“In such a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, not to be on the side of the executioners.”- Camus
I cannot bear to look at old photographs of myself in my 20’s or beyond, or recent ones either. I either look like the prince of nerds or a bullet headed soccer hooligan. Now, with my face giving up to gravity like splashed jelly sliding down a wall, I am grateful for the masks of Covid. But I do like to look at timeworn photos, the ones whose names no […]
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My wife will tell you she’s done better paintings and truthfully, some of her horses looked like gods, but “One Sunset” is my favorite. Over 10 years ago, she stood on a slope above the Pew Estate main house and looked south across the valley of the French Creek. She began outside in spring and then came back to her studio and finished it in a few weeks. This painting […]
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The jackets are torn, disfigured by bar codes, pages stained, mementos falling out — clippings, cards, photos. The book as palimpsest, the opposite of the skull on the desk, not memento mori but unum quod potest ire in, “one that may go on”. I am not a collector, not a bibliophile. Over 50 years I have moved several thousand books out of my keeping. I have culled the darlings repeatedly. […]
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It is a simple meal. Good spaghetti, good sweet sausage first browned and then cooked in a sauce made from tomatoes and a little olive oil and a little wine and a pinch of sugar. Add a nice red, a merlot or a cabernet. Avoid cheese. It smothers the sauce and makes the dish heavy. A slice of garlic bread for the texture and crunch. Take one helping only. Save […]
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