During pandemic, she wrote three books
At a certain point in life, we want to finish the story. That was Dr. Daryl Cumber Dance’s thought. Upon retirement from a career as a professor of English, Dance had been asked to send her papers to her alma mater, the University of Virginia. As she went through her extensive collection of writing, Dance found projects unfinished and things unsaid. She realized she didn’t want... READ MORE
A hopeless romantic, mired in past tech
I was e-mailing with a former colleague the other day. Oh, that rancid coffee in the common pot. Ah, the rotten pay. Golly, all those brown hairs that have turned white, or disappeared. And wow, remember those nuts who used to call? Why, today, the switchboard would never put them through, I declared. My former colleague roasted me. “You are showing your age, Bob,” he said.... READ MORE
Q&A with Billy Crystal on his new movie
After hosting the Oscars nine times, Billy Crystal wouldn’t necessarily rule out a tenth. But the 72-year-old actor would prefer some wider attention for his low-budget indie film, “Standing Up, Falling Down.” Perhaps even a longshot Academy Awards nomination. “If it happened, it would be unbelievable. I’m really thrilled just to be in the discussion and not for, ‘Hey, would... READ MORE
Tina Panetta, Mother on the Hill
Years ago, though it’s hard to imagine today, Republican and Democratic senators used to sit at the same table to share a meal in the Senate Dining Room. They would cross the aisle just to talk to beloved waitress Tina Panetta, an ebullient Italian mother and grandmother. “We talked like family, like brother and sister,” Panetta, now 95, recalls of her 23-year career serving... READ MORE
Cultivating creativity in the age of COVID
Alexandra Hewett is on a lifelong odyssey to live creatively and to teach others to do the same. A former psychotherapist, current instructor in the dramatic arts, stage and film actress, and 5’1” perpetual motion machine, Hewett seeks to liberate people’s creative expression, dormant for any number of reasons. Given her experience and passion, it’s fitting that Hewett is... READ MORE
Gardening’s physical, emotional benefits
“Biophilia” is a word first used by psychoanalyst Erich Fromm in the 1960s, and later popularized by Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist E. O. Wilson, to describe the passionate love of life and all that is alive. True gardeners typically love to spend time outdoors. But did you know your garden loves you back? American garden writer Robert Dash explains that the positive power of... READ MORE
Snapshots to savor of times gone by
When Super Spouse says it’s time to clean out the old family photos, this husband salutes smartly and gets right to work. Of course, the job soon vaults well beyond pictures. Each snapshot has a story to tell, as any shutterbug will gladly tell you. So, more than once, I had to apologize to Super Spouse for going so slowly, because I had gotten lost in memories. My gosh,... READ MORE
Local songwriter pens an anthem for men
It’s February — the month of Valentine’s Day, chocolates, roses, romantic movies and love songs. If you’re tired of mushy-gushy romance, however, Ronald Robinson has a new song for you: “Don’t Bring No Suitcase.” Released last December, the song Robinson co-wrote with musician Kenneth Parker is the antithesis of a love song. Robinson, 66, became inspired to write it when ... READ MORE
Richmond area artist memorializes civil rights icon
When the Virginia Museum of History and Culture completes its renovations next year, it will display a significant new work in the collection: a portrait of Oliver Hill — a Richmonder who was a trailblazer in the civil rights movement. “The portrait of Hill fills a major gap in the VMHC collection,” William Rasmussen, senior museum collections curator and Lora M. Robins Curator of... READ MORE
