I like to think Peter (Pyotr for purists) Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a rock star in his day, but I can’t say for sure. He certainly was an attractive man. One thing I can say is that his Nutcracker score (penned not long before his death) is tacky ballet music through and through. There, I’ve said … Continue reading The Nutcracker is here to stay.
Seven Dangerous Words
Hey Mom: Can I borrow your phone? When you have not had the pleasure of sharing company with your irreverent twenty-one-year-old son for a while (like, say, for TWO YEARS), it is easy to forget that this is probably a loaded question. And that you should ask why. And make it clear that your phone … Continue reading Seven Dangerous Words
Step Inside My Office, III
Slate Grey December Day in Woodstock, Vermont
Resolve
I’ve worn out this plucky little word as both noun and verb for about a week. The nor’easter that moved into New England on Tuesday stalled out right over my neighborhood, evidently right on top of my house. The snow came stealthily at times and brazenly at others, mostly in silence. It was wet and … Continue reading Resolve
Going On…
Two simple words heard routinely in the context of the ballet studio during the learning process. Implicit in them is the notion that you have internalized one phrase or movement sufficiently to move ahead to the next. When I closed my small school in Knoxville two and a half years ago I (wistfully) left behind … Continue reading Going On…
Incommunicado
The Internet has been down at my place for the past week. I’ve used my cell phone’s hot spot to get on, but only when I absolutely must because I’m already into data overages and extra fees. And today my (awful) Internet provider robo-called to let me know they could not fix the problem due … Continue reading Incommunicado
My Ageing Dilemma
A friend snapped this photo of me last month at an event in Cambridge, New York at the home of writer Jon Katz and his wife, artist Maria Wulf. Confession: seeing it the first time gave me a little jolt. I think many of us carry around an idea of how we look in our … Continue reading My Ageing Dilemma
Step Inside My Office, II
On the job today in Pomfret, Vermont.
Mise En Place
Today I had a huge, long list of stuff I planned to do. Some was work related, some was house related (actually most was house related), and there was the usual catching up on correspondence. Handsome Chef Boyfriend's mandate to me as he was leaving this morning: go out and pick up sticks. (Manly Vermonter … Continue reading Mise En Place
The Best Medicine
Tom Magliozzi June 28, 1937 – November 3, 2014 I remember the day Tom and Ray Magliozzi (Car Talk's hosts, "Click and Clack--The Tappet Brothers") congealed on my cognitive landscape. I was sitting in my car listening to them at a neighborhood shopping center. A caller was explaining that his expensive Italian car (I … Continue reading The Best Medicine
Sycamore Stories 