Professional

I'm Known For...

Planning and organizing in a disorganized sort of way.

My Current Project

Ask me when it's done .. but I guess it won't be current then.

My Greatest Achievement

Being a writer's editor, a student's teacher, an honest coach and an honest friend

My Biggest Regret

Leaving the news business and California a decade too soon.

I Truly Respect

Really committed yet caring reporters, people who put their readers before themselves, original and important stories and news before their egos.

Moments I'd Like To Forget

Stepping in that crevasse

How I Pay For This Wardrobe

What wardrobe?

Blocks I've Been Around

I prefer to sit in the cafes and watch others walk around them. Give me a coffee, an International Herald Tribune and a sunny day, and I'm a happy man anywhere in the globe.

Things That Really Happened

I have shoveled my share of shit, literally. I was head of the barn crew at my farm/high school in the incredibly snowy Vermont winter of 1966. That meant I was head shoveler, at 5 a.m., six days a week. Life got easier after that experience.

Where I'd Like To Be 10 Years From Now

Living in the South of France, writing a column, spending time with friends

Why True/Slant

The discipline of writing. The possibility of joining a writers' community. Still trying to figure this neighborhood out.

My Other Website

http://americaintheageofobama.blogspot.com

Personal

This Is Making Me Worry...

Oy vey. What doesn't?

This Is Bringing Me Joy...

My 2-year-old granddaughter

I'm Running From...

winter

This Is Helping Me Create...

Biking, walking, anything that gets me away from my computer. Motion frees my brain.

This Is Making Me Think - Hard...

What happens to bloggers when everyone is writing about what others' said but no one is doing the digging to actually cover the news? And what happens to democracy when that day arrives?

Can't Do Without

Music, my soul food.

Favorite Voices

Rich, Collins, Lopez, Stegner, Dylan, lots of others

My Most Awkward Moment

You've gotta be kidding

My Secret Ambition

To learn jazz piano