The plainly dressed woman was weary of the day-to-day grind of cook, serve, clean; cook serve, clean.  Over in the corner of her one-room cottage, the iron pot bubbling over a wood fire needed constant attention.  Inside the pot was the…

After years of planning and saving, I was on a cruise, visiting ports along the Iberian Peninsula in a whirlwind of activity.  That September afternoon I was taking a break from my intense schedule while the ship was docked in Valencia,…

Over in the eastern corner of the front yard, the old Bradford pear tree is just about to bloom.  Right now, its branches are filled with buds, tightly rolled pearly bundles that will soon burst into azalea-like blossoms. The flowers linger…

When my sons were Boy Scouts, they each worked hard to earn the badge called Orienteering. At the time, computer-assisted navigation was a resource reserved for ocean, air or space travel.  For almost everyone else, the time-tested method to navigate by…