San Diego is a desert and the last few years have been completely rainless from April to November with a few light sprinkles in the winter months. So I didn’t think too much of it when some of the lesser landscaping started to die off—an azalea here, a rhododendron there, a wilted geranium. And the… Continue reading A Month Late and Several Dollars Short
Category: General Observations
The Techno-Freak in Me
At home, I have trouble working the audio-visual system. A few years ago, my husband bought a television set for our family room with a huge screen, for better sports and movie viewing. Gradually components were added on—a surround sound system, the keyboard to stream video from Netflix, the standard DVD player, and, a gift… Continue reading The Techno-Freak in Me
Parlez-Vous Espanol?
Sometimes I meet the most amazing people. A few weeks ago I had a medical student who was visiting from the University of Vermont. His name was Stanislaus and he spoke perfect English, with a delightful Russian accent. As we got to know one another, he spoke of growing up in a village in Chechnya,… Continue reading Parlez-Vous Espanol?
Be Prepared
My friend Rachel and I have done a fair amount of traveling together over the last ten years. Mostly we’ve gone to dog shows, with occasional side trips thrown in. We like a lot of the same things—deerhounds, horses, art, jewelry, and husbands who stay home with the animals while we jaunt around the country.… Continue reading Be Prepared
Another Thanksgiving
Every year when the time changes and the days get shorter and the nights longer, I start to feel it. By the time that the halls are decked with boughs of holly, now shortly before Thanksgiving, the season of airport delays, of frantic last minute shopping, of eating and drinking too much and then doing… Continue reading Another Thanksgiving
For Michael
Writing a novel is like following a recipe for rhinoceros stew that begins: 1) Find a Rhino -Michael S. Palmer I was saddened earlier this week to read, first on Facebook as posted by his son Daniel, that Michael Palmer had passed away after suffering a heart attack and then a stroke, while going through… Continue reading For Michael
The Future is Now
Two days after I returned from Jamaica, my husband surprised me by throwing a dinner party for his business associates and their wives, most of whom I had not met. Knowing that my first few days back at work would be hectic, he decided that he would not burden me with the planning and execution… Continue reading The Future is Now
This is Not a Lending Library
The first time it happened, I was convinced that the book was somehow misplaced. We had had an open house in the department, with large groups touring our new and very high tech facility. I thought perhaps the cleaning service had tucked the book away for safe keeping. But it was odd that of the… Continue reading This is Not a Lending Library
Cast A Cold Eye
“By his command these words are cut: Cast a Cold Eye, on Life, on Death. Horseman pass by.” “Under Ben Bulben”, by William Butler Yeats, inscribed on his tombstone. Yeats has always been my favorite poet. From the full upper lip depicted in early photographs and paintings of him, to his unrequited love for Maud… Continue reading Cast A Cold Eye
Love, Loss and All That Remains
“Don’t ever tell anybody anything—if you do you start missing everybody.” Holden Caulfield From The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger I don’t know whether it’s fitting, or selfish that on this anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks I was remembering my friend Catherine Doyle, who died last December 18. I had gone into… Continue reading Love, Loss and All That Remains