Tag Archives: Family

The “Mark Twain Slept Here” Bit

Okay, yes – the common cliche is “Washington Slept Here”.  And on a recent trip back east, I did find the spot where ol’ George famously took his troops over the Delaware River: But truth be told, the real historical highlight was touring the Connecticut house where Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, wrote some of […]

The Bit About the Golden Dream

Me: “Hey Siri! When was gold first discovered in California?” Siri: “Gold was discovered in California on January 24, 1848.” Yup. Having been born in the Golden State and raised on its history, that’s the answer I expected. And normally, as with other Siri-ish replies for weather or the nearest gas station, I’d have accepted […]

The Bit About “The City” (Part 2)

Heyyy, welcome back to my personal saga of San Francisco! Like I said before, my connection goes beyond me and back to family like my great aunt Martha who called the City home from the 1940’s, and to another Martha who set up shop there – quite literally – long before that.  So last time, […]

The Bit About “The City” (Part 1)

I sure hope you’ve got the kind of friends I’m lucky to have! Ones you might not see for ages and then get back together with and it’s as if no time has passed? What a gift that is! Certain places have that feel for me too. Visiting London last summer was just like catching […]

The Bit About Endurance

Man, life can be strange. A few days into the New Year, I was out picnicking and catching up with my niece in a green, sun-dappled Burbank park, when she mentioned the fire that just destroyed a historic home we’d visited in Northern California. Always out for blog ideas, it got me meditating about historic […]

‘Tis a Poem Before Christmas!

Greetings and felicitations! Yup! It’s that one time of year when I traditionally wrap things up by subjecting kind readers to my efforts at poetry! Here’s my 2024 in a nutshell, offered in the form of (or something lazily close to) the poem, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, submitted with all good holiday wishes – […]

The Bit About Passages of Time

I know, I know. I yammer about this every year pretty much like clockwork. It’s just that in LA, there’s not much of a weatherly transition from season to season, and I’m always most aware of this – and most disappointed, somehow – when so very little here screams that it’s “fall”. Yet what always […]

The Threading the Needle in a Haystack Bit

Summer greetings! It’s that fantastic time of year when many get to take off by plane, train and automobile to create lasting vacation memories! I’ve got a trove of family photos that bring some very fond trip-type memories to mind – But they generate some mysteries too! A few years back, I wrote about trying […]

The Always Having Paris Bit

Yayyy! Almost time for my favorite biennial event – the Olympics! This year is the Summer installment, and I’m all the more excited because its stage is a magical city I’ve been fortunate to visit – Paris! Almost 40 years ago (back when I was an innocent broad…), Paris was the first big Continental stop […]

The Following the Paper Trail Bit

Whew! Finally getting over the affliction I seem to suffer every year about this time: spring cleaning! April ended up being largely devoted to scrounging through boxes and bags in my storage unit with the dual aims of clearing some things away and of chasing down receipts and documents for the other charming springtime task […]