My friend Keith has been counting the days to his son’s graduation for years. Michael will speak at his graduation from the College of Engineering at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. tomorrow, on Friday, May 19, 2023. On Sunday, he will graduate with the Class of 2023 in a commencement ceremony on the National … Continue reading #withkeith
I just spent a glorious hour via Zoom with some fabulous first-year high school journalism students talking about portraits and sharing my work–and lessons learned the hard way. I have to say, it was great to be in a classroom again–even virtually. It was also great to sort through images that I made early in … Continue reading Zoom in
When I drive over the bridge for my morning swim, I can sometimes make out the currents moving and swirling in the channel. I cast my eyes to the cove, and sometimes I can see the currents there, too. The ocean is full of currents. Along the shore, in the bay and the channel, shifting … Continue reading Put your head down and swim
“The tomato hides its griefs. Internal damage is hard to spot.”–Julia Child I revel in watching the tomatoes grow in my garden pots: cherry tomatoes, sungolds, sauce tomatoes. I delight in sharing them with my friends. I don’t like tomatoes. When I offered a bowl of the small beauties to my friend, she accepted them … Continue reading Hold the Tomato
My grandmother had a victory garden in the backyard. My aunt tended gardens, too. I decided I wanted to continue the tradition. I’d had limited success with tomatoes last summer, since I planted them in pots with lovely organic soil rather than the depleted, acidic earth that I’d inherited. And my herb garden under my … Continue reading The Last Sunflower Standing
I start most days with a merry, motley band of ocean swimmers in a cove tucked into the east side of a small island. We have weathered all kinds of challenges together: northeast winds, wicked currents, crab larvae. The summer of 2018, the Kavanaugh hearings tested our civility, yet we listened to one another’s reasons and … Continue reading The Fellowship of the Swim
“Be Afraid” (2005) By Ken DeRoux, Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas, at the Museum of the North, University of Alaska Fairbanks Continue reading Fourth of July: Fireworks and the Fire Next Time
I was recovering in a Kuwaiti hospital from a life-threatening illness when I received a Facebook message from someone I’d never met, someone I now call Cuz, who calls me Cuz, Richard Sayer. Rich hails from Rhode Island and his people are buried in a cemetery on the south end of Aquidneck Island, in Newport. … Continue reading At the Crossroads
Each morning I cross the bridge to reach the cove where I swim. Each day, each moment in the water is different. Some days there’s a wind blowing from the northeast and I wheel my arms as I power through the white caps. I laugh sometimes because I’m taking such a beating. And there’s nothing … Continue reading Wade in the Water
I have always believed in “breaking bread” together to strengthen relationships and build community. As a professor, I often brought homemade goodies to class for the students: chocolate chip cookies, pies, banana bread (with and without walnuts.) I used treasured family recipes from my grandmothers. As a college newspaper adviser, I organized gatherings at the … Continue reading Pandemic Baking
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