Paul’s Beloved Bennie Has Passed Away
A sad note this morning, in an eloquent email sent out by my pal Joe O’Rourke. My cousin Paul’s beloved black lab Bennie was struck and killed by a car last night, and later buried in Paul’s yard, with the help of Paul’s friends Bill and Joe. Bennie has been […]
I’ve Been Invited to Iran
Ahm-ma-dina-jad. Ahm-ma-dine-ijad. I used to say this over and over again, walking through Cindy’s house. Ahm-ma-dina-jad, I wanted to learn how to say it. I better get it right, because I just got invited to visit Iran later this month. I have always wanted to see Persia, see the famous […]
Obama’s Speech Brings a Tear, He’s That Good
It’s an exhuberant day, one that will be remembered for many decades. Watching Obama’s speech last night, I have to admit to welling up with tears, his eloquence again and again amazes and inspires me. The best part was when he reached out to those ‘who didn’t vote for me […]
Time with Sam Was a Week-long Treat
It feels excellent to be back in the cafe after a week away. With Donna’s strong leadership, no one is looking to me to find out what to do next, she has all of our cafe staff understanding what their jobs are, and in my absence, everything flowed smoothly. That’s […]
Manchester Mulls a Congestion Tax
We’re up at 6:45 am this morning, after a night of hearing about how enthusiastic these Brits are to see Obama win the prize. In the Independent, a headline dramatically intoned “Is this troubled nation ready for change?” Troubled? huh? I thought I’d reserve this moniker for Congo or Mozambique. […]
Visiting the Pubs of Manchester, England
We tried hard to see a musician I’ve enjoyed who is from Manchester, but we did not succeed. We saw a poster for Mr. Scruff, who plays underground house style music. We followed the advice on his website and made our way to his cafe, called “The Cup,” a few […]
England Feels Like a Long Lost Cousin
I’m sitting in the dim light of the Lister Arms pub, in Malham, Yorkshire Dales, after a 6-mile hike over hills, dales, stone walls and muddy fields that left Sam and I exhausted but happy. Our guide, MarkReid, literally wrote the books about walking here, he specializes in pub–to pub […]