I’ve always had a penchant for shadowy things. For example, I’m attracted to (some might say, addicted to) film noir & mystery books. I adore listening to old radio programs like Suspense & The Whistler. And, at this time of year in particular, I find...
As soon as I entered the classroom on my very first day of graduate school, the professor pointed out two columns on the blackboard, one labeled Student, the other Teacher. He then asked me to write a word under each heading that represented my...
Tom & I just spent the better part of a Sunday at the Field Museum of Natural History, one of Chicago’s many world-class destinations. Although the Field is probably best known for being home to the T. rex Sue, we were not there to see her, although admittedly,...
For the couple of years before his death, Edouard Manet, contemporary of the French Impressionists & painter of the controversial Le déjeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), was forced by the exigencies of a worsening illness to leave his beloved...
In our backyard, the clematis has wended its way to the upper reaches of lamppost, trellis, arbor & tuteur. Hummingbirds & bumble bees are working over the lavender spikes of catmint. The local bunny has been nibbling the last of the...
It’s a brand-new year & I have discovered a brand-new medium. Actually, it is a very old medium, but it’s brand-new to me! And the story of this “discovery” is such a classic example of how following my nose & trusting my instincts have rewarded me...
