Weekly Column

Small Town Guy

“I cannot forget from where it is that I come from Cannot forget the people who love me Well, I can be myself here in […]

Windy City Rendezvous

CHICAGO— I have been coming to this city almost every May for the past 35 years. This time of year is a perfect time to […]

TO THE MISSISSIPPI GRADUATES OF 2023

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” —Mary Oliver It’s graduation season in Mississippi. I didn’t […]

A Bridge Not Too Far At All

YPRES, BELGIUM— Friendships in the 21st Century carry a different dynamic. A constant connection throughout the World Wide Web has its share of positives and […]

The Curious Case of a Sliding Door Monopoly Game

AMSTERDAM— A sliding door moment is a seemingly inconsequential action that alters the trajectory of future events. I am sitting in a bakery at 8:30 […]

Checking Boxes and Covering Bases

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— For the past several years— and for the foreseeable future— I have spent approximately 90 days each year hosting Americans in Europe. I […]

Pondering Chips

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— Things are different over here. It’s not just the language. Spaces are smaller. Roads are tighter. Bathrooms are tinier. But there’s a reason […]

An Easter to Remember

PETROGNANO, TUSCANY— Most of my early childhood memories come from Christmas and Easter. If I let my memory go back as far as it will […]

Perfect Simplicity

Sometimes the simplest things give me the most satisfaction. That probably seems like an obvious statement to most. I have only recently come to that […]

A Lifetime Love Affair

TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— My love of bakeries goes back as far as my episodic memory will allow. The earliest bakery recollection I can drum up comes […]

Porcine Paradise

SEVILLE— Travel is situational. I could almost end this column with that first sentence. That sums up everything I am about to cover in the […]

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling in Spain

MADRID—Irish pubs have always intrigued me. The attraction doesn’t come from the typical things one expects from a pub. I’m not interested in Guinness on […]

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