Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever possibly suspect's something's up. The suitcases haven't come out yet, but clothing is piled in strange and unlikely places, and yesterday the house- and dog-sitter (whom Scout already knows from camp) came by to get the lay of the land. You could look at Scoutie's face and tell he was thinking something like, "Huh." … Continue reading Sunday Photo Essay: When Life Is a Walk in the Park
Vermont
Journal Entry: Travel Crunch Time
It is what Chef David calls the days and moments leading up to our road trips, which we anticipate eagerly all year, and embrace giddily in spite of all the feverish preparations before liftoff. Crunch time has arrived, and entails not only planning the so-called ‘capsule’ wardrobe one takes on a trip, and unearthing the … Continue reading Journal Entry: Travel Crunch Time
Travel Story: Road Trip to Tennessee the WPA Way
Looky what came in last week’s mail. The only thing better would have been stumbling across this in a Vermont antique store or at a local tag sale. Well, that, and maybe a first edition, instead of this third edition. I did locate a first edition in excellent shape in another online vendor’s inventory, evidently … Continue reading Travel Story: Road Trip to Tennessee the WPA Way
Journal Entry: The Garden Thus Far
Somebody was supposed to bake honey oatmeal bread on the weekend, a thing that never came about because of Pressing Matters. I had every intention of photographing that somebody whilst he was baking the bread, and the bread itself. So now I shall give you a little photo essay showing what happened instead, which was … Continue reading Journal Entry: The Garden Thus Far
Journal Entry: Change Is Bad, Except When It Isn’t
“My ass is hanging off the bed.” Those were the Chef’s first words to me this morning, prompted by one Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever’s pushing four paws into me, with his back to the Chef, who was forced out of the bed this way. All six-feet-plus of him, at a quarter ‘til six. The planets are misaligned; that’s … Continue reading Journal Entry: Change Is Bad, Except When It Isn’t
Journal Entry: Oh, Spring, Don’t Be Such a Sullen Teenager
Sometimes spring reminds me of the agony of adolescence: It’s gangly, awkward, sulking, insecure—still a work in progress. And as much as it wants to be all grown up, has miles yet to venture down that road. Springtime in Vermont still doesn’t quite know how to groom or fix its hair or make nice with … Continue reading Journal Entry: Oh, Spring, Don’t Be Such a Sullen Teenager
Journal Entry: Tender Green Shoots
Whenever somebody up this way likes to claim we’re lucky to have four seasons, usually as a snappy retort to somebody else complaining about how truly miserable Vermont winters can be, my knee-jerk reaction goes, four seasons compared to what? What we more accurately have in these parts is five seasons, like so: Summer (it … Continue reading Journal Entry: Tender Green Shoots
Impostor Story: When Self-Doubt Comes Calling
"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" —The Wizard of Oz More than once somebody I hold in high esteem has openly conceded self-doubt. I don’t know why this should come as a surprise: smart, accomplished people are human, after all. One memorable occasion stands out. Near the end of my undergraduate studies … Continue reading Impostor Story: When Self-Doubt Comes Calling
Parenting Story, Part the Second: When A Thousand Miles Separate You From Your Sick Kid
Turns out, the universe was listening last week when I suggested it’s impossible always to protect your child. Especially when he is 26 and presumably the captain of his own ship—and he lives in Tennessee and you live way up in Vermont. Five o’clock a.m. on Wednesday came the messages, one after another, lighting up … Continue reading Parenting Story, Part the Second: When A Thousand Miles Separate You From Your Sick Kid
Piano Story: Taking Care of (Unfinished) Business
When I disemboweled Knoxville Ballet School, liquidated it in the summer of 2012 just before my divorce was final, I was flush with pianos. Shortly before his death, my Uncle Stan had implored me to take the piano from my grandparents’ house in Chattanooga, the one he’d grown up playing before he launched himself into … Continue reading Piano Story: Taking Care of (Unfinished) Business
Sycamore Stories 