“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet.” Juliet, in her soliloquy, diminishes the significance of a name; in this instance Romeo’s surname, Montague. Romeo would be the same “dear perfection,” she proclaims, if he were a mere Smith or Jones. But maybe not a …
‘Mer·i·ca/ˈmerəkə,ˈmərəkə/nouninformal•US EnglishAmerica (used especially to emphasize qualities regarded as stereotypically American, such as materialism or fervent patriotism). Banner photo: A drive through liquor store in Sheridan, Wyoming. What could possibly go wrong? Strip the color from an image and what are you left with? An ordered story. A quiet, pointed narrative free from the screaming …
“I love the autumn—that melancholy season that suits memories so well. When the trees have lost their leaves, when the sky at sunset still preserves the russet hue that fills with gold the withered grass, it is sweet to watch the final fading of the fires that until recently burnt within you.”~ Gustave Flaubert, Memoirs …
An American’s observations of a first time trip to France. *Normandy Landings Omaha Beach – Pointe du Hoc – Sainte-Mère-Église – Normandy American Cemetery A dog romps around this mostly quiet beach. There’s nothing quite like the unbounded joy of a dog on a beach, kicking up golden sand, and stopping occasionally to inspect the …
Banner photo: Fort la Latte, Plévenon, Côtes-d’Armor. An American’s observations of a first time trip to France. Color directly influences the soul. Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings.” ~ Wassily Kandinsky, Concerning the Spiritual in Art. Whether it’s a market stall, or a vast …
An American’s observations of a first time trip to France. *Normandy Landings Gold Beach, October 2, 2025It’s chilly, windy, and threatening rain when we arrive in Normandy.We’re renting a house in Ver Sur Mer, a small community near Gold Beach. Gold Beach isn’t a name that the local tourist bureau thought up as a gilded …
An American’s observations of a first time trip to France. *The road less traveled. When I told friends that Cora and I were going to venture outside of Paris during our trip to France I was advised to take the train. “The trains in Europe are great,” they (the ubiquitous ‘they’) all said. It’s an …
An American’s observations from a first time trip to France. “To be treated well in places where you don’t expect to be treated well, to find things in common with people you thought previously you had very, very little in common with, well that can’t be a bad thing.” ~ Anthony Bourdain. “The French don’t …
On Constitution Day 2025, the Trump Regime tore off yet another piece of the Constitution of the United States of America and tossed it into the dumpster. There, in that dank bin, that poor metaphorical slip became part of a growing pile of bits, pieces, scraps and chunks of a document that was ratified 238 …
Trump and MAGA; they aren’t unlike the roadkill skunk decomposing down the block that the animal control boys aren’t getting around to picking up. Festering and funky in the afternoon sun it sits there and cooks, the effluvium is never ending, 24/7/365 – for four rotten years. And there’s no escape. It’s dark on the …
The Life in My Years 