Each man’s death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee. John Donne  When I heard the news about the Times-Picayune the above quote from John Donne’s No Man is an Island stuck in my head.  It feels funny to talk about […]

Yesterday, I had lunch at Café Reconcile in Central City, New Orleans.  Housed in a modest five-story building on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, the mission of Cafe Reconcile is to teach at-risk youth (primarily African-American), through the discipline of the professional kitchen, the life skills and job skills they need to succeed; it also serves as a […]

Bill Bryson, exemplary writer, humorist, and grammarian, wrote a book a while back called “A Walk in the Woods,” detailing his adventures walking the Appalachian Trail, part of which runs through my home state of New Jersey.  The book was funny on many levels, and the struggles of neophyte woodsman trying to navigate unfamiliar terrain and […]

Friday, April 27, 2012 We bounced across the Causeway, the 25 or so mile bridge that connects the North and South Shores of Lake Pontchartrain, with a metronomic da-dum, da-dum, da-dum — a 65 mph click track.  It was a beautiful morning, and the sun danced on the choppy tidal pool like a million small […]