It doesn't happen often that one person's passing signifies a loss for the whole world, but the death of Luciano Pavarotti does exactly that.

Most of us come and go with little fanfare, and the ripples we leave in our pond smooth out long before they reach the farthest of even the shores we know about.

Yes, there are those who make global headlines by dying and raise a "hmmm" or a "Gee, that's a shame" ... or even a "Good riddance" ... but any hole left behind is filled by the time the newspapers finish with the funeral. Someone else steps into the... more

When I packed up my most important effects during the preparation process of making my first international move, a substantial component of the bulk that was my life at the time was made up of footwear.

Although I donated my tap shoes and golf shoes ... adorable pink and white oxfords with some mean cleats ... along with at least forty pairs of flats, pumps, heels, mules, boots, sandals, slippers, jellies, sneakers, loafers, espadrilles and moccasins to covetous friends and Goodwill, I still came to my new life in... more

I recall some research I studied while in college that reported on how it is in the nature of young children to mimic the behavior of those a couple of years older. There was film of kids at play, and the follow-the-just-a-bit-older-leader compulsion was remarkable ... and very funny.

With no little awareness of the power they had over the littler ones, the older kids were often tempted toward silly extremes to encourage monkey see/monkey do, and the smaller monkeys never failed to comply.

Apparently, this... more

I have very early memories of sunny, windy San Francisco days at Playland at the Beach that feature me standing in front of the Fun House staring at the huge maniacal laughing clown (To this day I fear clowns.) while pulling bits of cotton candy from a buffeted ephemeral mass and stuffing them into my mouth as my mother cautioned strongly against getting my hair tangled up in the sticky cloud of spun sugar.

The sensation of sweetness melting on my tongue, the so-very-pinkness of the mini-nimbus, the lack of substance that... more

A friend from the UK stopped by the other day on his way to one of the other islands to study some of the rare birds he specializes in, and since it's been more than a year since he's been around he noticed some big changes in my kids.

He has two of his own in England ... a girl Sam's age -- the first Ella to prompt the play on names that suggests his child and mine shouldn't date, a joke I've since worn thin (Sorry Lisa of Guatemalan blog... more

It seems of a funny trick of the mind that momentous moments in life can so easily seem like they happened yesterday, yet at the same time feel as if everything that happened before must have been years and years ago ... almost irretrievably lost in ancient memory banks.

That's my brain tease for the week ... I can remember the moment now two years ago when I first held my youngest daughter, the darling, sweet and adorable Chamroeun Jada as if it happened yesterday, but at exactly the same time it seems that she's always been... more

Although my parents were never one bit funny, it somehow ended up that my siblings and I are all pretty darned hilarious ... or in our case Hi-Larry-us, as the oldest of my trio of younger brothers is the funniest of the bunch and happens to be named Larry.

Luckily for our folks, none of us figured out how completely we cracked them up until we reached the stage that they no longer had to force themselves into straight faces to dole out discipline. Nope. We had no clue that there was a lot of fine-line-walking between... more

I wrote a Love Thursday blog last year called "Hangin' with my best friend" that feartured a shot of Mark and I deep in conversation in a hammock and talked about the ties that bind us ... strong and resilient ties ... that keep us functioning as parents smoothly and with very little friction, and continue to provide a rich environment for ever-growing love.

I could not be more pleased to know that Sam and Cj... more

When Mark and I began our first adoption journey, like many people new to the concept I had the idea that it was girls that were most likely to be needing homes and families.

The UK's Channel 4 production, "The Dying Rooms" swept the world, and the terrifying view into the world of unwanted little girls in China convinced many that boys had it easier and were far less likely to be in orphanages.

For many reasons ...... more

I don't lie, and unless you're the same you have no idea how much trouble that sometimes causes me. I won't tell people they look great in canary yellow bicycle shorts unless I truly think they do, and I won't yum, yum away over a dish I can't swallow. If I'm angry, people know it. If I'm happy, there's no doubt.

And that's the part I like about complete, unadulterated honesty ... the part where there's no doubt, the part where honesty becomes trust.

In recent efforts to get Cj ... more