Welcome to the Double J in Texas By Laura Romero “Welcome the Double J.” That is what the sign read at the entrance to my grandparents’ property. Welcome the Double J. The Double J is a three acre piece of land nestled in the heart of the Big Thicket in East Texas. The Double J … Continued
Taillights stretch long past the line of sight, blurring like the colors of a twirling kaleidoscope. Traffic is to be expected along the highways and byways of Central Austin, but this is far worse if one is not prepared. This is typical traffic plus all of the travellers converging for the latest international event, adding … Continued
Have you ever been to a place that made you feel so much peace that you started planning your next trip back before you even returned home? Seeing Dave Matthews Band perform for 3 nights of concerts at “The Gorge” on Labor Day weekend is an excellent place to experience just that. The Gorge is … Continued
Giving up Bread or Internet for Passover? Finding Balance and Freedom on Tax Day For the last year and a half I have been living in Asia and eating rice. As I thought about Passover approaching, I figured giving up bread for eight days would not be meaningful as I really only eat rice in … Continued
People from the southern United States have a by-the-numbers routine for topics of conversation. The first topic is always your name. The second is the weather. In no place else and at no other time is weather more important than in the South in the Summer. In New Orleans as the summer ripens, the weather … Continued
I believe in books and that Benjamin Franklin was right when he said the library is the greatest American institution. I am a library evangelist and was delighted to be in Los Angeles for the “It Happens Every Spring: Annual Library Lunch” at Stephen W. Wise Temple organized by Roberta Lloyd, Library Director and the … Continued
New York City. The city of bright lights and big dreams. A place where you can unknowingly rub elbows with local bums and foreign diplomats on your daily commute; where you can find ramen and saag paneer and hot dogs all on the same block; where you can take the subway uptown, a taxi downtown, … Continued
15,000 slices of cake! Beverly Hills is turning 100 and celebrating in style! Donald Wressel from Guittard Chocolate unveiled his plan to turn 700 pounds of chocolate and one metric ton of ingredients into a giant chocolate birthday cake. Mayor of Beverly Hills Lili Bosse invites everyone to join in the festivities, ferris wheels and … Continued
The further south one travels in the US, the less relevant and more fluid time becomes, as though the Mason-Dixon Line were some boundary not of cartography, but relativistic physics. Reasonable standards of time are casually tossed out the window like so much warmed sweet tea; phrases like “a little while” encompass not minutes, but … Continued
Arizona is a living, breathing place. She isn’t simply desert, spanning out over miles and miles. She is an oxymoron: the marriage of practicality and mysticism over a wasteland of scorched earth, seemingly barren yet teeming with life. The passing of the day is contingent on Arizona’s temperature and the vitality that she inspires. Your … Continued