Author Archives: Kathy

Everything Old Is New Again

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Kathy

In March of 1970, about two-hundred armed white people In Lamar, South Carolina, attacked a phalanx of school buses carrying black children. Fifty years later, one of those children described the violence this way: “Once the bus stopped, they took … Continue reading →

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Movies, Cinema, and Film

Posted on October 19, 2022 by Kathy

I had a good word etymology to write about today but neglected to write it down and forgot what it was. I asked my husband if there are any words whose history he wondered about. “Movies,” he said. He added … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, Wednesday Word | 4 Comments

The Well-Intentioned Cook

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Kathy

On Friday, I wrote about Vivian Howard’s new cookbook, This Will Make It Taste Good, and resolved to try at least one of the recipes over the weekend. The weekend spilled over into today. I spent much of my Monday … Continue reading →

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Making It Read Well

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Kathy

I frequently watched “A Chef’s Life,” a PBS reality show/documentary series about Southern chef Vivian Howard that aired from 2013 to 2018, even though a lot of her cooking didn’t appeal to me. A bland Midwestern vegetarian, I’m not into … Continue reading →

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Valete! (Be Strong, Y’All!)

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Kathy

Dr. Anthony Fauci recently appeared on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. To tout the new Covid booster, the two men strolled to a nearby Walgreens, where Dr. F. took one for the team. In his left arm, that is. … Continue reading →

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Feed a Cold?

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Kathy

It’s hard to write about food (Monday Meals!) when you’ve been sick and nothing is appealing. I’ve been suffering a nasty cold since Thursday evening. I feel a little better every day, but my appetite hasn’t yet returned. I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Monday Meals, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

The Great Green Room

Posted on October 7, 2022 by Kathy

If you haven’t read Elizabeth Egan’s lovely essay about Goodnight Moon from last month in the New York Times, do that before you continue reading here. “The Enduring Wisdom of ‘Goodnight Moon’” celebrates the 75th anniversary of this classic children’s … Continue reading →

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“Camera” Redux

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Kathy

You might remember our Wednesday Word camera from a few weeks ago. Reader Fran recently took an entirely unnecessary trip to England — a frivolous jaunt with “friends,” not including me — and ran across an Oxford edifice named the … Continue reading →

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How to Spend Your Retirement

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Kathy

I didn’t know when I got up this morning that I would be writing about T. S. Eliot’s poem “The Wasteland” this afternoon. Who knew I would ever write anything about “The Wasteland”? Not I. I haven’t read the entire … Continue reading →

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Animalia: Some Words That Derive from Animal Names

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Kathy

The Canary Islands, one would imagine, were overrun with canaries. But, no, they were overrun with wild dogs, or canes in Latin. The birds were named for the islands. Capricious comes from the Italian word for “goat”: capro. A Roman … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, Wednesday Word | 8 Comments