September 21-22, 2019: Traveling After my flight from California landed in Salt Lake City, I had a 2-1/2 hour layover. Then I boarded the red-eye to Heathrow. We arrived about 11:00 a.m. on the 22nd. Jet-lagged and bleary-eyed, I checked into my Bloomsbury hotel—too drained for more than a foggy scout for supper. I had … Continue reading Footsteps Through Time: A London Diary of Discovery and Dust
London
Finding Inspiration in Simplicity
When I was in college, my course load was just shy of full time, but my schedule was intense. I had a part-time job, studied martial arts, played the guitar, and was dating. After a couple of semesters of earning one B for every A, I realized something had to give. As much as I … Continue reading Finding Inspiration in Simplicity
Experiencing York: A Writer’s Journey
As an 18-year-old art student in New York, I began the process of learning to “see.” More than 30 years later, when I landed a contract as a designer with an architectural firm, I learned what it means to “look.” Up until I was hired to be part of the team developing a multi-million-dollar entertainment … Continue reading Experiencing York: A Writer’s Journey
The Legacy Continues
When I am working on a novel, I have no time for recreational reading. Since I write historical fiction, I burn up many hours poring through source materials: newspaper archives, biographies, letters, memoirs, military records, insurance policies, genealogy charts, maps, history books, etc. My mornings and afternoons are consumed doing research and crafting prose, and … Continue reading The Legacy Continues
Then and Again
“Turn right on Highway 20, and go about a half mile. When you come to the Taco Bell, take a left.” My co-worker may as well have given me directions to Mars. What was she talking about? Taco Bell? Did our town have a Taco Bell? Although I had lived here for a couple of … Continue reading Then and Again
A Time and a Place
“Maybe she doesn’t speak English,” said a short, chubby, middle-aged woman. “Or maybe she’s deaf,” her friend observed. “Hello? Hello? Can you understand me?” shouted the first woman. I was just coming to the statue of Charles James Fox at the north end of Bloomsbury Square, when I stopped and turned my head to the … Continue reading A Time and a Place
The True Protest
Years ago, my experience as the senior designer at a theme-party production company led to a contract with an architectural firm that was developing a multimillion dollar resort for a client in Japan. It was up to me to direct a team in planning the function and decor of the interior common spaces, including everything … Continue reading The True Protest
Benevolence
It was a joy to see Catherine, Princess of Wales, out and about today, raising a glass of Guinness in celebration of St. Patrick's Day with her regiment, the Irish Guards. While other members of the British Royal family were also taking part in the day’s festivities, scandal-plagued Andrew, Duke of York, continued to keep … Continue reading Benevolence
Men and Myths
If you get your news online from the BBC or Sky News, you wouldn’t know that there was a massive demonstration in Central London on Saturday, February 1, 2025. Tens of thousands of people turned out in support of the independent journalist and anti-rape-gang crusader known as Tommy Robinson. Some estimates put the number as … Continue reading Men and Myths
An Obvious Choice
Back in the days when I worked at the coffee store in Berkeley (see Flying Blind), I met a German nurse. She confided that, some years earlier, her brother-in-law had been in the painful end-stage of terminal cancer and, at his request, she injected him with a lethal dose of morphine. I wasn’t sure why … Continue reading An Obvious Choice
Roxane Gilbert 