Oh, Amelia I have mentioned that National Geographic is one of my last vestigial magazine subscriptions. I don’t stack them side-by-side in yellow-spined glory on some dusty basement shelf, as I remember them from my youth. But I do let them linger on the bedside table, the office glass-top table and the bathroom magazine caddy well beyond their otherwise useful life. I actually do glance through and read parts of the hard glossy copy, but…
Of Mice and Men Tonight we are watching John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men that was made in 1992 with Gary Sinise and John Malkovich. Steinbeck wrote this novella (only 107 pages) in 1937 while he was gathering and creating his stories of the Great Depression and the travails of the Dust Bowl and all the soulful stories of real people caught in the backwash of a world gone sideways. Steinbeck was from Salinas, California,…
The Departure of Prosperity Today I spent the day driving Kim, Thomas and me up to Pasadena to see Kim’s family. Before going I went for bagels and cream cheese and to fill up the tank of the car with gas. It’s 107 miles to our nephew’s house in Pasadena, and with the small detour through West Hollywood to see Gary & Oswaldo for a late lunch, we would cover 260 miles. At an average…
Sleeping-In There are many reasons why I should be jealous of my youngest son, Thomas. He is young and just starting his life. He is engaged to be married to a lovely and brilliant young woman with whom he is currently living in Brooklyn. He and she met at Cornell University and have known each other literally from the first day of their arrival in their dormitory (their rooms were adjacent). They became best friends…
Bending Metal When I got the idea from my daughter Carolyn to build a playhouse on my back hillside, I was sent pictures of the Ithaca Children’s Garden structure that gave her the idea in the first place. The small structure had thick stucco or adobe walls, a small rounded door in front and another two on the sides, and a planted green roof that was arched with large eve overhangs that made it look…
When Will You Make an End? In the 1965 epic film, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Rex Harrison as Pope Julius II has commissioned Michelangelo (Charlton Heston) to paint the Sistine Chapel. As we all know, the Sistine Chapel ceiling is the best of the High Renaissance artworks and was finally completed in 1512 after four years of effort by the ornery Michelangelo. In the movie, Pope Julius starts asking Michelangelo regularly, and eventually on…
The Not-So-Great Gatsby I was just reminded that its been 100 years since that summer on West Egg (the North Shore of Long Island) when Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby dallied with the rich and famous of East Egg. Clearly, 1922 was a carefree moment in U.S. history when the War to end all wars was behind them and the world looked like one big party that would never end. The old money crowd was…
The Hanseatic League My vague awareness of Medieval History reminds me that in the Twelfth Century or thereabouts, the craftsmen of the northern Germanic countries of Europe gathered themselves into a massive and extended guild of sorts to protect their interests as they grew their commercial enterprises. This collective or union was called The Hanseatic League and it existed as a powerful business force in the region for several centuries. This confederation was put together…
Sonny Boy My youngest son Thomas is coming for a week-long visit on Wednesday. He arrives at San Diego Airport right in the middle of my Ethics class lecture (assuming his flight is on-time). Since the following week is Spring Break and since I do not want to keep my boy waiting too long at the airport (even though it is only a ten minute drive from the campus), I will probably end the class…
Prelude to a Hobbit Today was a big day for my back hillside. On the occasion of our friends from Sonoma being in town for the weekend, we gathered my local family (all of whom know our friends very well) and had everyone over for a bagel brunch. I will start by explaining that I have a wonderful bagel deli here in Escondido, which makes life much nicer for me since 50 years of living…