Witty repartee, personalization and a constant stream of facts and information is just how I like to roll. Somewhere along the line (maybe through raising two kids in this era of infotainment—young people these days), I developed the knack of engaging, educating and inspiring people of all ages, while making my ‘talks’ entertaining and anecdotal. As one might assume, many people are not particularly interested in either history or art, but I do try to drop as many tasty intellectual hors d’oeuvres as I can wrangle up. And gently, oh, so gently, does a graspable comparison between People magazine and the salon of the 18th century fall upon the unsuspecting viewer of art. Once I have their interest, I hit them with the facts, then sit back and wait for the brilliant dawning of the “ah ha” moment. Ah, knowledge, sweet knowledge, thy coming is afar-off heralded.

 

Not only do I bubble with enthusiasm for history and art, but you can also hear me wax eloquent over that most basic of pleasures: food. I come from a long line of ‘foodies’ who love to eat but who also enjoy the fellowship of a full table, filled with many flavors of thoughts, opinions and laughter.

 

Another of my passions is travel. I have rambled many of the western states, and have also done some exploring in Mexico, Canada, Hawaii and the Caribbean. As an Art History major, much of what I studied is culture, which, for me, is an appetizing journey into the customs (and eating preferences) of different ethnic groups. I am fascinated by the similarities of the types of foods prepared in disparate locales--with differences arising solely because of geography. Take the Mexican tamale, with its similarities to the Chinese bao, Polish pirogue, British pasty and Indian samosa; they’re essentially the same idea, but each is made with the unique produce of the region. I have often thought I would love to travel and compare and contrast the different regional specialties and then write a book about what I found, but staying local and talking about art, history and food might be just as delectable.

 

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