I envy the poets and lyricists who write good-byes succinctly and memorably. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow. Happy Trails to You. Thanks for the Memories, and the like. Four years and 268 postings ago, I dove into the blogosphere by introducing myself and my Americana running buddy, my wife Carol M. Highsmith, whose photos have […]
All posts by Ted Landphair
Making a House a . . . Museum!
Posted October 26th, 2012 at 4:38 pm (UTC-4)
At first blush, we think of museums as illustrious storehouses of art and artifacts such as the Smithsonian Institution’s complex of 19 scientific, historical and art museums on Washington’s National Mall. But in ever-increasing numbers, curious “cultural tourists” are also poking their heads into much more modest and personal houses of treasures. Houses, literally. “House […]
The Hurried, Harried Child
Posted October 5th, 2012 at 5:55 pm (UTC-4)
Many studies have concluded that the idyllic American childhood — wherever it existed in middle- and upper-class homes, or in our literature and imagination — is a thing of the past. The kind of carefree childhood in which kids mostly minded their manners and their parents, read books without being assigned to, and whiled away […]
Where Ships Go to Die
Posted September 28th, 2012 at 1:09 pm (UTC-4)
It’s a good thing that U.S. warships are inanimate objects and don’t have feelings. When their seagoing days are done, the end for most of them is not pretty. Now it’s true that a few are sold to friendly foreign governments and are still sailing the deep blue seas. And 48 U.S. Navy […]
Those Magnificent Brothers in Their Flying Machine
Posted September 21st, 2012 at 6:00 pm (UTC-4)
It’s hard to pinpoint Washington, D.C.’s, No. 1 tourist attraction. But somewhere near the top of the list has to be the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, which is always jammed with tourists and even has a huge annex, open to the public, out in the boonies near Dulles International Airport. If you […]
Ode to America’s Transportation Temples
Posted September 14th, 2012 at 7:44 pm (UTC-4)
I know, an ode is a lyric poem, something short and sometimes sung. I’m no poet, I don’t do “short” well, and you don’t want me to sing. But this story is an encomium to majestic train terminals between which America’s passenger trains once traveled each day by the hundreds. I should point out that […]
Twists of Fate at the ‘U.N. of the Prairie’
Posted September 7th, 2012 at 11:21 am (UTC-4)
I’ve been to a lot of places across America that have changed character over the years. Austin, Texas, for instance, was once a drowsy state capital, worked by politicians and bureaucrats and lobbyists — and people wanting to talk to the politicians, bureaucrats, and lobbyists. Now it’s a trendy hot spot for art, start-up businesses, […]
PLEASE Join!! Service Clubs Plead for Members
Posted August 30th, 2012 at 6:40 pm (UTC-4)
America’s most famous traveler — besides Carol and me, I say with a wink — was actually a Frenchman: Alexis de Tocqueville. He rode all over the young United States in the 1830s and produced a remarkable study of the American people. What amazed this young political thinker more than anything else was the influence […]
‘Boroughing’ in to New York City
Posted August 23rd, 2012 at 11:59 am (UTC-4)
Writing about Ellis Island last time, I mentioned that the U.S. Supreme Court ended years of controversy over exactly where the old immigration station — now a museum — officially sits. New York Harbor, of course. In New Jersey waters, not New York’s, it turns out. Which got me thinking about another, nearby saga of […]
Tags: boroughs, Brooklyn, New York City, Queens, Staten Island, Ted Landphair's America blog, The Bronx Posted in American Cities and Towns
Ellis: Isle of Joy and Despair
Posted August 17th, 2012 at 6:35 pm (UTC-4)
In the give and take over immigration policy in this country, it is sometimes correctly pointed out that we are all immigrants to this land. Or descendants of one. Even American Indians trace their lineage to peoples who crossed a land bridge from Asia. And at least one-third — some say 40 percent — of […]
Posted in American History
