TO CHARLOTTESVILLE WITH LOVE One morning, as I drove down a narrow country lane in Charlottesville, I spotted an African-American boy, about eleven, perched on a bike. He sat in the middle of the road, precisely at the center of a blind curve. I thought, If a driver speeds around that curve, the child will […]
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TEN TIPS FOR WHEN YOU’RE HOME SICK 0:00 / 0:00 Ten Tips For When You're Home Sick When you are sick, don’t watch the nightly news. If you do, in addition to your current illness, you will wind up developing an ulcer. Also, don’t view Stranger Things when you’re feverish. You will regret it, unless
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THE DRESSMAKERMOVIE REVIEW The Dressmaker is a viewing experience you may want to miss. I normally love weird and quirky films, but this Australian movie ventured into the nether regions of weird and quirky, and not in a good way. Kate Winslet plays Tilly who, as a
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I SEE DEAD-ISH PEOPLE 0:00 / 0:00 I See Dead-ish People In this age of alternative facts, whom do you believe? Once, when talking on the phone with my 104-year old grandmother, Benedetta , she mentioned that had seen her 100-year-old baby sister, Israela at the nursing home that day. Did Great Aunt Israela still
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TRAIN IN THE RAIN 0:00 / 0:00 Train in the Rain The Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, said, “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” I prefer to plan a trip and arrive on time. One day, I intended to leave Charlottesville mid-afternoon and get to Alexandria in time for
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WHILE THERE’S STILL MUSIC LEFT 0:00 / 0:00 While There's Still Music Left This past fall, my ninety-one- year old father attended my nephew’s wedding in Burlington, Vermont. At the reception, while enthusiastically jitterbugging with another relative, hands did not connect. My father launched into space. Unfortunately, he did not experience a gentle re-entry and
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THE SHAPE OF WATERMOVIE REVIEW I just saw The Shape of Water. The movie was directed by Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) and the screenplay was co-written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor. This film is not for everyone. It was especially not for my movie companion who complained, “This is not realistic.” Set in
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BLUE JAYMOVIE REVIEW This made-for-Netflix indie movie is filmed in black and white, shows only two characters on screen, is slow-ish and has no soundtrack, except for a few tunes. Normally, that would be the kiss of death for me—I’d rather watch car insurance commercials or those pharmaceutical ads where they tell you how great
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THE SILENCE OF BONAVENTURE ARROWBOOK REVIEW The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow by Rita Leganski is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. The novel is dripping with magical realism and reminded me (in a good way) of Leif Enger’s Peace Like a River, which I also loved. Set in New Orleans
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HOMEGOINGBOOK REVIEW With regard to racial strife in the US, have you ever wondered, “How in the world did we get here?” Written by Yaa Gyasi, the novel, Homegoing, provides one answer. The story traces the lives of two half sisters, Effia and Esi, born in the 1700’s in Ghana. Separated while young, they each
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