR

Second guess ROACH, third BARON. Got there in a reasonable amount of time.

May-30

Wordle 345 5/6

🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟨🟨⬛🟨

🟩🟨⬛🟨⬛

🟩⬛🟩⬛🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TRACE

Word ATOLL

Feels like it took too long …

May-29

Wordle 344 5/6

⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛

⬛🟩⬛🟩⬛

🟨🟩⬛🟩⬛

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CROAK

Word BAYOU

First word actually helped, just needed to think through the -AYO-.

May-28

Wordle 343 4/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨

🟨🟨🟨⬛⬛

🟨🟩⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First SNARE

Word CREPT

May-27

Wordle 342 5/6

⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛

⬛🟨🟩⬛⬛

⬛🟨🟩🟨🟨

🟩🟨🟩🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLACE

Word TIARA

Didn’t help myself much early.

May-26

Wordle 341 4/6

🟩⬛⬛🟨🟨

🟩🟩⬛🟩⬛

🟩🟩⬛🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ARISE

Word ASSET

Probably should have got it in 3

May-25

Wordle 340 6/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟨🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First BREAK

Word VOUCH

Took a long time to get to it, but got there.

May-24

Wordle 339 4/6

⬛🟩⬛🟨⬛

🟨🟨🟨⬛⬛

🟩🟩⬛🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CLEAR

Word ALBUM

Pretty straightforward

May-23

Wordle 338 5/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨

⬛🟩🟩🟨⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First POUND

Word HINGE

May-22

Wordle 337 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨

⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛

🟨🟩⬛🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word MONEY

May-21

Wordle 336 4/6

🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟨🟩🟩⬛

🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PROBE

Word SCRAP

Third guess was STRAP, so I was on it after second guess.

May-20

Wordle 335 6/6

⬛🟨🟨⬛🟨

⬛⬛🟨🟨🟩

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩

⬛🟩🟨🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word GAMER

I got to -A-ER pretty quickly, but there are a lot of options there. Glad I got it.

May-19

Wordle 334 4/6

⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLATE

Word GLASS

Was getting worried when I hit nothing with CLAIM and FLAKY. Gambled on the double-S.

May-18

Wordle 333 3/6

⬛🟨🟩🟨⬛

🟩⬛🟩🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word SCOUR

Got there pretty quickly once I had the R, O and S on first word.

May-17

Wordle 332 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛

⬛⬛🟩⬛🟨

⬛🟩🟩🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CLOAK

Word BEING

I couldn’t start much worse. FEIGN as guess #4 saved my bacon.

May-16

Wordle 331 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛⬛🟨⬛🟩

⬛🟨⬛⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

word DELVE

May-15

Wordle 330 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First GRASP

Word YIELD

May-14

Wordle 329 4/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟨

⬛🟨🟨🟩🟨

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word METAL

Tried FETAL and PETAL first. Forgot they had a kerfuffle over FETUS last week. It wasn’t going to be FETAL.

May-13

Wordle 328 3/6

🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛

🟨⬛🟩⬛🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRICE

Word TIPSY

Second word was INPUT. That helped.

May-12

Wordle 327 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛🟨⬛

⬛🟩🟩🟩⬛

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word SLUNG

May-11

Wordle 326 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟨🟨⬛🟩

⬛⬛🟨🟨🟩

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First GNOME

Word FARCE

Was worried when I got to -AR-E. Feared there would be a lot of options, but got it on first try.

May-10

Wordle 325 3/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟨

⬛⬛🟨🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CRATE

Word GECKO

Got the ECK on second guess, just not in the right place.

May-9

Wordle 324 3/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First IRATE

Word SHINE

Second guess was CHIDE. That was very helpful.

May-8

Wordle 323 4/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛

🟩⬛🟨⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩⬛🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ADIEU

Word CANNY

Second word was CRAFT, which

May-7

Wordle 322 4/6

⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PASTE

Word MIDST

Took some staring, but I got it.

May-6

Wordle 321 5/6

⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟨⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PARCH

Word BADGE

May-5

Wordle 320 3/6

⬛🟨⬛🟩⬛

🟩⬛🟨🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First GRIEF

Word HOMER

Second guess was HAREM and that kinda clinched it for me.

May-4

Wordle 319 4/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛

🟨🟩⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLEAD

Word TRAIN

Guessed BRAIN on third, so a toss up.

May-3

Wordle 318 3/6

⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜

⬜🟩🟨⬜🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First: TREAD

Word: HAIRY

Not that hard

May-2

Wordle 317 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨

🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛

🟨🟨🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First GLIDE

Word STORY

Tried an unusual story, came up empty. Took a while to get a normal one.

May-1

Wordle 316 5/6

⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟨

🟨🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First POUTY

Word FORGO

Took some thinking.

Apr-30

Wordle 315 4/6

⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛

🟩🟩⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩⬛⬛🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLACE

Word LARVA

Second word LAUGH, third LARVA. I was on to this one pretty early.

Apr-29

Wordle 314 6/6

🟩🟩⬛🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TREAD

Word TRASH

Along the way tried TRACK, TRAMP, TRAWL, TRAIN

Apr-28

Wordle 313 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨

🟨🟨🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟨

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRIDE

Word ZESTY

Apr-27

Wordle 312 3/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TRAIN

Word SHOWN

After I had the O and the N at the end, my theory was -OWN. Worked through options from there.

Apr-26

Wordle 311 5/6

🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛

🟨⬛⬛🟨⬛

🟨🟨⬛⬛🟨

🟨⬛🟨🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TREAD

Word HEIST

Slow and methodical

Apr-25

Wordle 310 5/6

⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛

⬛⬛🟨⬛🟨

⬛🟨⬛🟩⬛

🟩🟩⬛🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TREAD

Word ASKEW

Took a while.

Apr-24

Wordle 309 4/6

⬛🟨🟨⬛🟨

🟨🟨⬛🟨🟨

⬛🟨🟨🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ARISE

Word INERT

I had the letters early, needed to figure what came last if not E, preceded by an R.

Apr-23

Wordle 308 4/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛

🟩⬛⬛⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PROUD

WORD Olive

I had O at beginning and E at the end, which is not a common set of words. Wracked brain.

Apr-22

Wordle 307 2/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ARISE

Word PLANT

No rhyme nor reason. Total luck.

Apr-21

Wordle 306 4/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨

⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First GHOST

Word OXIDE

People aren’t gonna like that one. I was going nowhere and just looking for letters when I hit it.

Apr-20

Wordle 305 4/6

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛

🟨🟨⬛🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRIDE

Word CARGO

Once I got the G right in round 3, that helped a lot.

Apr-19

Wordle 304 X/6

LOST

⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩

First AROMA

Word FOYER

Wasn’t even close. I didn’t try the Y, but I wasted some letters in the first two rounds.

Onward

Apr-18

Wordle 303 3/6

⬛🟨🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CRAMP

Word FLAIR

Almost got it on two with FLARE

Apr-17

Wordle 302 3/6

🟩⬛⬛⬛🟩

🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word AMPLE

SEcond guess was APPLE. if I thought harder, I would have tried the word with an extra letter.

Apr-16

Wordle 301 4/6

⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟩🟨🟩

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TREAD

Word CHEEK

Apr-15

Wordle 300 3/6

⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛

🟩⬛🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRANK

Word SHAME

Apr-14

Wordle 299 4/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟨⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First HOPER

Word MINCE

Took some thinking.

Apr-13

Wordle 298 3/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE (zero letters)

Word CHUNK

Second word was PLUNK, that made all the difference. Thought about PLUMP, but didn’t like the second P.

Apr-12

Wordle 297 3/6

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TRIPE

Word ROYAL

ROUGH As second word worked well in this instance.

Apr-11

Wordle 296 6/6

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟨

⬛🟨⬛🟨🟨

🟨⬛🟨🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First FAITH

Word SQUAD

Morning after news of Hope McKeone’s accident, I wanted to start with FAITH. It was a long road, but I got to the right place. Hopefully, that’s a portent.

Apr-10

Wordle 295 5/6

⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟨🟩🟩⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First GRATE

Word BLACK

Took a while but we got there.

Apr-9

Wordle 294 3/6

⬛🟨🟩🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRATE

Word STAIR

Again, pretty easy.

Apr-8

Wordle 293 3/6

⬛🟨⬛🟨🟩

🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PROSE

Word SCARE

Pretty easy

Apr-7

Wordle 292 4/6

⬛⬛⬛🟩⬛

⬛🟩🟩🟩⬛

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First STEAK

Word FORAY

Third guess was MORAY, so I was on to it. Second word CORAL was the key.

Apr-6

Wordle 291 5/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟨

⬛🟩⬛🟨⬛

⬛🟩🟨🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First GRATE

Word COMMA

Second word was AUDIO, which I thought was clever, but didn’t really work. Got me the ‘O’

Apr-5

Wordle 290 6/6

⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛🟨⬛

⬛🟩🟨⬛⬛

🟨🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟨🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First RAISE

Word NATAL

Gonna be complaints on Twitter about this word. Got it on final guess.

Apr-4

Wordle 289 3/6

🟨⬛⬛🟨⬛

🟩🟨🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word SHAWL

Apr-3

Wordle 288 5/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛⬛🟩🟩

🟩⬛🟨🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First HARDY (not a good choice)

Word FEWER

Took awhile. Second word GROUT didn’t help much at all.

Apr-2

Apr-1

Wordle 286 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟨🟨🟨⬛

🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First HEARD (zero matches, awful, don’t use again)

Word SNOUT

Saved myself with POUTY as second guess.

Mar-31

Wordle 285 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛🟩⬛

⬛🟩🟨🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TREAD

Word LOWLY

Took a while.

March-30

Wordle 284 4/6

🟨⬛🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TROPE

Word STOVE

Tried STOKE and STOLE first.

March-29

Wordle 283 6/6

🟨⬛⬛🟨⬛

🟩⬛🟩⬛⬛

🟩⬛🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word SHALL

Even when I had four of the letters, I wasn’t getting it. Phew, indeed!

March-28

Wordle 282 3/6

⬛⬛⬛🟩⬛

🟩⬛⬛🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRANK

Word FOUND

Second guess FEINT helped a lot.

Mar-27

Wordle 281 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨

⬛🟩🟨⬛⬛

🟨🟩⬛⬛🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ADIEU

Word NYMPH

Not often that ADIEU gets you zero letters. I tried WORRY next and all I had after two was a Y. Only good thing was knowing Y had to be 2nd or 3rd letter.

Mar-26

Wordle 280 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟩⬛🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

first FRANK

WORD EPOXY

Mar-25

Wordle 279 3/6

⬛🟨🟨⬛🟨

🟨🟨⬛🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First STOKE

Word DEPOT

Once I figured it ended in -OT, not that hard.

Mar-24

Wordle 278 5/6

🟨⬛🟩⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟩⬛🟩

🟨⬛🟩⬛🟩

⬛⬛🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TREAD

Word CHEST

Third guess was SPELT and that gave me the EST at the end. Then had to hope there weren’t too many options.

Mar-23

Wordle 277 5/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨

🟩🟨🟨⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ADIEU

Word PURGE

Tried PURSE, PUREE first

Mar-22

Wordle 276 3/6

⬛⬛⬛🟩⬛

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ARISE

Word SLOSH

Second guess was PLUSH. That helped a lot.

Mar-21

Wordle 275 4/6

🟨🟨⬛🟩⬛

🟨⬛🟨🟩⬛

🟩⬛⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First RELIC

Word THEIR

The EI in the middle drove me a little crazy.

Mar-20

Wordle 274 3/6

⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨

🟩🟩⬛⬛🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CRATE

Word RENEW

Second guess was RESIN

Mar-19

Wordle 273 3/6

⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛

⬛🟨🟩🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CROAK

Word ALLOW

If I led with CLOAK, I may have got

Mar-18

Wordle 272 4/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟩

🟩🟨🟨⬛🟩

🟩⬛🟨🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TROPE

Word SAUTE

Mar-17

Wordle 271 5/6

⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛

⬛🟨⬛⬛🟩

🟨🟨⬛⬛🟩

🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ADIEU

Word MOVIE

Tried MOXIE at 4

Mar-16

Wordle 270 4/6

🟨🟨⬛⬛🟨

🟨🟩🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟨🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word CATER

Mar-15

Wordle 269 6/6

⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟩⬛🟩

⬛⬛🟩⬛🟩

⬛⬛🟩🟨🟩

🟨🟨🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CLAMP

Word TEASE

Mar-14

Wordle 268 2/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Word SMELT

Kelly shared the word and once you know, it’s impossible to play game.

Mar-13

Wordle 267 5/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛

⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛

🟨🟨🟨🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CLAIM

Word FOCUS

Mar-12

Wordle 266 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨

🟩🟩⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟨🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

first WREST

Word TODAY

I was a little too cute and should have tried today on guess #4. Went TOADY instead.

Mar-11

Wordle 265 4/6

⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First MAPLE

Word WATCH

Mar-10

Wordle 264 4/6

⬛⬛🟨🟨🟨

🟨🟨🟨⬛🟩

🟨⬛🟩🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CHEAP

Word LAPSE

Mar-9

Wordle 263 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨

🟨⬛⬛🟨⬛

🟩⬛🟩🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First BLAST

word MONTH

I was worried after first two guesses.

Mar-8

Wordle 262 3/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨

🟩⬛🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First RAISE

Word SWEET

Second word was SLEPT and that got me most of the way there.

Mar-7

Wordle 261 4/6

🟨🟩⬛⬛🟨

🟩🟩🟨⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ROUGH

Word HOARD

Second guess HORSE pretty much settled it. I’m on a good 2-day run with opening words.

Mar-6

Wordle 260 3/6

🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩⬛🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CLASP

Word CLOTH

Second guess was CLOUT and that was pretty much all she wrote.

Mar-5

Wordle 259 3/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

🟩🟩⬛⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLEAD

Word BRINE

Second guess was BROKE. That pretty much got me there. Total luck.

Mar-4

Wordle 258 4/6

🟩🟨⬛🟨⬛

🟩⬛⬛🟨🟨

🟩⬛🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ADIEU

Word AHEAD

This time, ADIEU really worked. Gave me a lot of solid clues.

Mar-3

Wordle 257 4/6

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟨🟨🟨

🟨🟩🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First DRAPE

Word MOURN

Second guess was SCOUR, which helped a lot.

Mar-2

Wordle 256 5/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨

🟨🟩⬛🟩🟩

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CREST

Word NASTY (tried PASTY and TASTY first)

Mar-1

Wordle 255 5/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛⬛🟨🟨🟩

🟨🟨🟨⬛🟩

🟨🟩🟨🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PLANE

Word RUPEE

Previous guess PUREE. I was on it pretty quickly.

Feb-28

Wordle 254 5/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛

⬛⬛🟩⬛🟩

⬛🟨🟩⬛🟩

🟩⬛🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ADIEU

Word CHOKE

Feb-27

Wordle 253 2/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TROPE

Word CHANT

WTF! Total luck, just trying to get some more letters on the board.

My quickest answer yet.

Feb-26

Wordle 252 6/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜

🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜

🟩🟨🟨⬜⬜

🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩

🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

first AROSE

word SPILL

first tried SWILL and SHILL

Feb-25

Wordle 251 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟨⬛⬛

🟨🟩⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CLOAK

Word VIVID

Tough one. Didn’t have much.

Feb-24

Wordle 250 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛⬛🟩⬛🟩

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩

⬛🟩🟩🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First RAISE

Word BLOKE

Feb-23

Wordle 249 3/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First RAISE

Word TROVE

Almost got it on second try with TROPE

Feb-22

Wordle 248 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟨🟩⬛🟨

⬛🟨🟩🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ADIEU (zero letters)

Word THORN

Feb-21

Wordle 247 6/6

⬛⬛⬛🟩⬛

⬛🟨🟨🟩⬛

🟩⬛⬛🟩🟩

🟩⬛⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ADIEU

Word OTHER

Feb-20

Wordle 246 5/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛🟩🟨

🟨🟩⬛🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PHASE

Word TACIT

Feb-19

Wordle 245 4/6

⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛

🟩⬛⬛🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CLOSE

Word SWILL

Third guess was SWIRL, thought I had it.

Feb-18

Wordle 244 X/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩

First AROSE

Word DODGE

Didn’t even come close.

Feb-17

Wordle 243 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛⬛🟩⬛🟩

🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRIME

Word SHAKE

3rd guess was SNAKE

Feb-16

Wordle 242 3/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩🟨🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First ARISE

Word CAULK

Second word was TALKY, which got me the LK and A as second letter.

Feb-15

Wordle 241 5/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟨🟨🟨⬛

🟨🟨⬛🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First RIVET

Word AROMA

Had the O-A-R, but wasn’t feeling good. My fourth guess (RAZOR) was dumb. I knew the first letter could not be an R. Feeling lucky.

Feb-14

Wordle 240 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛

🟩⬛🟨🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE (got zero letters)

Word CYNIC

Feb-13

Wordle 239 4/6

⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛

🟨⬛⬛🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First PRICE

Word ROBIN

Got the “n” on third turn, as well as knew “r” was first letter.

Feb-12

Wordle 238 4/6

⬛⬛🟨🟩⬛

🟨⬛⬛🟩⬛

⬛🟨⬛🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First SPARE

Word ULTRA

I knew RE at end, not many choices.

Feb-11

Wordle 237 4/6

🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛

🟨⬛🟩🟩⬛

⬛⬛🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First CRAMP

WORD ULCER

Feb-10

Wordle 236 4/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨

🟨⬛⬛🟨🟩

🟩🟨⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TRIES

Word PAUSE

Feb-9

Wordle 235 4/6

⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬛

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First AROSE

Word HUMOR

Third guess was RUMOR

Feb-8

Wordle 234 4/6

🟩⬛🟨⬛⬛

🟩🟨🟩⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First FIEND

Word FRAME

Feb-7

Wordle 233 X/6

⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨

🟨⬛⬛🟩⬛

⬛⬛⬛🟩🟩

⬛⬛🟨🟩🟩

⬛🟨⬛🟩🟩

🟩🟨⬛🟩🟩

LOST

First AROSE

Word ELDER

My last guess EDGER

Feb-6

Wordle 232 6/6

⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜

⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜

🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩

🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩

🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First TRIED

Word SKILL

Tried SHILL, SWILL, SPILL first

Feb-5

Wordle 231 4/6

⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜

⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First EARLY

Word ALOFT

Feb-4

Wordle 230 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨

🟨🟨⬛🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟨🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First MINCE

Word PLEAT

Key guessing PLATE on Rd 3

Feb-3

Wordle 229 5/6

🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛

🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛

🟩⬛🟨🟨⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First SPENT

Word SHARK

Feb-2

Wordle 228 4/6

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛

🟨⬛🟩⬛⬛

⬛⬛🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First FIEND

Answer MOIST

Feb-1

Wordle 227 5/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩

🟩🟨⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First EARLY

Answer THOSE

Jan-31

Wordle 226 5/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩

🟨⬛⬛⬛🟩

⬛⬛🟨⬛🟩

⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First word FRUIT

Word was LIGHT

I had nothing until I did. Total guess.

Jan-30

Wordle 225 4/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛

⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First word EARLY

Word was WRUNG

Jan-29

Wordle 224 5/6

⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜

⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜

⬜⬜🟩🟩⬜

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Strat EARLY

Word was COULD

Jan-28

Wordle 223 5/6

🟨⬛🟩⬛🟩

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩

⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩

⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Starter word EARLY

Word was PERKY

Jan-27

Wordle 222 3/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛

🟩🟩⬛🟩⬛

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Start: AROSE

Word: MOUNT

Jan-26

Wordle 221 4/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜

🟨🟩🟩⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

START WORD AROSE

Word was WHACK

==

Jan-25-2022

Wordle 220 6/6

🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜

🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜

🟩⬜🟨🟨⬜

🟩⬜🟨🟩⬜

🟩⬜⬜🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

START WORD was AROSE

WORD was SUGAR

Last-gasp guess for the winner.

==

Jan-24

Wordle 219 5/6

⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜

⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜

⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜

⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

START WORD was AROSE

WORD was KNOLL

==

Jan-23

Wordle 218 3/6

⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜

🟨🟩🟩🟨⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

START WORD was AROSE

WORD was CRIMP

==

Jan-22

Wordle 217 6/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜

🟨⬜🟨🟩⬜

🟨🟩⬜🟩🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Start word PRIED

Word was MINCE (tried SINCE and MINCE first)

==

Jan-21

Wordle 216 X/6

⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟨

⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

Start word AROSE

Word was PRICK

I lost track that I had a “P” to use.

==

Jan-20

Wordle 215 6/6

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜

🟨🟩⬜⬜🟨

🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜

🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Start word AROSE

Word was ROBOT

(It doesn’t tell you that you can use the “o” twice. Shows only the first placement.)

==

Jan-19

Wordle 214 4/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜

🟨⬜🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Start word AROSE

Word was POINT

==

Jan-18

Wordle 213 3/6

⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜

⬜🟩🟩🟨⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Start word AROSE

Word was PROXY

==

Jan-17-2022

Wordle 212 4/6

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩

⬜🟨🟩⬜🟩

⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Word was SHIRE
57 … It’s Not About Me

November 15, 2022

I turned 57 yesterday. It was fun. Virginia made a big deal of it. So did Facebook, longtime friends and work colleagues.

And I’m uncomfortable with it.

It’s not about the number, or the years past or the years ahead. Or what I’ve done or haven’t done.

Instead, I’m a bit unsettled by the “me-ness” and “things-ness” of my birthday.

About 50 people at work wished me a happy birthday. My boss’ boss led off a meeting with it. We had two cakes and homemade spicy pretzel bites (they were awesome!) and a charcuterie board. Today, people sound apologetic walking past me in a hallway. “Sorry, happy belated birthday.”

Virginia asked me what I wanted, asked me to provide a wish list, and I did. But my list … I looked at it and I didn’t really want anything on it.

Don’t get me wrong. I like things. I have been fortunate enough to have a lot of things I have desired over the years. I am not a closet collectivist.

And I’m not allergic to me. I like me and I like attention. I enjoy meeting others and sharing thoughts, being heard and appreciated. I have dreams and desires and intentions and wants.

But there’s this hesitancy and resistance. The best I can put it is, at 57, I am skeptical of things and me as the end goal or product.

Which makes me think to ask, What do I want?

—

My mom and my son Pete’s family were with us Sunday for dinner and I shared with them something from the Quaker writer Parker Palmer, pulled from his book Let Your Life Speak, which was (and remains) part of the introductory program for new members of Wellsprings Congregation.

[The Quaker teacher Douglas Steere] was fond of saying that the ancient human question ‘Who am I’ leads inevitably to the equally important question ‘Whose am I?’ — for there is no selfhood outside of relationship.

There is no selfhood outside of relationship.

Who am I is a question I feel is long settled, and it really doesn’t interest me a whole lot these days. Whose am I is far more important to me. I told the folks around that table — Virginia, my mom, Pete, Marissa, Mia (at 4, she might not have been listening) — that I am so thankful to be theirs, and I hope they know how proud I am that they are mine.

That, I guess, is where I see the mission. To leave no doubt in any of mine that they are loved and, to the largest extent possible, known. As I move deeper into my life, its mysteries and wrinkles, I want to be available — to those I am in relationship with now, and hopefully a few more along the way.

I am not finished. You’re not finished. We have a lot to figure out. A lot of joy. A lot of pain. A lot of discovery. A lot of acceptance. A lot of vinegar. A lot of grace. That’s the prayer.

On to 58.

(And, upon review, a lot of what I wrote about turning 56 still resonates with me. And let’s not forget turning 50.)

And before we leave my birthday, here was my sweetest present, my granddaughter, Mia.
A Message … in the Walls

November 6, 2022
Our family recently had a great surprise. My mom was having a bathroom in her home refurbished. The workman pulled out the medicine cabinet and pointed out to my mom that there was something written, in pencil, on the wallboard behind the cabinet.

It said, in my dad’s distinctive handwriting:

To Maureen,

With Love

Tom

3/9/74

My sister was around and took a photo of it. She shared it with us and eventually Facebook. It brought up a lot of fond feelings for my dad, who passed away 12 years ago. And raised questions, like, how did this get there? My dad was not handy. I don’t think he put the cabinet in place.

So, why share this now? Well, much of the world takes a moment at the start of November to honor those who have died – call it Day of the Dead, call it All Souls Day, call it something else. It’s a time when we stop and acknowledge:
- We carry those who have died, this year and every year before, with us long after they pass. One thing I’ve learned about grief, from experience, is it has a belly laugh at the notion of time.
- The departed live in love and memory, and oftentimes in pain and unresolvedness. And, apparently, bathrooms.
- They live in wonder and surprise, and in life itself.
Which brings me back to my mom and her decision to redecorate a bathroom. She doesn’t find this lovely message unless she goes about the annoying, everyday, creative maintenance work of our lives. The decision to remake a part of her home leads to the discovery that someone gone is not lost — that he’s right here, in the goddamn walls, that this message has been there, for nearly five decades, baked into the place, keeping watch in its own quiet, tender way. She was surrounded by care even when she couldn’t see it …

I’ve thought about that, and it has me thinking about how, contrary to the existential dread I experience watching TV ads in a battleground state, that I live in a cocoon of grace and attention, blissfully unaware, like those fish that David Foster Wallace spoke about so eloquently. That so much of it is stitched into the garment of my life. That I need occasionally to pull down the wall or tear at the seams — because what I am likely to find will not not scary or horrible. It will be beauty. It will be care. It will be attention. This is my water.

Other Thoughts
- The Phillies lost the World Series to the Houston Astros, but their 30-day run was as exhilarating a sporting event as I can remember in Philadelphia, at least as fun as the Eagles’ run to the Super Bowl, but amplified by the everyday-ness of baseball. So many moments! The Harper homer, sure, but Rhys slamming down his bat after his big hit. Segura’s own hit and play in the field. Catellanos’ sliding catch(es). It was so much fun to watch the city remember what it’s like to fall in love with its baseball team. The team was surprised and pumped to be on the receiving end of all this attention, and I was reminded that baseball’s rhythms resonate so deeply. I read a lot of great stories in that time, but the one that moved me the most was this one, about a minor league prospect who never played for the Phillies, and never will, but whose family was made a part of the celebration. This post-mortem appreciation from Matt Gelb at The Athletic was right up there, too, and I don’t know how Ken Rosenthal can do TV work and then pull together something this great about Bryce Harper after the Phils clinched the NL pennant, but I appreciated it.
- While we’re talking Phillies, the New York Times had a great article on the creator of the best mascot of our times, the Phillie Phanatic. I stand behind what I told the current best friend of the Phanatic, Tom Burgoyne, when we were on a panel together at a Philadelphia Business Journal “business of sports” conference in 2019: if there is a Mount Rushmore of mascots, the Phanatic deserves the George Washington spot. No worse than Jefferson.
- I used a Twitter-owned platform called Revue to send out this email newsletter, but, you might have heard, Twitter has a new owner and he apparently plans to shut down Revue by end of the year. As someone who posts irregularly, I’m not sure where I should move to publish this modest newsletter. I might choose Substack, the hot, new face in the space, but articles like this give me second thoughts. I’d appreciate any recommendations. Mailchimp? Medium? Copy-paste my list of email addresses? Mimeograph and snail-mail it? And where can you go to escape social media owned by media behemoths? Maybe Mastodon (a primer)?
- If you’re looking for a piece on why Elon Musk really messed up, you could do much worse than this from The Verge’s Nilay Patel. Among his great lines, he points out that Twitter’s secret sauce isn’t its technology: “The asset is the user base: hopelessly addicted politicians, reporters, celebrities, and other people who should know better but keep posting anyway. You! You, Elon Musk, are addicted to Twitter. You’re the asset. You just bought yourself for $44 billion dollars.”
- She’s not for everyone, but I’ve really enjoyed S.G. Goodman’s album, especially its title song, Teeth Marks. (I also saw her as a solo opener for Jason Isbell in New Brunswick, N.J., in the spring.) If you want to know more about her, this is a great profile from Stephen Deusner, who also wrote the definitive (OK, only) history of a favorite band of mine, the Drive-By Truckers.
- Speaking of music, Johnny Cash’s last album has hit its 20th anniversary. Is there a better cover in the history of covers than his version of Hurt? But I encourage you to listen to the whole thing, including a gorgeous, spare version of the Beatles’ In My Life.
- Pew Research Center looked at religion in America, specifically at the rise of the “Nones” (agnostics, atheists or “nothing in particulars”) and you get why Christian Nationalists and their ilk are pushing so hard to grab the levers of power now. The demographics suggest they are going to be pushed further to the fringes by a plural, secular majority — if we can get to that future.
- GQ, of all places, has an interesting article on the next generation of weight-loss drugs, which apparently are very effective — maybe too effective.
I turn 57 in a little over a week and I have a resolution to do this more often. We’ll see how I do. Let me know your thoughts. I love hearing back.
On our way to 100 miles …

July 23, 2022

This week, I’ve started in earnest on getting in shape for the Seagull Century bike ride in October. My brother-in-law Chris asked me to do it last year and I agreed, but now it’s July and between the wedding and covid, I’m behind schedule. So it’s time to get it in gear.

Today was the first of my long ride days (35-mile target) and it was also hot as hell. On Thursday, I got in a 21-mile ride. It was my first longer ride with my new shoes and SPD pedals, and I was able to pull on the backside of my cycle stroke. That was a good thing, but it also meant that when I went faster, I was using muscles that haven’t really gotten a lot of use in recent years. So I ended up cramping in my left calf and limping home.

Today I kept things very free-wheeling and easy. I didn’t push on the way down to Manayunk, just spun circles and worked on pulling through the back half of the pedal stroke and changing up my hand positions to avoid fatigue. When I was passed, I didn’t chase.

It worked pretty well. I got down there feeling pretty good, took some photos and headed back. Ride back I started to tire, but that’s why you do it. The good news: I avoided re-cramping my left calf, even though I kept my left foot hooked into the pedal the whole time. That is probably the headline of the day. Finished up with an average speed around 13.3 mph. I’ll take that, especially given it was hotter than hell and I didn’t do a great job of applying sunscreen before I left.

Attached are some photos from the ride.
Oh happy (wedding) day!

July 20, 2022

We’re coming up on a week since my son Pete and Marissa got married and, I have to say, it was a damn good wedding. Now, I don’t have the depth of experience of the average 27-year-old, who has been to 19 weddings in the past 8 months, but even so, trust me, it was good. I mean, look above.

My favorite part was seeing how happy Pete and Marissa were. And how happy everybody was for them. But mostly them, because everybody else, even Virginia and me, are just everyone else.

Sometime in the past four years Pete and Marissa did that couple thing where they found each other’s backs, flattened themselves against each other and, after a while, there was no daylight between them. That’s a good thing.

The wedding was Friday and we held the rehearsal dinner Thursday night, at Sedona Taphouse in Phoenixville, where we put 47 people in a super-tight room and lived to tell about it. (Somehow, we have yet to hear a report of a covid case following the rehearsal dinner and 190-guest wedding. There were fears …)

I was privileged to welcome everyone to both the rehearsal dinner and the reception. I shared some thoughts at the rehearsal dinner (I was smart enough to know the reception was not the time nor place):

Weddings are act openers and closers. They are beginnings and endings in our lives. And so, as we reach the end of this beginning, I want to say this to Pete and Marissa: You have begun magnificently.

A relationship is a lot of things, and people spend a lot of money on books and therapists and other things to try to improve and fix and save and recover from them, but I’d suggest “relationship” is simply an action: it’s a turning to each other. Over and over. Until you, or it, end. And watching you two first turn to each other (I was there at the start), and do it again, and again, and then to get better at, and to trust it, that has been a parent’s special privilege and a joy.

Tomorrow is the beginning of the middle, and I am excited for it because you’ve got the movement down. Trust it, it’ll take you far.

The happy couple departing the ceremony.

Our favorite flowergirl/granddaughter

There’s much more to say, but let’s leave it here for now. If you want to see photos, you can look at these on Facebook (Marissa, Virginia, me), search #IDoDonahue on Instagram, or check out the gallery below that takes you from Thursday to the post-wedding brunch Saturday at our house.
Angels and Saints … and Gresh Hall

June 19, 2022

Attended Rev. Ken Beldon’s final message as a minister for WellSprings Congregation, and walked out with all the emotions.

Ken shared his greatest hits. A mixture of messages and stories he has shared previously. Closed with The Waterboys’ song Angels and Saints.

This is a wide world we travel

And our paths rarely cross

And we do a whole lot of living

In between

So come and share

More than time

We’ll put our cares

Far behind

While we sail

The ship that never goes to sea

It could be months

It could be years

Before we find each other

Once again standing here

So until then my friend

I have a wish for you

Many hearts

To keep you warm

Many lights

To guide you through the storm

And may the saints and angels

Watch over you

And may the saints and angels

Watch over you

And may the saints and angels

Watch over you

The thing that stuck with me was when Ken said WellSprings as a spiritual community lives in the valley, not the mountain. and that I mentioned to him afterward, was that the value of spiritual practice is its ordinariness, the way that it suffuses our everyday lives with purpose, and solace, and presence.

And I was reminded of something Virginia and I had realized, that for all the places we’ve gone with Rev. Ken – Washington DC, Philadelphia, Haiti — the lessons that have stuck and been most useful were learned in participating and co-leading mindfulness classes with him at Gresh Hall. The one example that came to mind was this: we were settling in for a pretty extended time of mindfulness practice, maybe 30 minutes, when out of nowhere the two 3D printers situated in the library room sprung to life. If you have never heard one, they sound like the steroid-infused dot matrix printer from hell. They literally screech.

As they started, I expected Ken to say, “OK, let’s move to another room.” But no. He said something to the effect of “work with it.” And so I worked through my anger and exasperation and finally got to a point where I could hold the noise at arm’s length and take it in without a whole lot of my own commentary. It was never pleasant, but it stopped being about me.

That was the lesson. And it was one I needed, because this specific thing would happen again, and more generally — there are many times the sounds of the world and from my own head are just as distracting as the 3D printers in Gresh Hall. Being unemployed can throw off a lot of noise. Having serious heart disease can throw off a lot of noise. Adult children bring a lot of noise. Relationship in general creates noise. And being able to separate from it, to hold it at a distance, to evaluate what is the thing and what is the noise, what are the stories that I and others are telling me about the thing, that has been an immeasurable benefit in my life.

And that is totally about living in the valley, not on a mountain.
In Praise of Graceful Exits

June 19, 2022

This is a crazy week end, with two of my favorite UU ministers delivering their final messages to their congregations today. Another favorite is retiring as well. And I’m aware of another who I don’t know as well but respect greatly who is hanging up her robes. There’s a larger question — Why now? — that I don’t feel qualified to answer, though I have thoughts.

But for now, I’d like to traffic in gratitude.

Rev. Ken officiating at our renewing of our vows (Year 25) in 2017.

Rev. Ken Beldon delivered his final message at WellSprings Congregation, in Chester Springs, Pa., this morning. It was a greatest hits, which, for Ken, is some pretty tasty material. Ken has been a minister at WellSprings for the decade-plus I’ve been there. I’ve listened to him preach, gone to justice events with him in West Chester, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. We’ve even gone on a weeklong service trip to Haiti (my second time there). I served on his ministerial committee, participated as a student and co-leader in mindfulness classes he led, and went to more than a few Jason Isbell concerts with him. I do remember him leading off a ministerial committee meeting once with Isbell’s “Relatively Easy,” which I’d discovered around the same time and has since become a hymn in my own personal liturgy. (I hope I didn’t just break some ministerial committee NDA I signed back in 2012.)

Ken is an amazing preacher and connector of dots. Above all, Ken’s sharing of his experience with mindfulness has had a huge impact on my life. I don’t think I become the adult I’m still becoming without his teaching, guidance and support.

In his final message today, he spoke about #ordinarypraise, the idea that spiritual practice is forged in and benefitted most from in everyday life. We live in the valley, not the mountains, he said. That resonated with me deeply, and it’s why I appreciate his experience and ministry so much.

==

Kent sparring with an Infowars TV crew at a 2016 Black Lives Matter rally at Independence Hall.

Rev. Kent Matthies is a great friend. My wife worked with Kent on regional denominational issues, especially justice, in the early 2000s. We are roughly generational equals, and found a mutual appreciation of the other. Kent was the minister at the Unitarian Society of Germantown, which is a diverse, urban UU congregation in Philadelphia. Going to Kent’s congregation is like getting real. Justice isn’t a hypothetical for his congregation, it is an essential part of who they are.

And Kent is a peace warrior. In 2017, I remember, he had partnered with a group advocating for better re-integrating people previously held in prison. We were at a racial justice protest in downtown Philly, in the shadow of Independence Hall, in the runup to the 2016 elections. Kent held his own when a TV crew from InfoWars showed up to ask him some very pointed, and ugly, questions.

For three years, I co-led the Martin Luther King Day of Service projects that ran out of USG. We basically found service work for up to 400 people each year, some on and some off campus. It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know the Germantown congregants, and to turn Dr. King’s message into deeds.

Kent has an infectious energy and joyous, subversive sense of humor. He lives with honesty, integrity and joy, and I treasure his friendship.

==

Me, Rev. Kent Matthies and Rev. Peter Friedrichs at Peter’s discussion of his book at Swarthmore College, in the midst of the pandemic (we dropped out masks for just one minute).

Rev. Peter Friedrichs is the retiring minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Delaware County, in Media, Pa. Peter is a great pastor and preacher, and he recently published his first novel, And the Stars Kept Watch. He is moving out of the Philadelphia area as part of retirement, but I look forward to seeing what he does creatively and in pulling people together around justice.

==

I am so thankful to all three of these ministers as teachers, as guides, as friends, and I look forward to seeing what each of them do next, as I am sure it will benefit other people and inspire me.