An Heirloom Whale of a Tale
“She said she wanted to see beautiful things. I took her to where I planted my seeds.” —Darnell Lamont Walker When I was a girl growing up in California, whales fascinated me. It was the 1970s, the heyday of Greenpeace and knowing whales existed is inseparably entwined in my mind with the knowledge that these majestic...
Reclaiming Men’s Vanity
The ebb and flow of men’s grooming is as old as the ocean’s tide. From the full beards sported in depictions from ancient Egypt to the shaving rituals of Kenya’s Masai tribe, a vast range of social symbolism and status ripples through cultures around the world. And it’s become a big business. According to a...
Purity of Purpose
When I ditched the corporate life and enrolled in culinary school, and one based on French technique no less, I was prepared to be overwhelmed. All the terminology, the sauces, the variations, the pace, the chef-instructors whose accents and creative use of English made everyday a linguistic adventure. What I wasn’t prepared for, however, was...
