Most of the châteaux we drive past are hidden behind tall gates, walls, or dense shrubbery and landscape. I can only peek and get the smallest idea of what might lie behind the barriers. Frustrated, I went online to look for a coffee-table book of French chateaux, and I found a few: new, one hundred plus USD; used, a […]

In 1998, the Secret Service investigated my police ethics class. A student, angry that I discussed homosexuality in class, reported to the local newspaper’s conservative editor that someone in class had written that then-President Bill Clinton was a suitable target for assassination. The Associated Press picked up the story, and it gained national attention. I […]

We all grew up with the platitudes of the coming season, especially in this so-called Christian country. The holidays are a time of giving; the time to share with loved ones and those less fortunate. Right, all of you, or as we say in the southern states, y’all, have heard these, maybe even learned them […]

Sentier du coq is a tiny alley, a narrow walkway actually, off rue de Thomas in the quaint village of Palaiseau. The small village, southwest of Paris, is almost at the end of the train line that emanates out of Paris like a giant octopus. At 6:00 a.m., the village is still tightly shuttered against the early […]

Getting lost has always been my basic mode of navigation when traveling. As Doug Adams suggested in The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, you don’t always get where you want but you always get where you need to be.” The trains from Palaiseau to Paris are unavailable for the rest of August. However, they run […]

I’d been up for hours, but the girls, Mélodie and Emily, were sound asleep. Desperate for coffee, I woke them and begged one of them to let the dogs out so that I could make coffee and face the day. I listened, hoping I’d hear noises of movement and compliance. At last, I heard what sounded like […]

My French friends texted early this morning to ask if it was legal in the USA to buy votes! They had read the news that Trump had already “floated” the idea that every US citizen would get $5,000 if Republicans won the November elections. I’m not sure how this is legal unless it’s an ex […]

I could blog a new diatribe against our narcissistic, anal president every hour. That’s how often a New York Times update hits my email inbox! I feel like all my energy is being diverted to haranguing the actions of this president, someone in his cabinet, or his cronies. It’s exhausting! In the meantime, my former […]

I don’t really think of myself as obsessive, although my son-in law is pretty clear about thinking I am. I have routines that I follow fairly consistently, like always: coffee in bed with two mini-Korean honey biscuits, meditation, morning walk (unless it’s raining), texts to about ten people on my “good morning, have a good […]

The crescendo of voices of protest rising against Trump policies reminds me I am not alone in wanting America to continue this journey to build a human community that works for all citizens. Join me this November in choosing leaders who want to make America great by unifying the country, not by tearing it apart!Quoting former President Obama, “VOTE!”