by Carole Duff | Jun 16, 2014 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Family, Writing and Reading |
Dogs have played a variety of roles in their long history of domestication. During wars, dogs served along with many other animals. As cited in Susan Orlean’s book Rin Tin Tin, 16 million animals deployed in World War I: camels, cavalry and draft...
by Carole Duff | Jun 9, 2014 | Faith, Writing and Reading |
“Faith is a choice like any other,” Mary Karr wrote in Lit, a memoir about alcoholism and redemption. More than anything, Lit is about making choices – the difficult ones. The title reflects a choice people make every day, and the consequences. Anyone...
by Carole Duff | Jun 2, 2014 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Local or Human Interest, Nature |
I do not have a green thumb. Yet, I have always kept a garden, even if it was just a small plot along the side of the house or plants in pots on terraces in Texas, Baltimore, Alexandria and now here on the deck outside the dining room at Vanaprastha. Fresh herbs and...
by Carole Duff | May 26, 2014 | Family |
I have a secret. I used to steal cookies. Not the freebies at the grocery store that parents give to children as bribes, I mean, rewards for good behavior – no, I stooped much lower. I stole cookies from my own children. The rule was this: you could have two cookies...
by Carole Duff | May 19, 2014 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Faith, Family, Writing and Reading |
A friend of mine, who I have known for twenty-five years, came to Vanaprastha this past weekend, giving rise again to thoughts about abiding friendships. In C.S. Lewis’ The Four Loves– family affection, friendship, romance, charity – Lewis states, “…Friendship [is]...
by Carole Duff | May 12, 2014 | Family, Nature, Writing and Reading |
When we were growing up, my father told us the story of the Optimist and the Pessimist – the Maine farm boy version. I can see my father’s tall-drink-of-water frame sitting in the captain’s chair at the head of the dining room table, his large hands taking his...
