And so it begins…

By returning to the Greek origin (sabbatikos) for the word sabbatical, signaling a “ceasing of work” for study and travel, I invite you to peruse adventuresabbatikos from time to time as I share exposures from the year ahead. It is my hope to include observations, reflections, photographs, links to articles, videos, book titles, musings and more that may be of interest to you. I welcome any and all followers as well as ongoing feedback from you. I guess that there is no time like the present to get the adventuresabbatikos blog underway, so here goes.

No matter what lens we look through, this summer was one of great sadness with the tragic losses of two close friends, Lindsay Crosby and Cindy Swank, two amazingly talented, beautiful, and good people.  While I, like so many others, continue to move forward with living, both women are never far from my thoughts, and I reflect often upon them and their far too short lives.  I know that all of us stand behind Evan, Mark, and their wonderful families.

In early August I had an opportunity to join the Pan Mass Crus11tour as a rider to help raise funding for glioblastoma, the type of cancer that took Davey Hovey’s own life a little over a year ago.  From the very beginning of the two day 192 mile event, I was inspired to a part of a community of 6,500 riders, 4,000 volunteers, and countless supporters who lined the roads from Sturbridge to Provincetown, shouting encouragement, cheering the riders, and thanking everyone for his or her efforts to support the fight against cancer.  The Crush11tour team to date has raised over $500,000 and the total Pan Mass effort hopes to exceed 52 million for research.  A pretty incredible event that reminded me of the goodwill of so many.

As for summer reading, my three most recent books include Wallace Stegner’s classic, Crossing to Safety, David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, and Sheelah Kolhatkar’s, Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street, all compelling reads in their own way.  Stylistically, Crossing to Safety (one of Amy’s favorite books 40 years ago) was both beautifully written and insightful as the narrative explored the complicated nature of friendships and marriages over many years. I just picked up Tara Westover’s Educated, a memoir some of my colleagues have already read and enjoyed.

I thought too I would include a couple of recent articles of interest.  The first focuses on the iconoclast Bryson de Chambeau who is quietly making a name for himself during the final couple of PGA tournaments of the season.  The second, The Last Butterfly, reminds us of childhood and nature, and the last highlights the relationship a young woman had with J.D. Salinger many years ago.

Finally, next week I head off to Maine Media for a week long photography course focusing on portrait photography.  While I have had very little formal photography training, I have always found a camera in my hands, especially during my years at Westminster. In addition to Maine Media, I anticipate taking an online course with Annie Leibovitz, one of the great American portrait photographers.

More later..