Whenever I drive back to Texas, the minute I hit the border from New Mexico, a calm settles over me. Not that West Texas is my home, but still, I can see the big open sky and the flat plains and I hear that West Texas closed-mouth drawl when I stop for gas. These signal…
Category: Memories
Ray Agutter In Action
Here is a picture of my brother-in-law, Ray Agutter (in the khaki colored suit), aka “E. Ray” at Sarah and Gregorio’s wedding reception a couple of years ago. This picture encapsulates E. Ray’s fun-living spirit as he dances the night away while surrounded by family and friends who love him. Never mind that Ray had…
Then and Now
Here is what 35 years looks like: June 7, 1980 June 6, 2015 Tomorrow we celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. I asked Ray tonight what he’s liked about our marriage. His response: “The fun.” Oh, yes, we have had fun. He added,”The kids, too.” Ah, yes, the kids. What could have been better? I am a…
5-Star Turkey Meatloaf Recipe Revisited
I made this meatloaf recipe yesterday and had forgotten just how good it is. This is one of the best tried and true recipes you’ll find for meatloaf and normally I don’t even LIKE meatloaf. Simply delicious. We had this yesterday and today for lunch. Both days we had a green salad. Today, I also…
Off They Go
Good bye to Jan and John Davies, who this evening boarded a Virgin Atlantic airplane and headed back to Wales. Jan and John are two of the nicest people I know. They are the parents of our priest and friend, Father Ian Elliott Davies, and they visit our parish at least once a year for…
Lessons from Two Masters
I just finished helping a student finish his 10 page term paper on how Edith Wharton’s and Tennessee Williams’ lives inspired Ethan Frome and The Glass Menagerie. The truth is that both of their lives are right there on those pages, disguised as other people dealing with problems of guilt, abandonment, thwarted dreams and societal…
Happy Birthday, Sweet Sarah
My beautiful firstborn baby is turning 33 tomorrow and I thought I would share a few pictures over the years. Here are just a few: …
On Developing a Visual Eye with the Help of Edward Weston
I am sitting in what has become our “eBay “ room, where I have been taking pictures of items and listing them for sale on eBay for the past several hours. We have handled several estates over the past 6 months and we are still busy posting piece after piece so they can go up…
A Great Essay by Phillip Lopate
This is a wonderful piece written by Phillip Lopate, who is one of the premier essayist in the United States. It is very informative to anyone who writes memoir because Lopate encourages the writer to not only include scenes which showcase the child’s perspective of the world (or the less mature perspective), but also to…
Mother’s Day Gifts
I am looking at the white orchids that my children gave me yesterday for Mother’s Day. I love orchids. I find their simplicity compelling. I remember going into the home of one of my students here in Beverly Hills when I first started working with children (and before I insisted they come to my home)….
20 Minutes a Day 