A Race to the Finish

A Race to the Finish

by | Jun 24, 2023

This is a tale for 8-15 year olds who have an interest in France, the French language, or auto racing. A hair-raising adventure, it follows a two-cousin racing team entered in the Mille Bornes – a one-time real road race in France. They drive through the actual race route from Paris to Genoa encountering trouble along the way. The story features many French terms that we use in English, which appear in blue text.

It was the eve of the biggest race of her life and Suzanne LaPlante couldn’t sleep. She rolled over in the luxurious bed in her room at the Paris hotel where she and her cousin and racing partner, Jean-Claude had checked in for the night. They had dreamed of being racecar drivers ever since their grandfather had taken them to the Grand Prix race near the town of Nevers when they were kids. It was in their blood. read more…

The Electrician

The Electrician

by | Jun 24, 2023

Part 1: Harly in the Drink

Harly may or may not be an actual electrician. He is, nevertheless, the man on whom we call these days when our wiring needs attention. He has replaced our former person, Glenman. Glenman may or may not have been an actual electrician as well, but it was he who did all the original electrical work in our Nevis home. And he may also be the reason that the wiring in our house so frequently goes on the blink. read more…

Mr. Lonely Hearts

Mr. Lonely Hearts

by | Jun 15, 2022

We wake up every morning to a rhythmic drumming on our metal roof. This is a new phenomenon, most likely brought on by the installation of our bird feeders that swing suspended from our third floor balcony. Our most loyal visitors from the very start have been the woodpeckers – the Downy, the Hairy, and (our most stunning) the Red-bellied. read more…

The Cruise

The Cruise

by | Jun 15, 2022

It was what we call at our house “a first world problem.” The day before my brother and his family were to visit us in our tropical home on the island of Nevis, the dishwasher broke.

It had been fading for the last year or so. First the buttons controlling the cycles froze so that the ability to change from ‘pots and pans’ to ‘light wash’ was no longer available. read more…

Greatest Hits of the 1970s

Greatest Hits of the 1970s

by | Mar 13, 2022

James Taylor almost sang at my wedding. During the waning days of winter in 1970, we were living in Cambridge with some Harvard Law students. Our friend Lou – a dropout from the Law School – had just gifted us a record album. On the cover was a skinny guy in a rumpled tan suit, wide paisley tie and beige suspenders, lying on the grass against a stone wall. read more…

East Side West Side

East Side West Side

by | Feb 21, 2022

“Well, they began it.”
 the Jets
“Well, they began it.”
the Sharks
“And we’re the ones to stop it once and for all…tonight.”
the Jets and the Sharks

I was just thirteen when I encountered the troubling reality that two people could share a singular experience and come away with opposite perspectives. The movie, West Side Story, was the vehicle of that lesson, and a childhood friend was my unwitting teacher. Meridith, wherever you are, I thank you. read more…

The Eye of the Beholder

The Eye of the Beholder

by | Oct 4, 2021

Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty.
David Hume

In the summer of 2000, I was on the island of St. Kitts teaching in an international doctoral program as part of the university’s residency requirement for its graduates. I was preparing the students for their dissertation projects read more…

The Gift of a Hat

The Gift of a Hat

by | Sep 30, 2021

I write this on the day before the October 2, 2021 Women’s March for Reproductive Rights, remembering my participation in the first Women’s March of January 2017.

I have the best hat in the world. It is black and sags a bit to the side giving it the air of a living thing that moves this way and that as I turn my head. read more…

Do I Bow or Can I Hug?

Do I Bow or Can I Hug?

by | Sep 30, 2021

Do I Bow or Can I Hug?

I pondered this question as I sat on the ten-hour flight from Los Angeles to Haneda Airport near Tokyo for our first ever visit to Japan. Tatsuya had been a twenty-nine year old businessman when he joined our family briefly in 1994. He came as part of a cultural program being offered to my school at no cost: read more…

Aunt Sherry’s Shoes

Aunt Sherry’s Shoes

by | Sep 30, 2021

My Aunt Sherry lives in Peter Cooper Village. That’s in New York City near the East River. I’m staying over this week because it’s my birthday and Aunt Sherry is making me a party. I’ll be four. I can’t wait to be four. I’ll be a big girl then.

read more…