Blog

It was a quiet weekend, punctuated by deep greens, blues, reds, and oranges, and the thought that I don’t ever want to die. The cool, dry weather was a welcome reprieve from the Inconvenient Truths of the last few weeks. Gone was the sweltering blacktop, the pre-soaked t-shirt, and instant exhaustion. In its place were…

It’s Iowa State Fair time in Des Moines: humidity, corndogs, pork on a stick, funnel cake, cold beer, tractor pulls, beauty pageants, butter sculpture, fireworks, and rock ‘n roll. So I sent a note to my pals in The Nadas. Gents: Thinking of you this State Fair season. Wish i could be there with you.…

I was dreaming about a triathlon. I had missed my swim start, and was scrambling to find another wave. When I finally found a group of swimmers in goggles, wetsuits, and yellow caps, no amount of freestyle was enough; I couldn’t make forward progress through the water. I woke to a crushing headache, and the…

If I had pop culture parents, they would be Judy Blume and John Hughes. In the spring of 1978, my family spent a few days in Carmel, California. For a seven-year-old raised on Maryland beaches, Pacific waves were cold and violent. I swallowed a lot of ocean water one afternoon, which left me pretty nauseous.…

Washington, DC, really is quite a show: all white granite and marble, columns and arches, open spaces and great vistas. Despite my political cynicism, and sense that the place is all sound and fury signifying nothing, it’s pretty difficult not to be impressed. Of course, I’m sure that’s what Mills, Bacon, and L’Enfant intended in…

We’ve just arrived at our hotel, a Best Western just south of The National Mall. Chris is running through a gear checklist, and asks, “Did you bring tape stock?” Uh oh. Chris and I are in Washington, DC, to shoot three set ups for our “Mister Rogers & Me” documentary: Mister Rogers’ famous red sweater…