Immigrants to a new nation are often the most ardent in their love for their new country and my family was a classic example of the...

As a child I knew there were some mysterious boxes stored behind this Chinese screen in my grandmother’s summer home. When I was twelve...

I love music. I love all kinds of music. But music in context. I’m not going to blast you with opera singing when you’re trying to eat...

We’re a bunch of weirdos. Some topics will set off reflexive defenses and meat eating is one of them. If you’re a meat eater and you’re...

The items my performer parents accumulated in their long careers sometimes travel down to me in the form of mysterious poster tubes. I...

I’ve spent a fair amount of time in castles. Although, technically, many of these are considered manor houses. I have many childhood...

Chicago suburbs, 1950s, USA Maria Baroni with grandmother Elise & mother Helene. Just a little touch of glamor of you on this fine day....

Some vacation photos when my mother was on break from the opera and exploring New Orleans. Some vintage Mod and late 60s style on...

I grew up in a talented family that holds the idea that talent runs in a family as a form of destiny. My grandfather, Roger, was a cold...

One of my fellow opera nerds made a joke by saying, “Meet you at Maxim’s” and I was transported to Art Nouveau Paris. Only, I could hear...

With a photo of Elise from from a few years prior to that same time period. My grandmother was a very talented artist. The whole family...

Here’s a tip to your future generations: Include images of road signs or other identifying markers. It’s not every home movie that...

My paternal great-grandfather was a rakish fellow from near Brussels, Belgium. The bit of family lore we do know about him is that he was...

We had a traditional relationship with animals. We had many pets we adored living alongside our fur coats and hunting trophies. It’s a...

No one is more American than an immigrant. I think of my family when the US  immigration reform discussion crops up again because we are...

One of the things that glues you to the people of your nation is shared childhood experience. It’s always an odd moment for me when I...

There are a lot of physicians in my family and perhaps that’s why I’ve befriended doctors, their children, and worked for a number of...

My maternal great aunt Hermine is a spitfire who has always amazed the family with her abundant energy and stubborn streak. She is tiny....

Did you go back-to-school shopping? Is your child’s room overflowing with clothes and making you crazy? I know, right? I do have one...

I’ve told you before how I am a sort of time traveler, inhabiting worlds and activities from a bygone era. This is a common pastime of...