The Life in My Years

An anthology of life

“Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.”~ Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly Kraków. It’s old. Fourth century old. Put in American perspective, because for Americans it’s always about America, Krakow was the capital of Poland five centuries before a European landed in what would later be the United …

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“Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.” ― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly Food. Glorious food. Pure food. Real food. Food that you can taste just by looking at it. Food that you never knew could smell so fresh and look so perfectly beautiful. This is the food …

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If the breeze is just right, the aroma hits you just as you’re stepping off Dlouhá Street into Staroměstské náměstí, Prague’s Old Town Square. It’s a savory, intoxicating blend of a wood fire and slowly roasting meat. The smell is reeling me in. And why not? This smell is built into the human’s sustenance DNA. …

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“Unfortunately, we all go through bad phases.” ~ Sushmita Sen (Indian actress) Woo hoo, it’s phase two.  California’s starting to open up, an event I’m greeting with mixed emotions.  On the one hand I’m glad for the small business owners and workers who’ve been holding on through a rough two months and can now start …

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I’m up before dawn on a 50° F. morning; chilly for the Bay Area, balmy for those struggling with a side order of snow to go with their pandemic.  Wife, daughter and grandchildren are enjoying the warmth of bed.  Lexi bounces up, all tail wagging, rolling on the floor, butt in the air doggy excitement. …

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It isn’t the end of days but, as the bard Robert Zimmerman (aka Bob Dylan) wrote, The Times They Are a-Changin. I’ve published one piece about the coronavirus and have begun another but I can’t seem to keep up with the a-changin’ times. What was relevant two weeks ago is ancient history.  Hell what was …

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Part of our first day in Montreal was spent strolling up and down the aisles of Marche Jean Talon, a public market located in the city’s Little Italy district. Window shopping; I can take it or leave it. That is unless we’re at a farmer’s market. Then I’m all in, as I was when we …

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