Ships, Symbolism, and Stetsons
The idea of sailing the vast ocean scares the wind out of me. My early maternal ancestors were sea captains from Nantucket, but my...
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Reading Gaines wisdom.
I read, almost exclusively, historical biographies. A few nights ago, my wife walks into the house with Chip Gaines’ new book titled “No...
The 4-hour bedtime routine
Circa 1997, the Newell household, Warrensburg, NY. I spend most of my evenings reading or working on my computer (my first PC). My wife,...
Hen Franklin speaks!
In the spirit of Benjamin Franklin's many pseudonyms, let's ask Hen Franklin* what she might have to say about our modern state. When any...
More Common Sense
A reflective essay about modern times and old foundations. Newell © Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages are not...
Removing the Peale layer by layer.
In June, 2015, the Clarke Auction Company, located in Larchmont, NY, listed a portrait of George Washington, Lot 12, after Rembrandt...
Mom's personal decalogue of happiness
My mother is an astonishing person. She grew up in a small town, never went to college and worked as an office clerk at a factory for 40...
My brief career as a teenage mobster
When I was 18 years old, I purchased my parent’s 1967 Cadillac sedan Deville for $500. It was a massive car. The front grille, bumpers,...
The final portrait of Abraham Lincoln
In June 1861, a young artist named George Henry Story was invited to observe and make sketches of President Abraham Lincoln for a...
A miscellany of maxims; Part III
Continued from Part II To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying "Amen" to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to...
A miscellany of maxims; Part II
Continued from Part I Leadership is never inherited; sometimes learned , always earned. Simplicity is not an action plan; it's a state of...
A miscellany of maxims; Part I
I frequently take notes while reading. My note taking is an imperfect system but useful enough for me to have employed it for many years....
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