This is an essay I wrote several years ago, and now is as good a time as any to drag it out. Have you ever heard of me? No? Actually, that shouldn’t surprise anyone. I’m not very famous and few people do know who I am. So far in my life I just haven’t
I’ve been very fortunate in my life to have been able to do quite a bit of foreign travel. So much of history never makes it into your average history book, and you don’t appreciate this until you actually visit some of the places you read about to see for yourself. Foreign travel also exposes
Book collecting long predates the printing press. Egyptian papyri and ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts were prized by medieval collectors. Thomas Jefferson amassed a large library in the formative years of this country. If you find yourself being drawn to collecting books for the first time, here are some basic facts that can serve as
This afternoon I was out spraying apple trees. Between me and my neighbor, we have five apple trees of different varieties. Mine are just maturing; hers are prolific. This looks like a good year for apples. The complication is about the time my trees matured and started bearing fruit in quantity, I realized I really
“Teach your children well,” Crosby, Stills and Nash It’s not easy raising children today. Although I don’t have kids myself, I learned all about modern child-rearing by observing my best friend and her offspring. Like when I dropped by and was met at the door by her then-four-year-old daughter. “Me Butt-head,” she proudly proclaimed, a
Do you have a pet that does really clever things? I haven’t had pets since I was a child. But I can appreciate people’s pride in their pets because I have seen some pretty smart animals myself. But in my case, the animals were wild, or at least semi-wild. From squirrels who raid bird feeders
Like many other people, I consider our national park system to be a national treasure. Whenever I travel, I try to visit as many as I can, especially if there is an historical angle. My most ambitious adventure was when I was driving through Utah and visited Cedar Breaks National Monument, Bryce Canyon National Park,
Here are some practical tips on collecting autographs from my days as an editor in the collectibles business. Who wouldn’t like to have a memento from their favorite movie star or sports hero? But the problem with collecting everyday items is verifying authenticity. If someone claims to have a shirt that once belonged to Elvis, how
If you’ve seen today’s Google Doodle, you know it’s Earth Day. BTW, I took the quiz, and I came up Wolly Mammoth — technically extinct, but someday I could be cloned! Speaking of Earth Day, there is one project I’ve always wanted to try. I think it would be fun to have a butterfly garden. There
I was a latecomer to photography. In fact, I didn’t own a camera until I was past 30. But I have since then, and every once in a while, I see something that looks good to me, so I take a picture. I’m sure everyone knows of the National Geographic magazine’s reputation for photojournalism. Did