Strawberry Picking in Washington State (Or, The Summer I Would Strike it Rich)
An author I admire sent me a quote from a 30-year-old article about strawberry picking in the Pacific Northwest and southern Canada. The author of this article is an accomplished writer and poet, able to create vivid scenes with only a few words: “Strawberries are too delicate to be picked by machine. The perfectly ripe […]
A Storm’s Comin’!
The dire weather warnings for this weekend have reminded me of the worst blizzard I ever endured in my hometown of Grand Forks, North Dakota. I was a senior in high school and oblivious of what was going on around me—so, a typical teenager. One Friday night, my two best girlfriends and I decided to […]
I went to Venezuela once. They were still a democracy then.
Back in the mid-1980s (1983, to be specific) I was laid off from my first professional position as a geoscientist by an oilfield services company in Dallas called Core Laboratories. It was hard times in the industry—I’d survived the first three rounds of layoffs before the ax finally fell on me. It began a tough […]
F.r.i.e.n.d.s: Secrets and Lies on a Sitcom (vs. Real Life)
I’ve been thinking about sitcoms lately. I’ve never been a big sitcom watcher, but one I did watch religiously was F·r·i·e·n·d·s, right up until the final episode. The writing on that show was so excellent, and unlike a lot of long-running TV shows, it seemed to get better as the show went on. One of […]
Art and Artifice: Sneak Peak No. 4
[Below is Chapter 7, titled “Life With a Toddler,” from my recently released book, Art and Artifice: A Memoir. You can read Chapter 1 here, Chapter 2 here, and Chapter 3 here. In this sneak peak that follows Chapter 3, I’ve jumped ahead four chapters and about 8 months. Paul and I are now a couple, […]
Getting Fired Sucks (Especially When It’s a Lifestyle Choice)
I got fired from the first job I ever had. I was 16 years old and working at a Hardee’s Restaurant, a fast-food burger joint common throughout the upper Midwest in the 1970s. I’d been there about a year. A young upstart, even younger than me at 15, had been promoted to assistant manager. Nobody […]
Buying Art, Trusting Our Instincts, and Playing the Long Game
A few weeks ago I found out I have a valuable piece of artwork in my household. Not something I paid 20 bucks for at a garage sale and wouldn’t you know it—it’s a Picasso! But along those lines… Of course, there’s a story behind the story (isn’t there always?). I learned to sew when […]
Life in the Land of 25% Totality
Well, I’ve got timing, you’ve got to give me that! I live in Texas for 44 years, and the minute I leave, the universe decides to have a total solar eclipse in my old stomping grounds. I guess I could have spent $1,000 on a plane ticket and fought the crowds at the airport, and […]
Christmas 2023: Three Shades of Grief
In July I wrote that I was preparing for a cross-country move from Houston, Texas to Washington state. The real reason for my move, which I didn’t state at the time, was to help my oldest sister Lois, who had contracted lung cancer and wasn’t bouncing back from her treatments as well as we had […]
Notes on A(nother) Move
Yes, you read that right. I’m moving. Again. This is number 16. By mid-August I will no longer be a Texan but a Washingtonian, thus ending my 44-year sojourn in the Lone Star State. I apologize for the silence on this blog the past few months, but this particular life event has thrown my equilibrium […]
Florescence 2023, Museum of Fine Arts Houston
Florescence 2023, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston April 26 and 27 the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston hosted Florescence, a major flower design show and competition cosponsored by The Garden Club of America, Houston Garden Club, and River Oaks Garden Club of Houston. This show has been on hiatus since 2019 because of COVID, so […]
Earth Day 2023—Seven Things We Can Do for Planet Earth
Earth Day started in 1970. I was 13 years old, in junior high school, and thought it was the oddest thing—Earth Day? What did they mean by that? I couldn’t imagine this was something that was going to catch on. Was it going to be one of these artificial Hallmark holidays, fabricated to send somebody […]
Lightscape at Houston Botanic Garden
Lightscape at Houston Botanic Garden I attended the second annual holiday light show at the Houston Botanic Garden, Lightscape, on New Year’s Day, 2023. Here are just a few photos from this awesome light show. This is a mile-long trail you walk through that starts at the botanic gardens and takes you through stations that […]
Goodbye, 2022 and Hello, 2023!
Happy New Year to everyone! 2022 seemed like a fairly quiet, uneventful year, and I wasn’t sure what this year-end post would be about. But more and more things came to mind, and I realized I did accomplish some things and cross a few milestones. As usual, I have a few things to say. Maybe […]
History Through the Eyes of a Child
I recently had the good fortune to spend Thanksgiving with a few of my siblings in the Palm Springs area in California. I arrived early in the week, on November 21. Because of this timing, my visit coincided with the 59th anniversary of a major event in America’s history. On November 22, 1963, the United […]
