The party continued well into the evening. There were more than thirty guests in attendance. Held at the Bel Air home of Hans and Johanna Austerman they were celebrating their daughter Barbara’s graduation from UCLA. Out on the spacious patio Ethan played the drums in the jazz quartet, which was the evening’s entertainment. His brother […]
Over the next two years Ethan continued his drumming, practicing at home every afternoon and working hard at developing energetic drum solos. He enrolled every semester in Miss Marlowe’s band and orchestra classes where he consistently earned A grades. Miss Marlowe was especially fond of him for both his excellent drumming and his commitment to […]
Ethan practiced on his drums every day. In the basement room of his home he would play records and accompany the music. His parents had asked around about drumming teachers but there were none to be found. They encouraged him to just stick with it and to keep doing what felt right to him. At […]
Norma Kendall Robertson employed her characteristic patience with eleven year old Ethan Wells as he attempted to play a simple melody on her Steinway piano. After six private lessons she knew he didn’t have the aptitude of his older brother Mark, who at sixteen was a prodigy and budding concert pianist. At the end of […]
A long time ago I had opportunities to produce and direct a number of motion pictures. They weren’t big or famous movies, but the work showed promise. It was like being a baseball pitcher in the minor leagues. The rewards were small but at least one was in the game. The art of cinema is […]
For more than a year I have puzzled over how to go on with the Gypsywagen website and blog. Since the coach itself was the central theme it’s been awkward moving forward now that I’m traveling in the Casita. Since the GW has passed into another’s possession, it seems right to “move on” to a […]
The Gypsywagen was recently purchased by a seasoned artist/traveler. She is based in northern New Mexico. For me, it’s a comfort to know that the coach will see new adventures with it’s new owner, Emerald North . She is an elder/guide with the “School of Lost Borders”. Over the past 40 years this organization has […]
Twenty-five hundred years ago, Pericles of Athens declared, “All good things on this Earth flow into the City”. There’s truth in that statement but countless not-so-good things are also found in cities. It follows that many people are called out of cities to find the natural places of the earth. They seek the solace of […]
Five months have come and gone since last I wrote in this journal. Time just gets away from us. In the Rio Grande Valley, the awfully hot weather of summer extended well into autumn. It wasn’t until the end of October when conditions made it possible to work out in the direct sun. That’s when […]
For nearly four months now I’ve been camped on the banks of a broad Arroyo along the Rio Grande in Northern New Mexico. It’s been a quiet time, uneventful and hot. With a frosty A/C unit in the Casita, I’ve mostly been hunkered down inside, reading, writing, making pictures, phoning friends and rewatching the likes […]