Category: People
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Literary Houses: Emily Carr
[pullquote]Emily Carr (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist and writer heavily inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. ((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Carr)) [/pullquote] A moment’s quiver of homesickness for Canada strangled the Art longing in me. To ease it I began to hum, humming turned into singing, singing into that special… Read more
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The Art & Science of Being a House Guest
There’s a fine line between persistent anxiety and enjoying time with people in their space. You will know how well you’ve tread that line when you’ve loaded up and pulled away. Read more
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The Place We Put Our People
It is the remarkable uniformity – the sameness – that slaps me in the face. Pleasant. Clean. Spacious. Orderly. Middle class. Nice. A place you walk into and believe that your dad, mom or grandpa will be safe and taken care of, that everything will be okay, that you’re doing The Right Thing. These buildings, like clusters… Read more
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Bethesda Terrace’s Magical Minton Ceiling
Like other great cities, New York is a museum unto itself. It is possible to visit and never set foot inside any building – save for your hotel – and come away filled to the aesthetic brim. It’s all eye candy: the people, the architecture, the street art, the signs of wear, seasonal changes, the movement of everything, the… Read more
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Willie G. and the Street Poets of New York
Update: Wille G. passed away yesterday, 07 April 2015. May his poetic soul Rest in Peace. Before I met Willi G no one had ever tried to sell poetry to me on the street. Paintings, prints, photography, statuary and every manner of trinket, yes. Poetry, no. Willi approached me as I ascended out of Bethesda Terrace, introduced… Read more
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Revelations of a Naked Teapot
Somewhere between their tenth and eleventh year, my two youngest got their prudishness on. They’re learning about human sexuality at school, in health class or whatever they call it these days. They’re well aware of what the mature human form looks like, and we’ve always spoken frankly about its function (and quirks), but now the naked… Read more
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Bill Cunningham Facades
Unless you’re a regular reader of The New York Times or part of the city’s high society or fashion elite, it’s possible – even probable – that you’ve never heard of Bill Cunningham. Bill has been described as a “pixie on a bicycle,” riding around the streets of New York in his fail-safe uniform of khakis… Read more
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When Spring Comes
Stand here on the bridge with me And look down below See how high the river is From all the melting snow I think the river is laughing Like a thousand old ladies Like a thousand silver chimes in the wind ~ Jane Siberry, “When Spring Comes” It’s physically ugly, this… Read more
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The Road Less Travelled in Lanark County: Part 1
It was that time of the day – post-sugar bush, pre-ice cream – when every mother recognizes the limitations of adding any more stops on a roadtrip. The kids, at that point, could go either way. Read more
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The Bells That (Really Do) Toll for Thee
And I thought how like these chimes Are the poet’s airy rhymes, All his rhymes and roundelays, His conceits, and songs, and ditties, From the belfry of his brain, Scattered downward, though in vain, On the roofs and stones of cities! For by night the drowsy ear Under its curtains cannot hear, And by day men go their ways, Hearing the music as they pass, But deeming it no more, alas! Than the hollow sound of brass. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – from Carillon, 1845 ********* Every Sunday at 9:00am, some blessed soul pulls the rope to ring the bell at the tiny Anglican church at the top of our street, gathering the congregation. On midsummer days the doors are… Read more