Of gods and athletes : Rome’s Stadio dei marmi
I spend an inordinate amount of time hanging out at tracks. My younger son is a track and field junkie athlete, and I would suspect there are few tracks in central Italy in which I have not spent a fair amount of time. So, as a track mum with years of experience, you can trust…
Read MoreLong walks as Wilder’s writing inspiration
“My spring-board has always been long walks. I drink a great deal, but I do not associate it with writing.” —Thornton Wilder Almost all Americans will be familar with Thornton Wilder (1897 – 1975). I would venture a guess that it is a rare American school that has not performed Our Town on its stage.…
Read MoreEarly morning jogs in a deserted Washington, D.C.
When I was in Washington, DC this past summer, I would try to beat the summer heat taking an early morning jog. In normal times in DC, I would have been one of many, but in COVID-era DC, it often felt like a ghost town. This wasn’t a quiet suburb or out-of-the-way areas, my daily…
Read MoreWhen the going gets tough … in 2020
This certainly isn’t the year anyone signed up for – certainly not what I was expecting back when I was ringing in the new roaring 20s watching fireworks this past New Year’s Eve. In my last post, I wrote about a midwestern trip I took this summer, and some of the places I saw. You…
Read MoreA driving holiday across America’s “fly-over country”
This year was a strange “holiday” in the era of Corona virus. I had to bring my oldest son to college, necessitating a two-week quarantine in the US, and another when I returned to Italy. In the middle was a one-week period in which I could drive him out to his new campus, and we…
Read MoreShiny, new books!
When I’m back in the US (or any English-speaking country), I’m always excited to go book shopping. My short trip to America this summer was no exception. Shopping in my depressingly closed-down country was tough, but I still managed. I did find some books I’m interested in reading now that I’m back home. The only…
Read MoreRush hour horse and buggies? Must be Ohio’s Amish country
My older son and I were in Ohio this summer, and we decided to dedicate a day to visiting its Amish country. Although I’d been a few times to Pennsylvania’s Amish country, it was my first visit to the community in Ohio. I’d always assumed the Ohio population was much smaller, but while there I…
Read MoreCongratulations to the winners of 2020 International Booker
I always keep an eye out for the long-list, short-list and winner of the annual Booker Prize. This week I was pleasantly surprised to learn there is an International Booker Prize. Somehow, I had somehow missed this prize aimed at translated literature. The nice aspect of this prize is that the translated work, which must…
Read MoreHiking the Serra di Celano, Abruzzo
Not surprisingly, after our long Corona lockdown this spring, I was chomping at the bit at the idea of being able to hike once again. Nothing like being confined to one’s city apartment to accelerate daydreams of vast mountain vistas and wide hiking trails. Luckily, my family and I escaped the moment we could to…
Read MoreBooks need secrets, too
“I think books should have secrets, like people do.” —John Updike Love this quote by American novelist John Updike. Authors – take note! We readers do not need every plot point and character insight spelled out for us – a little mystery that allows us to interpret stories or character motivation is greatly appreciated by…
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