August 23rd, 2011 | General, Time Passes
As we stepped off the Lantern Queen the air was muggy and dark clouds of an impending storm lined up southwest of Havre de Grace. It had been part two of a double-barrel event: dinner at Bruce Bitner’s Cafe & Grill on Saturday night, brunch and a cruise up...
August 6th, 2011 | General, Travel, United States
Lynn is a natural caregiver and that means she nourishes, certainly the spirit and absolutely the body. She comes by it naturally. Her late father, Joe the Plumber, was a marvelous cook; Hungarian-kitchen lore plus the resources of Cleveland’s West Side Market meant...
August 3rd, 2011 | General, Travel, United States
So many bad things are said about Detroit. Television programs show a city that appears to be abandoned and newspaper headlines focus on criminal proceedings against elected officials and a devastated economy. What I found was a place of broad straight avenues...
July 26th, 2011 | General, Time Passes, Travel
Monday was my third guitar lesson and the JazzMan, my teacher, introduced me to the third string and the notes G and A. The first week I had three notes: E, F and G. My assignment was an exercise that familiarized me with those notes, up and down and changing back and...
July 14th, 2011 | General
I remember playing the guitar as a teenager. I don’t know where it came from. Had my mother bought it? During her lengthy residence at McLean Hospital, several members of the Taylor family, most notably James, and Ray Charles all sought refuge there. She became quite...
June 17th, 2011 | Gardens and Gardening, General
This morning was no different from most. I woke at 6:30, rose and dressed; sleeping was over and there was much to do to prepare for Father’s Day forty-eight hours away. Morning tasks are always the same. I started the coffee, mixed my morning yogurt with something...
June 15th, 2011 | Gardens and Gardening, General
I suspect that it may be true that chocolate milk comes from chocolate cows. It has been a miraculous few days of pleasant temperatures, light winds, and sky and clouds as brightly blue and white as Delft pottery. Last week temperatures rose on the shoulders of...
April 29th, 2011 | General, the world and Mother Nature, Time Passes
A student stayed after class this past week to ask a question. She seemed a little hesitant and I encouraged her to go ahead. “Are you watching The Borgias?” She blushed. “Now in what universe would I not be watching a costume drama with Jeremy Irons in the lead...
March 12th, 2011 | General, the world and Mother Nature
The most recent deluge and its run-off have charged the Susquehanna River and the fearsome weight of the water is muscling its way to the Chesapeake Bay. Flood stage is 23.5 feet in these parts. This morning, the river reached 27.7 feet and it is expected to crest at...
