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Contemplation

George Biddle, The New York Public Library (1920). Painting hanging in the Salomon Room in the New York Public Library. (Photograph by author)

Dyspeptic Observations

During the past year, I have experienced the luxury of conducting research at the New York Public Library, one of the world’s great collections. When I need a break from my work, I wander through the library’s halls, marveling at the architecture, the art, the exhibits–the sheer wonder of the institution.

All Aboard: Newark to Savannah

Increasingly distressed by air travel, wanting to make environmentally-mindful choices, and hoping to share a new adventure, my wife and I traveled from our home in Jersey City, New Jersey to historic Savannah, Georgia round trip on the Amtrak Silver Meteor line during this past Thanksgiving weekend.

Crossing the Empire State

Last week, a minor emergency prompted a last-minute change to an already postponed family visit to Western New York State. Not wanting to call off my long-awaited and now necessary trip, I purchased a round-trip ticket from New York to Rochester on Amtrak’s Empire Service line.

Main Reading Room, New York Public Library (Courtesy of New York Public Library)

Library, Tradition, & Home

This month marks my second year as a resident at the Wertheim Study in the New York Public Library. This fellowship provides me with a desk in a private room designated for researchers and full access to the collections of a world-class research library. Quite a privilege.

Bruno Liljefors, Autumn Landscape with Fox, 1918. (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Looking Toward Fall

Most mornings and evenings feel crisp, cool, and refreshing. The fall has arrived. My favorite season.

Jersey City Reservoir, Jersey City, NJ (Photograph by author)

No Need to Go Far

Several years ago, Melody Warnick wrote This is Where You Belong, a book urging readers to slow down and appreciate their lives right where they are. According to Warnick, your life isn’t waiting to begin in a distant city or a rural hamlet. Discover what makes your community, neighborhood, or city interesting. You might be…

Looking across the East River from the roof of the William Vale Hotel. (Photograph by author)

Another View from Brooklyn

Many journalists, commentators, writers, and everyday citizens (including yours truly) have observed how New York and other red-hot cities have grown expensive, homogeneous, and bland within the past decade or so. Yet, inspiration stubbornly remains.

Fig

A Spring Ritual

In recent past posts, I’ve reflected upon nature and the arrival of spring. This season of renewal has captured my private thoughts as well. The physical, imaginative, and spiritual worlds seem refreshed and expectant. 

(Photograph by author)

The Passing of Winter

On the first day of spring last week, I stood in my small urban backyard and listened to hidden birds sing. Daffodil shoots peaked from beneath the soil. Yet, the wind still carried a chill touch.

Central Park Snow

A Quiet Moment (in New York?)

After a late winter snowstorm a week or so ago, I walked along Central Park and paused to admire the landscape art of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux. For a moment, the world seemed quiet and calm. I felt a closeness to nature and forgot the everyday thoughts and worries haunting my mind. Those…