The Best of Jerusalem 2015
To summarize my stay in Jerusalem this summer in one blog post? It's a tall order, but here goes. We spent an inordinate amount of time on an exceedingly hot day trying to find the passageway to the Ethiopian Monastery on top of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (I had read about it in an old guidebook as one [...]
The Best of London 2015
We took a weekend "side" trip to London from Scotland to visit relatives and tour a little. Here are my best shots from that sojourn. We did the touristy thing and took a Big Bus Tour; I've been to London many times, but had never done this before. I have to say it was great to sit up on the [...]
The Best of the Hemingway House 2015
Doing what I loved to do during my residency at the Hemingway Birthplace Home—poking about, taking pictures; here, in “Abba’s room,” i.e. the room of Ernest Hall, Hemingway’s maternal grandfather, who owned the house and whom the family called by the Hebrew term for father, “Abba.” “So what was it like to be writer-in-residence at the Hemingway Birthplace Home? [...]
The Best of Scotland 2015
For the last few days of this year I decided to run a "Best of..." series to pay homage to some of the best times this year, i.e. travels and other exploits. So here's the first post in the series, showcasing the best pictures from our trip to Scotland this summer. After suffering the intense heat of Israel, the rain [...]
From the Christkindlmarket
From my traditional annual visit to Chicago's downtown Christkindlmarket, Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! It's been unseasonably warm here, no snow flakes and icy cold to company my sipping of hot spiced wine. But the holiday lights in the blue of dusk always cast the city in the festive light, no matter what!
One Reason to Write Memoir
This is not a drawing of the actual stone bridge mentioned in Traces, but it is pretty close to what I still see in my imagination. Here's one reason to write memoir: It sets a monument. Ted Kooser said--I am not quoting him verbatim here, only what I remember because I don't remember where to look for the actual quote--that [...]