Ask any French chef and they will tell you the “roux” (flour, clarified butter and special seasoning) is the foundation of every classic French recipe. A good roux lends a memorable dish, sauce or soup its depth, intoxicating aroma and velvety richness. A truly inspired chef intuitively knows when his
Continue ReadingIn memory of Dr. Robert Cochran I remember as a child going to McMahon's children's shoe store in downtown Spartanburg to buy my Easter white Buster Browns. The salesman would measure my foot, go to the back room and return with the perfect pair. He would ask me to stand, push
Continue ReadingThere are only two ways to live your life. One as if nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. -Albert Einstein On an auspicious night over two millennium ago, a mysterious star appeared in a Van Gogh night sky catching a magi's attention. Was it a
Continue ReadingI recently heard this story of a crosstown New York City bus stuck in rush hour traffic. Everyone on the bus was cold, annoyed and soul-weary. The minimal exchanges of words were curt, eyes cast to the floor and postures slumped. There are just some days when it is just plain
Continue ReadingYou know when you hear a song (often it's one you don't even like), and suddenly it becomes the soundtrack of your life? In the shower, pulling into the school pick-up line, pushing your cart down the milk aisle at the grocery store, jogging around Radnor Lake, even drifting off
Continue ReadingOn an auspicious morning in the year of 1163, standing in the rarified French dust of what would one day become the great gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame, two men, one a bishop, the other, the Pope of Christendom, sprinkled holy water, read from the Psalter, and serenaded an unsuspecting
Continue ReadingAfter the mad morning rush of breakfast, lunch boxes and the drop off of five kids at three different schools in the morning, I was giddy pulling into the parking lot of Radnor Lake. This was to be baby Finn's first introduction to my sanctuary. I tightened the straps and
Continue Reading"The sky will spill with stars." NASA's prediction for this year's much-anticipated Perseid Meteor shower (August 10-12, 2016). The Perseid Meteor Shower occurs every year when the 16-mile long, 11th century Comet Swift Tuttle passes by Earth on its orbit around the sun leaving a trail of celestial dust in its
Continue ReadingThe Olympics in Rio was a highlight of the summer. Who could choose a favorite Olympian: Usain Bolt, the fastest man on earth, Simone Biles, the mythic gymnast, or the indomitable Michael Phelps in the pool? Every night we watched in awe as these athletes exhibited great courage, determination, poise,
Continue ReadingMy grandfather was drafted into the navy during WWII. He saw action in Pearl Harbor and in the Battle of Manilla in the Philippines. "Papa JB" had one of the more daring jobs on the ship. His fellow sailors would lock him into a full iron diving suit and then
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