On the eve of my return to the southwest, I want to share this film with you. It is in honor of several things. First – the Grand Canyon – that magic place that takes up a huge part of my heart and life. Second – Kaitlin Kenney – the… Read More
dream I was standing on the bank of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon when I saw a huge raft approaching. Bigger than any raft I had ever seen. It was bright white and the water was red. On it, stiff as pillers, were about one hundred men. All… Read More
I am putting together a river trip down the Grand Canyon for late summer 2014 or spring 2015. It is open to women artists and naturalists – both defined widely. Grand Canyon – August, 2012, photo by Michael Miles Basically I am looking for women who reach deep into their… Read More
If I could bring back one thing from Chautauqua it would be my neighbors It is so nice to be someplace where people invite you onto their porch, take an interest in your day, the community, the world. Where people keep a close eye on the children, know them by… Read More
1967 – Kathrine Switzer of Syracuse found herself being physically attacked and told to “get the hell out of my race,” by Boston Marathon Race Director Jack Semple. I run. Correction. I jog a nice easy 10 minute mile (if I am lucky). Point is. I get up, get on my shoes,… Read More
Late June. The Pacific Crest Trail still with fog. Quiet as sleep. The charcoal and silver skeletons of an ancient forest reach into a woolen sky. I rise before dawn. Watch the sky lighten, the path lengthen, the dark spires of stone and bone take shape and form. During this Chautauqua Institute week… Read More
The last words my mother ever said to me were, “Peer Gynt Suite. It’s the Peer Gynt Suite by Edvard Grieg.” Beverly Francis Rakha, right before my birth – 1959 I was in my parents’ car, my father driving home, my mother beside him, my four-year-old son and I in… Read More
Phantom Ranch Away from noise and rush and rules and cynicism and depression and leaf blowers and car alarms and parking tickets and people who worry about their hair turning gray. I need to get in my car. Drive 17 hours southeast. Sleep under stars. Wake and take pictures and… Read More
My dad told me he would be willing to consider assisted living, but if he had to be bed-bound, forget it. No operation. It would be time to give up. And I thought. Okay, but it won’t get to that. It’s a minor procedure. You will be fine. And besides,… Read More
Seattle was clear and warm. The sunset on Elliot Bay a romantic etude – Olympic mountains a dark saw blade against a lavender sky, ferries slow moving castles, yellow lights glowing as they orbited the Sound. I had dinner with Kaitlin’s Aunt Kate last night. We had a drink, went… Read More