Your first question might well be: “Rocky Mount, why?” It’s a good one. Eastern North Carolina is not typically on a tourist’s radar. A Carolina beach town, sure. But Nowheresville in the middle of Nowhere? Title image: the old cotton mill campus. You can just make out from the writing on the water tower that […]
We all know what happened at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday this week. Over the past two days commentators have remarked repeatedly that the last time invaders stormed the Capitol was during the War of 1812. I was aware of this fact because of all the research I did for my historical romance Dawn’s Early […]
In my Five Questions Series I interview writers and offer them a platform for their work. It now seems appropriate to also offer space to visual artists. Over the past few weeks, the boarded-up store fronts in my town have turned into an outdoor art show. I now live in the midst of wonderful Durham […]
In these past two months I have interrupted the pace of my usual Tuesday-Friday blog postings. World and national events currently take precedence in my life over writing about my chosen topics of language, love and adventure. During this time I have been reposting blogs that are as relevant now as when I first posted […]
This week I visited Montrose Gardens. It’s located at 320 St. Mary’s Road in Hillsborough, North Carolina. I made my appointment for Tuesday, not knowing it would be a rainy, overcast day. But as a world traveler I take the weather as it comes. And a garden in winter, even if much of it is […]
I didn’t intentionally set out to chronicle the changes that have been occurring in Durham, NC in the past few years. I more or less fell into the project. That’s because I’ve been traveling and leaving Durham for months at a time. Thus when I return I’ve been amazed by the continuing increase in urban […]
The Rubell Family Collection has recently moved into a new 100,000-square-foot-space in Allapattah. I visited it this past weekend. It was open to the public in connection with Miami’s Art Basel December 5 – 8. The title image is Gold Barbara (from the Jewish Jackie Series) 1992 by Deborah Kass. Art Basel began in Basel, […]
I have just learned why my recent visits to Little Haiti and Overtown were so underwhelming: climate gentrification. These past few months I have been exploring Miami and loving my temporary home. And getting to know this city well is the beauty of being in a touristy place as more than a tourist. The story […]
On Sunday I continued my exploration of Miami with a foray into Overtown. Overtown: A Historic African American Neighborhood The emphasis here is on ‘historic.’ Today Overtown looks like every other neighborhood in downtown Miami. Full of high rises and construction cranes. It was originally called Colored Town from the late 19th century through the […]
Thirteen miles west of downtown Miami is Doral. It has acquired the nickname Doralzuela. In recent years, the political and economic conditions have deteriorated in Venezuela. And many of that country’s citizens have migrated here. In case your memory of the greater Caribbean map has dimmed, here’s a refresher: Caracas is the capital. It is […]