Professor Carol
In banking, when they’re trying to teach you about counterfeit money, they don’t give you counterfeit money. They give you real money, over and over and over again. You learn the feel of it. Then you can identify counterfeit money just from the feel of … Read more
Impressive events occur daily on Smithsonian Journey’s tours like this one through Croatia and Slovenia. Within just six days, we will have visited Croatia’s famed waterfall-and-lake national park (Plitvice), made an excursion to Slovenia’s fairy-tale island in the middle of a glacier lake called Bled, … Read more
When you’re a kid, the idea of not hearing from someone for 20+ years sounds incomprehensible. Grownups do understand how the decades fly: personal connections, no matter how fond, can lapse or vanish. Still, when long-lost connections renew, isn’t it a lovely thing? Recently, I … Read more
Here’s the latest episode in my campaign to help open doors to arguably the grandest form of musical expression in our Western canon. Yes, it’s a podcast about how to enjoy opera, done for Shane Saxon’s excellent series Et Cetera. Shane is a leader not just in … Read more
It’s springtime and school competitions are blooming, at least in our little world. Today’s extravaganza involved the granddaughter getting on a bus (exciting for a 3rd grader who does not ordinarily ride school buses) and traveling to a neighboring school for a Fine Arts Competition. … Read more
Conferences can be overwhelming. So first, to all whom I met in Cincinnati this past weekend, as well as those in Greenville, SC two weeks earlier, and in St. Charles, MO two weeks before that, please accept my best greetings and deep appreciation for the … Read more
Two great “hushes” fall in the Christian liturgical calendar. The first, Christmas Eve, is marked by well-known music, including the iconic Silent Night. But the music expressing the hush of Holy Week will not jingle from loudspeakers in stores during Lent. Instead, the music that … Read more
“Let’s draw!” It was 8:05 in the morning. We had just driven home from school after arriving to the parking lot and discovering a one-hour delay. A hazardous swirl of frosty fog had dictated the delay, but we hadn’t gotten the message. My grandchildren’s little … Read more
“Have you seen The Man in the High Castle“? Countless times this question has arisen in my social and professional situations, particularly during leisurely dinner discussions that shape the evenings of our Smithsonian Journeys’ tours. My answer hitherto has been “no.” If pushed (“Really? With … Read more
Spring is here (or at least on its way, depending on your location). Accordingly, we have given our website a new look. For some of our readers, the new look won’t make much difference. But for others, especially those just getting to know us, this … Read more