For Ray’s birthday, our kids gave him tickets to hear Rodney Crowell sing at the Troubador.  That event was tonight.  Liz, Ron and Rachael went with us. Rodney Crowell was even better than I expected.  His voice was strong, his fiddle player and guitarist were exceptional and the songs on his new album are lyrical,…

Ray, Rachael and I were working on eBay this morning in the living room here in LA when we heard a knock at the door. Usually, those knocks mean that FedEx is delivering a package. However, when I peeked out the front window, there stood my nephew Hutch Leatherwood looking back at me.  This wouldn’t…

The famous editor Max Perkins wrote: I think, in truth, that the best writing of all is done long after the events it is concerned with, when they have been digested and reflected upon unconsciously, and the writer has completely realized them in himself. It is good journalistic writing that is done quickly while everything…

Today has been one of those mega-work days after my 10 days away in Texas.  I started at 6:30 this morning with a graduate student in Clinical Psychology who had a major term paper due. We had already devoted several hours to this project before I left for Texas.  Today, we worked for four additional hours…

When driving back from Texas, Ray and I had the chance to listen to Terry Gross interview Pulitzer prize winner, Richard Ford, on his new memoir, “Between Them,” which is about his relationship with his parents. I am including the interview in full below.  It is well worth the read.  Also, here is the link…

We are in Williams, AZ tonight after a full day of driving.  The dogs are curled up on one bed and Ray is on the other.  We hope to be back in LA by tomorrow early-afternoon. We had a successful trip with lots of business accomplished along with some good visits. Thank you, Shann Schubert…

This question is not a tough one for me. The possession I prize the most is my wedding ring. I received this ring on my 30th wedding anniversary from Ray, my husband. Before that, I had a plain gold band for a long time and then a thinner band that I bought for myself with…

I saw our realtor, Evan Martin, a few days back, a smart young man who also happens to be the son of my mother’s secretary for many years at Psychological Counseling Services, the private practice Mom ran with her partner, Dorothy LeMole.  Mom and Dorothy met in graduate school when they were both getting their…

Here are some portraits photographed by Richard Avedon that are currently on display at the Amon Carter Art Museum in Fort Worth. Avedon was commissioned by the art museum in 1979 to take photographs that represented the “American West.” The photos he brought back were not exactly what the museum brass had expected and when…

I am sitting in a quiet house and can hear the train whistle off in the distance.  It is 11:23 pm and we’ve had a long but good day.  We just returned from a party at the home of our friends Darrah Dunn and Shann Schubert.  There we saw old friends and also one new…