Why do we study history? There is more than one legitimate answer, but for many scholars and their students, history is a critical magnifying lens. When we look through the historical lens, we see not only our collective past but our contemporary situation with added clarity that leads to nuanced understanding. Last October, during “Chasing […]
Place
The 12 Point Plan to Save America
I hear a chorus of cautious and concerned voices in the mainstream media warning Democrats to refrain from pushing their agenda too far to the left. When you’re on the inside looking out, I suppose you’ll do that. Here’s what I believe: Hesitation kills and this is the absolute worst time in American history to […]
West on Highway 290, It’s Where the Wine Is
Texas Hill Country is the second most visited wine region in the United States today. Only Napa Valley receives more visitors on an annual basis. The expansive multi-county area west of Austin is home to dozens of wineries and the Highway 290 corridor from Johnson City to Fredericksburg is literally packed with possibilities. The question […]
Larry McMurtry’s “Bleached Bones” Come Shining Through
Place shapes people and people shape culture. Texas writer and literary lion, Larry McMurtry, knows all about this premise. In fact, he has spent several decades making this geocultural reality his own truth and his books are both products of and reflections of The West. In a Narrow Grave: Essays on Texas is a book […]
The Year in Place: 2018
Last March, we sold our house in West Linn, Oregon and moved to Austin, Texas. Positive change and forward motion have been a big part of 2018. We call it our year of the pivot. When it was time to move (after months of preparation), we embarked on an epic road trip from the Pacific […]
Maria from Monterrey
I wrote this poem after visiting a photo exhibit at Mexic-Arte Museum in downtown Austin. Maria from Monterrey It’s not terribly far, as a bird flies, from Monterrey to Laredo Young Maria’s journey was wingless She moved at night, her thirst unsatisfied Coyotes and owls shared their star-lit canyons When she slept she had bad […]