Spring Forward

Comings&Goings

Key Biscayne

Amy and I ventured to Florida in mid march to spend a couple of days with Hope and Mark Wigmore, two close friends who now live for a good part of the year in Key Biscayne, a fun and funky community just south of Miami. I am envious of the Wigmores being on the vanguard of figuring out life’s next chapter, at least in deciding where they plan to live when retirement fully arrives. Even though the weather was sketchy during our visit, it was fun to be in the proximity of the ocean once again and to feel some Florida warmth. We did check out Garcias, an iconic Miami restaurant that had a fun ambiance and delicious Stone Crabs.

History/Miami Museum

Needing to flee Florida’s rain for at least one day, we took refuge at the History/Miami Museum that offered some excellent exhibits and provided a clear sense of how Florida has evolved over time. In particular, I enjoyed Nathan Bin’s visiting exhibit which chronicles Florida, A Peculiar Paradise, during the 1980’s. Bin enjoyed a distinguished career working for National Geographic. All of his photos are pre-digital age.

Miami Design District Art Tour

And beyond museums, we took a guided tour of Miami’s Design District that ended up being a lot of fun. Even though I am not much of a shopper, I was interested in seeing how Miami developed a community of high end retail shops with really clever and aesthetically inspiring architecture and art installations embedded throughout the district. With the tour ending at 7pm and most of the shops closing at about that time, I was ‘disappointed’ that Amy, a professional grade shopper, was unable to put her skills to work.

Center for Education, Simulation, and Innovation

Following his retirement, a good friend of mine, Jack Corroon began working at the Center for Education, Simulation, and Innovation affiliated with Hartford hospital. He kindly toured me around their state of the art facility and provided a broader context of how the center provides a place for medical residents, Naval medics, medical innovators, and high school students, among others, to immerse themselves in cutting edge medical technology for both training and development purposes. Along the way, I had a chance to practice on a Da Vinci surgical robotic device and, after a few false starts, started to find my groove. The high tech medical simulations that the center is able to create show just how far this type of education has grown.

On Golf

As luck would have it, my sabbatical schedule for the spring is keeping me fairly close to home, so I am helping out with Westminster’s girls’ golf team, a group that I have coached during the past couple of seasons. It’s a pleasure to be on the course again with a great group of veteran girls and rookies, in addition to working with Jane Toner and Kelly Curtis, the other coaches.

Speaking of golf, Rick Witmer, another friend of mine, thoughtfully organized a recent quick weekend getaway for father/son golf at Yeamans Hall, a Seth Raynor designed course just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. Our group had a great time both competing and watching the coverage of Tiger making history at the Masters, a tradition unlike any other.

Worth the Read, Listen, View

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I have enjoyed working with a Westminster graduate who is taking a gap year. We read a book together about every two weeks and meet weekly to discuss. It’s been great fun to work one on one discussing books and developing this student’s own writing. Recently, we read both Erik Larson’s Dead Wake and The Devil in the White City, both compelling and interesting reads. The first explores the sinking of the Luisitania, and the second is about the Chicago’s World’s Fair and a serial Killer. Both narratives are riveting

Amy and I did a little catching up on past movies and felt that Free Solo, A Star is Born, and Vice each lived up to their respective billing. We also caught this season’s True Detective, an HBO series, and had mixed reviews, especially trying to follow the shifting perspectives of characters and time. Although I am not a Game of Thrones disciple, I am committed to this season and was successfully drawn into the first episode. I guess that I just want to be part of the local discourse surrounding this epic series.

NPR offered a fascinating discussion and interview about Connecticut’s water management, and I highly recommend it as I do Serial Podcast’s third season, focusing on Cleveland’s criminal justice system.

And in case you missed the rescue of several dogs who had broken through the ice, it’s worth the view.

Articles of Interest

‘Billy Budd,’ Tragically Charming the Boys for a Century

What Rural America Has to Teach Us

Oliver Sacks: The Healing Power of Gardens

I Love Throwing My Kids’ Artwork in the Garage While They’re Sleeping

A ‘Disgusting Yale Professor Moves On

Knowing the Right Time to Say Goodbye to a Pet

Building Grit in Girls Through Mountain Biking

It Was Just a Kayak Trip. Until It Upended Our Lives

An Elusive Whale Is Found All Around the World

And Finally

I have another opportunity to take a photography class, this time one in Santa Fe with a focus on both the art and science of landscape photography. I am excited about the course, especially with its emphasis on technical photographic elements. Thinking more mindfully about landscape pictures promises to offer a nice “bookend” to the wonderful portrait course I enjoyed last fall.

Lastly, if you are a hockey oficionado, there is no better time of year than the advent of the Stanley Cup Playoffs which provide exciting hockey and high, competitive drama for almost two months, every night! In fact, every year, I take a look at a short video that both inspires me and makes me a little misty eyed as grown men can’t find the words to describe winning the Cup.