The Memory Door
I have a door at home that hides a secret—not because it closes off a room; it usually stands open, its back pressed against a wall.One day I shared this secret with a friend who was mourning the loss of
Memoir
The Long Stillwater
The Long Stillwater is a chapter Robert Morris, M.D. wrote to celebrate a love of nature from a trove of memories. Stillwater is hardly a dictionary word, but it made sense yesterday as I floated on a mirror-perfect patch of
Yarns about Mountain Lions
Ask local folk if mountain lions (aka cougars/ pumas/ panthers) still prowl the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia and you’ll likely get a nod or they might bend your ear to tell a tale. But if you visit the WV
A Day in Dharavi
That day slept in deep memory until Dharavi appeared in news reports about the threat of COVID-19. It wasn’t a Westerner’s curiosity about the plight of poor people that brought me in 2003 after an engagement in Mumbai; it was
Jean Purdy_Remembering a Pioneer
Some of the most absorbing stories I ever read were from historians and biographers when they bring to light the lives of forgotten pioneers and heroes. On the rare occasions my writing and research can cast a light on a
GOLD AND GUNS IN EDEN Part 4 of 4
A Memoir from Western New Guinea While all these thoughts rolled through my head, Gil was sitting on the bed beside Jake. I resumed our conversation as if I was never absent in mind. “It’s a bitter irony to be
GOLD AND GUNS IN EDEN Part 3 of 4
A Memoir from Western New Guinea I flew to the Highlands on a creaking Merpati aircraft with only one other passenger and other seats replaced by large steel drums. I would have been more nervous if I had known we
GOLD AND GUNS IN EDEN Part 2 of 4
A Memoir from Western New Guinea I learned about Papua from BBC TV as child in gray suburban London and fantasied about exploring the bush for exotic wildlife and Stone Age tribes. In time, I became a biologist, but my