Category Archives: Uncategorized

Delivered at United Church of Christ, Simi Valley CA, on June 9, 2019: “Now I walk in beauty, beauty is before me, beauty is behind me, above and below me.” That came down to us a “Navajo Prayer Song.”Wouldn’t it … Continue reading →

Sermon for February 7, 2016, United Church of Christ in Simi Valley, CA: When Groucho Marx was invited to join the Friars Club in Hollywood, he wrote to them, “ I DON’T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL … Continue reading →

In the summer of 1945 I was eleven years old, just finished with sixth grade.  Summers in Pennsylvania grew long back then, isolated as I was on a farm two miles from the end of the city bus line.  Because … Continue reading →

Day 1, Tuesday, July 17 – The flight from LA to Paris is 11 hours.  We both slept fairly well, but there was not much darkness over night.  We got up to exercise a few times and Air France keeps … Continue reading →

Day 5, Saturday, June 21 – Joan is not well, all the signs of dehydration.  Newlove planned a trip to Kpalime, a nature preserve and tourist attraction, but Joan will not be able to go along. Our party was Newlove, … Continue reading →

Day 7, Monday, June 23  – Chantal went back to her employer this morning, leaving fruit prepared for our breakfast along with muesli and soya milk that I bought on Sunday. Newlove visited and then went across the border into … Continue reading →

Day 9, Wednesday, June 26  – Day 11, Friday, June 28 Our days in Paris were restful and much needed after the exertions of Lomé.  The grandiose and modern airport at Charles DeGaulle struck us both as the embodiment of … Continue reading →

Day 12, Saturday, June 28 – Day 18, Friday, July 4 At the Montparnasse station we easily found most of the members of our yoga group, who spent the following week with us.  We were more than an hour early, … Continue reading →

Someone kindly asked what insights I might have about the teaching of Anna E. Schoen-René, my vocal grandmother.  I put the question to two other singers who studied with Julius Huehn at the Eastman School of Music.  Both answered that … Continue reading →

This week I taught a master class at Vanguard University (Costa Mesa CA), where a delightful young soprano sang one of Despina’s arias from Cosí fan tutte.  Near the beginning of Act II, the maid servant exhorts the two sisters … Continue reading →