The Aging Perspective

It's 2022, and like every year, the Academy Awards sneak up on my calendar. "Of course, it's March!!"  I enjoy and look forward to them, but not like the millions that tune in five hours before watching the fashion critique. ------Okay, I said it, but that's just me. I have my own thing about the Oscars. One of my most cherished Academy Awards nights was in Chicago in 1986. I was visiting my sister and dear friend John who were both on business. My first trip to the Windy City did not disappoint me. Aside from being in an exciting...

     It was 1971, a year that holds two significant memories in the depths of my mind: the thrill of obtaining my driver's license and the sight of the marquee sign above the Ridgeway Theater in Stamford, Connecticut, announcing the screening of the movie Harold and Maude. Thus began my enduring admiration for Ruth Gordon, the spirited actress who portrayed Maude, the character I came to revere. Even now, the mere mention of her name serves as a beacon of positivity, a reminder to strive for excellence and transcend mediocrity. "Vice, Virtue. It's best not to be too moral. You cheat yourself out of...

There is something so notable in the touch of a corner of a book page. Pulling it back, away from the next one, in those few seconds, as if you put an open hand behind your ear, you give full attention to the writer.  The silent pause then draws you further into the story. 

The minute you open the doors, your imagination takes you onto the pages of an authentic J. Peterman catalog[1], where romantic prose and memories join together and breathe life into secondhand retail stores. When family treasures that have left the physical world only to show up in strange new places, it is there we remember.  It is why so many are enchanted with consignment, vintage, and secondhand shops, for they have existed as far back to the Renaissance era. One-of-a-kind, it's a hit or miss, and when you find that special something, it's like striking gold. Whether you’re on the...