Nordsee was angry that day. It was August but her waters were not calm. They flashed steel grey. Mutti, Agatha, Ernst, Frau Bleich, Sarah and Hans stared at the horizon. Barely perceptible, they saw the British ships, lined up, straight…

From my mother, I learned to enjoy a good story. I remember my mother sitting next to me, cozy on the couch, a picture book on her lap. She read the words, I turned the pages. How I loved the…

…….as if there were any actually ordinary people, for one man’s trash is another's treasure; And what may seem ordinary to one person may seem quite extraordinary to another. And so it was with George and me. He and I…

At first we want to be ordinary people. I mean, when we’re young, when we want to fit in, be like everyone else, when we strive for the commonplace. Then we want to be different, individual, have a voice, stand…

My boundaries were thunderous, not to be missed. But they fell silent upon those who wanted not to hear them. Instead, they had questions. "It's too bad you couldn't spend the whole weekend with us. Did you have a lot…

“Mama” “Mutti” “Mama” “Mutti” Maaa-aaamaaaa” Mutti appeared in the doorway. “Girls. What is this shouting?” “Mutti. Sarah has taken my favorite dress. She won’t give it back.” “Sarah?” “Mama,” Sarah threw up her hands in alarm. Sarah called Mutti, Mama.…

Art has repaid me like this Although educated, Ernst did not go to college. He stepped into the shoes of his father. And, like his father, he was a money lender. He financed fishing ships, out of Bremerhaven, like the…

Art has repaid me like this It took me years to admit to myself that I am an artist. I have a BS in public health, I knew no artists. But part of my first job out of college was…

My somewhat pompous Uncle Bill once explained to me that “Art” was more than drawing. I was around seven, an age when I listened to him, although even then I thought he was a bit overbearing. Art, he said, was…