One of America’s most festive neighborhoods this time of year is the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C. It’s a swanky place, full of well-kept homes, chi-chi shops and restaurants, private schools and academies, and historic churches and cemeteries, as well as a prestigious, 221-year-old Roman Catholic university that carries its name. The “D.C.” portion of […]
Couch Potatoes on Parade!
Posted December 6th, 2010 at 3:15 pm (UTC-4)
America is full of vacation lodges . . . on wheels! They are known as motor homes — literally kitchens, living rooms, and beds on the move across America. Some people call them “recreational vehicles,” or “RVs.” Still others, thinking back to more of a golden age of highway travel before crowded, high-speed highways criss-crossed […]
Safely Rest
Posted November 24th, 2010 at 12:33 pm (UTC-4)
Even if you’ve not been to Washington, D.C., perhaps you’ve sized it up for possible places to visit. So you’re allowed to answer this question: What would you guess is the most popular tourist attraction in the capital city of the United States of America? If you said the Smithsonian Institution museums, such as the […]
Only in America: John Brown’s Body
Posted November 15th, 2010 at 2:25 pm (UTC-4)
If you started to softly sing “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord,” most Americans would quickly identify the tune as “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” And they’d be right — but only up to a point. The words to one of America’s most performed — and most bellicose […]
Battle Row and Beyond
Posted November 12th, 2010 at 4:17 pm (UTC-4)
There’s a lot more to Southwest Louisiana, about which I wrote last time, than Cajun honky-tonks, alligator-infested wetlands, and pepper-sauce factories. Tucked down in the corner, away from the spooky swamps, is Louisiana’s . . . pick your analogy . . . odd duck, loose cannon, eccentricity in an already-eccentric state, or wild and woolly […]
Bayou Country
Posted November 5th, 2010 at 1:11 pm (UTC-4)
You may have had a chance to visit one of those restaurants or clubs in which the owner proudly displays photos or cartoons on the wall, depicting the famous people who’ve preceded you there. Usually they’re autographed by the celeb, or sometimes just the signatures and a little message are scrawled there. Well, I’ll have […]
Bad Fruit on the Email Tree
Posted October 21st, 2010 at 2:05 pm (UTC-4)
Once you start forwarding lighthearted email — jokes, puzzles, wacky cat videos — to friends and colleagues, you’re sure to get a blizzard more in return. Many of the messages will contain amazing purported “facts” that seem perfectly plausible. A lot of them turn out to be blatantly inaccurate “urban legends” or worthless bunkum. I […]
DB&Bs
Posted October 8th, 2010 at 1:31 pm (UTC-4)
There are two kinds of people. With an opening line like that, I could go in a million different directions, but as promised in a recent posting, I want to discuss bed-and-breakfast inns. On that subject, there are indeed two kinds of people, at least among those who have ever stayed at one: those who […]
