Thoughts From The Passenger Seat

2026, Music

Mumford & Sons Concert

Posted on August 15, 2026 by nancyb422

I went to the Mumford & Sons Prizefighter concert this past Wednesday at Madison Square Garden and brought my husband along with me. I feel very fortunate for a few reason – MSG is only a 2 hour train ride away, I can afford to buy tickets, and my husband, however much he “complains”, is willing to go with me. He’ll give me the “well, I can’t let you go by yourself”, because I have said many times for many things that if he doesn’t want to do it, “I’m going anyways”. In case you were wondering about that first sentence, this is why I say I went and brought him with me.

Anyway, I bought these tickets six months ago when I was only 2 songs into their new Prizefighter album. Spotify has that feature to look for an artist’s tour dates. I saw MSG, the dates, went to the website and the only indecision was which night based on which seats I could get. We like section 224. Nice angle, clear view of the projection screen, and in rows 3 through 6, you head down and not up. I thought about Tuesday, opening night, but Wednesday had a AISLE SEAT. What better offering to my husband than that!?

I’ve been watching videos of their concerts across the United States and getting hyped up. Looking for playlists on Spotify and singing along to all the songs. Even Spotify following the artist, Medium Build who would be the opening act. August 12th couldn’t come soon enough!

Finally! Wednesday arrives and we take the train into New York, check into the hotel (not the Hilton I thought I made a reservation for but it was actually better located! Story for another time), and head out for an early dinner.

Back to our room, get ready and walk 3 blocks down 8th to MSG.

It was smooth sailing into the arena and our seats. Of course, we got there and in about 20 minutes before the first act but it gave us time to look at the merchandise. We didn’t buy anything but they had a pop-up shop near our hotel during the day so we went the next day for t-shirts.

The seats on the aisle were awesome and our whole row was couples which was really weird!

*View from my seat – all a little magnified*

The only bummer of the evening was the group of six 30-somethings who showed up as Mumford & Sons started. JUST as they started. Not 5 or 10 minute before. No. Right in the seconds of the opening notes of Run Together. Six of them. Right in front of us. Looking for their seats, when they are the only six seats left in the row, so, no surprise there, pick a seat.

Ok, no big deal. Praying to God that the tall guy won’t be in front of me. No, great! He was on the aisle so, to my right. But wait, what did he do? He and the guy next to him TALKED through the first 2 songs. Comment, stop, comment, stop, comment, laugh, comment.

Now, the entire arena is standing. I have been standing since the first notes started. We are all into it, and these guys are talking.

The second song ended, and I took my hand and gently placed it on his shoulder. He turned towards me and I said, very politely, very civilly, “Please.Stop.Talking” as I fixed him with my disappointed mother stare. He did and I carried on enjoying the rest of the concert.

Marcus Mumford was so energetic! After about 10 or 12 songs, he jumped off the stage and ran down the side of the floor, into the crowd in the back, and along the other side back to the stage. A few songs later, he and the 2 others in the group, Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane (have to give them their props!), headed to the other end of the arena and set up on the B Stage and played a couple of songs there. I’m happy we got The Boxer but should have known it since we were in New York! Once back on the main stage, they played three more songs and the concert was over. According to the Set List website (yes, you can search for a concert and find the songs they sang!), these songs were considered the Encore. I thought they’d be back, but the house lights came up, and everyone started leaving. I guess I should be happy with Twenty-Two songs and 2 hours of watching and hearing them sing! My husband had to sit down a few times but I caught him tapping his toe to the music, and he really enjoyed Medium Build.

It was a quick walk back to our hotel and we were still full from our burgers earlier that we skipped a late night slice of pizza one block north.

I thought I had a video of them to post here but I must have been so engrossed, I don’t have anything but snippets. But there are plenty out there on Instagram if you’re interested. It was really a concert to remember!

2026, thoughts

Breathing, Meta, and Mantra

Posted on August 10, 2026 by nancyb422

In the title are three types of meditations I do in my Peloton daily meditation. 10 minutes in the morning and the same meditation for a week with a different instructor.

I’m not crazy about breathing meditation because I feel like my breathing is wacky and on any given day, I have trouble with deep breaths. I call it Anxiety Breathing and have had it all my life. I panic when I can’t draw in a really deep breath. Most days, I’m fine. It must be all these meditation classes I’m taking!

Funny story #1 – I would be in church and would be breathing just regular breaths and I would go to inhale deep and if I couldn’t I would panic (internally, but there were plenty of times in life when I was little I’d freak out at inappropriate moments!), and just say over and over, “ok, wait, wait, just breath and they next one try!”. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn’t.

Funny story #2 – we took swimming lessons at our town pool growing up. I think it was the Intermediate group we were being taught the crawl. You know that one where you take a breath and stick your head in the water and then turn your head and exhale, inhale? Well, I would inhale, do a few strokes and when I would turn my head, I would never breathe in or out! I would just continue to hold my breath and then flounder about. No coordination whatsoever!

Unfortunately, last week and this week are 10 minute classes of breath work! A lot of deep inhales and sighing out of my mouth, along with box breathing this week.

Maybe it’ll make me a better breather. But I’ll never be a better swimmer.

2026, thoughts

Observations

Posted on August 9, 2026 by nancyb422

I’m sitting in the parking lot after 7:30 mass, waiting for the parking lot to empty a bit before heading out. After almost a year of attending, you would think I’d remember to wait instead of entering the scrum to exit!

Besides that, I love going to mass at this time in the morning. Because three churches merged into one parish, it is nicely populated. I see the same people sitting in the same pews every week. I do too. One young couple’s two daughter are the altar servers. One middle aged man arrives right at the start of the first reading. Every Sunday.

There are two priests for the parish right now. Although I like them both, Father Lane is my favorite. I enjoy his homilies.

Today the gospel was about Jesus walking on water and Peter being afraid when he tried to walk to him. Father Lane’s homily was about doubt. He talked about the doubts he had when he was first in the seminary to become a priest. What a big life changing decision that was. But he knew he had no reason to doubt his decision.

He told the story of how he was at a 30 day SILENT retreat. What? I can’t be silent for 30 seconds, I sat there wondering how it could be possible not to talk for 30 days.

2026, family

Finding Your Relatives

Posted on August 8, 2026August 8, 2026 by nancyb422

*My mother (front left) and family about mid-1942*

I follow a few other ancestry writers and one of them, Trisha, introduced me to a great show on BYU TV called “Relative Race”.

Four teams, in cars, start out from the same location in different directions with an individual time allotted that includes a challenge once they get to the town of their relative.

Using only paper maps from one location to the next, their clock stops when they get to the home of their relative.

They introduce themselves, and ask “whose relative are you?” On some teams, it might be only one person searching for relatives, on other teams, both.

They meet and visit with their relatives, and it looks to me like on some occasions they meet the relative at an Airbnb set up by production.

That night, the teams get on a Group FaceTime type chat, Dan the host comes on and he will announce the winner for the day. They are the team that came closest to their allotted time. The loser is the one who took the longest. If they are last for the day, they get a strike. 3 strikes and you’re out. Goodbye, go home (although they still got to meet the relatives just not on camera). Season 16, appears to be different and the team with 3 strikes still travels, but maybe they just don’t get a chance for the $10,000 prize at the end when they do the big, final challenge. I’m at that episode now!

Did I mention, they give up their phones and only have flip phones? Yes! They can text each other, which on occasion they do. Dan texts them in the morning with their next destination, welcomes them when they arrive to the town with their challenge location, and when that’s complete gives them the relative’s location.

The race is run primarily on the East Coast. But one season had them all over the United States and then flew the people who ended up in California back to the final location. This season they started in Alabama. One team has gone to Louisiana and Texas, another upper Florida and Georgia, another North Carolina, to Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and another to North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana.

The teams themselves and the family they are seeking tugs at my heart strings. It isn’t run-of-the-mill relatives they are looking for, it is FAMILY. The majority were adopted at birth or a very young age. Some knew they were adopted, some only found out a few years ago. You hear their stories at the beginning of the season and again throughout the season but not to excess.

Maybe I enjoy this show because we found out my mother had a different father than her siblings! She had passed away years before we found out, but it made me wonder if there were differences in looks and personality that made anyone go “hmmm”.

Obviously, DNA testing is done prior to all this and family members contacted to see if they would be willing to meet with the contestant. Once they are selected, I’m sure they are situated for maximum show drama impact!

In earlier seasons, teams weren’t always very nice to each other. A team each season would really be looking to get the edge on everyone else. Sometimes the daily winners get to put a time penalty on another team and they would target a team to ensure a strike. but every season the show evolves and those types of “rewards” have gone by the wayside.

You can find BYU TV in your streaming channels if you have a Smart TV or you can watch episodes on YouTube through the Relative Race channel.

If you love heartwarming family reunions with a little suspense thrown in, you will enjoy this show!

Here’s a link to Trisha’s blog post about her love for the show!

Have you ever watched it and if so, did you enjoy it?

2026, life

What’s a few pounds?

Posted on August 7, 2026 by nancyb422

I’ve been doing one particular 30 minute routine for the last week. Faster pace, lighter weights – right where I like it. I don’t feel so “thick” when I’m done and I’ve seen the numbers on the scale sloooowwllly declining.

I was keeping it lighter even on the lunges. Four rounds of 16 lunges (8 each side) and thrusters I was using 12 pounds.

I decided after 2 rounds to kick it up a notch to 15 pounds on the lunges, so I picked them up and off I went! Whew that was tough!

Then I realized I had been using the 10 pounds and not the 12! I was a little breathy, but the second time around, it was ok. Slow and steady.

That of course got me thinking about the weight we carry around every day. Google tells me that for EVERY pound, while you walk on level ground, your knees feel 1-1/2 times your body weight. Stairs? 2 to 4 times. Squatting or kneeling? 4 to 5 times!

How are your knees? Is it time to lighten the load on them? My knees feel pretty good, I think I’ll keep up the good work!

2026, life

Modern Marvels(?)

Posted on August 6, 2026 by nancyb422

*Waited for the ice maker to do its thing*

We don’t use a lot of ice in our two person home and sometimes the ice maker lets us know its displeasure.

I stuck my glass under there to chill the water I dumped in that was left over from my workout. No, I’m not water conscious, I did it because there are still remnants of the LMNT electrolytes powder I added earlier. I don’t want to waste THAT.

Evidently, we haven’t used it in a while because it churned for about a minute (or it felt like a minute) and finally plopped out at least 15 cubes! I think I heard, “I’ll show you” as it happened. Thankfully, the cup did not overflow. I’ll take my spiritual cup overflowing, but not one I have to clean up after.

2026, life

Early Morning Out and About

Posted on August 5, 2026 by nancyb422

*Sun coming up over our garage/workout space*

I am up early every morning and out to my workout space by, the latest, 6:30am so being outside is nothing new to me.

But there is that rare occasion when I have to be off the premises at that time that puts my life in a different perspective.

Today I had a blood draw scheduled at 7:10am for my annual physical in a few weeks. The draw station is about 11 minutes from my home so, easy drive. But, I left the lab slip in my datebook back at the office! First, good thing I remembered last night so I could change my reminder in my phone. Second, good thing my office is a 2 minute detour from the draw station!

I left my house at 6:40 and drove the route I take every morning. The difference in that is, I’m usually driving that route at 9am.

Main Street is still quiet at 6:40. Walkers and joggers are in their homes, and the cars are few. The area feels sleepy, and there are remnants of an event held in front of the town hall; a dunk tank sits at the curb and saw horses to stop traffic are now on the sidewalk.

I stop at the office, grab my datebook with the slip, and check in at the draw station. I’m called in, give my blood, and am on my way in minutes. It’s smart to have an appointment!

On my way home, heading down Main Street from north to south, almost 2-1/2 miles, the town has woken up, and there are walkers and joggers all along my route. Another day has begun on the main roads in my town.

2026, Religion

Hope

Posted on July 29, 2026July 29, 2026 by nancyb422

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, Hebrews 6:19

I don’t know how or when I learned and fell in love with this verse. Which was followed by the tattoo on my wrist.

My July 29 reading in Jesus Calling is about Jesus being “the center of your consciousness, the Anchor of your soul.” An anchor on a short rope lets a boat drift slightly before the taut line tugs the boat back toward the center.

Since I re-read the book annually, I’ve read this day’s story more than once but today, it really made sense.

The more we become aware of His presence, the shorter the rope becomes and the quicker we return to Him. Soon, He’s front and center in our mind.

2026, Memories

Least Impressive Award

Posted on July 28, 2026 by nancyb422

I was listening to something on the radio a few weeks ago. Likely just two DJs on the radio, but they were talking about the least impressive award they ever received. It was humorous, but I guess you had to be there!

It made me go back in time of course, to two awards I received 4 years apart, that to me were not what I wanted. They both made me feel shame because, although one was done in jest, I didn’t think that way about myself! Bear with me, I’m going into the Way Way Back machine.

Eight grade awards ceremony. Yup, 8th grade. I received an award called, “My Affair Lady” . Did I say this was a catholic school? Two classes for each grade at the time. So yeah, I had a couple of boyfriends that year. There were some tumultuous moments during the year. But did “the committee” really have to put it out there? I think what made it worse was, it was my twin sister and her friend who created the awards. I can still picture the friend really laughing it up. I’m sure I gave a smile and laughed but I felt the jab.

Senior year of high school. Class Superlatives. You know the ones? Best Smile, Cutest, Most Class Spirit. Me? Class Flirt. Wah-wah-wahhhhh. Pattern anyone? The superlatives are voted on by the class but once they reach the yearbook committee, all bets are off. If someone was top two in a category and they were on the committee, they picked which one they wanted, and give second place the other. I don’t sound bitter after 48 years do I? Anyway, yeah, Class Flirt. I guess I didn’t stray far from “My Affair Lady” did I? The male Flirt was someone I knew well, and he IS a shameful flirt. I was not like that, I thought to myself. I’m friendly, I talk to people (only boys evidently). But votes don’t lie right? We had our picture taken and it’s there for all eternity.

Why do I even care? Because I know that events like this affected my identity and self-worth as years went on. I might not have changed my pattern, obviously that was already ingrained, but it colored how I saw myself and what I thought about myself. Past events are going to be carried with you whether you say, “Oh that didn’t bother me at all” or not.

2026, life

Chivalry

Posted on July 22, 2026 by nancyb422

Modern chivalry is defined as “courteous, polite, and gentlemanly behavior, especially a man’s respectful conduct and gestures of goodwill towards women”.

I’m all for chivalry but sometimes someone can take it a little too far. Case in point – I approached the line at the CVS pharmacy to pick up my prescription. There were 3 people in line and the two stations were occupied. An older gentleman was at the end of the line. I asked him if he was in line, and he said yes so I headed behind him. He told me “No” and to go in front of him. The other woman in line laughed because he had told her the same. I encouraged him to go before me, but he wanted none of that.

His response was, “my father would smack me if I didn’t get a woman go first, he taught me chivalry”. The lady in front of me said, “so, I said sure!”. I laughed and said, “and I’m the woman that will tell them absolutely not! You were here first.”

So I went in front of him, picked up my prescription, and left. I didn’t notice whether he was still letting people in front of him, or if he finally got in line.

I’m not opposed to men being courteous, but if think this was going a little too far.

What do you think?