W ith the possible exception of lawn care activities, cleaning out the garage, or changing the oil in your car, there's never any reason not to look reasonably presentable. People can argue to the contrary all they want in 2025, but I will stick to my guns on that one. Looking as if you have perpetually rolled out from beneath Oscar the Grouch's garbage can two minutes ago is not how to go through life. The mindset and habit neither make (nor maintain) a decent impression, do not instill confidence among others, and do not encourage people to take seriously anything that one might have to say. Of course, I recognize and revel in my outlier status. With this particular contrarian approach to personal appearance in mind, I took the opportunity to attire myself as usual for the first session of a summer writing group on campus Monday morning. About 10 of us will meet once a month between May and August to work in each others' proximity on campus, have lunch, ...
Vivian Surratt Stokes-Williams (1945-2020) Vivian Jesse Bennett Roberts Stokes (1917-2007) The Grand Duchess, December 2024 Clowning with my sister in Washington, D.C., late June 2022 M y sister sent me the top two photographs via text of our mother and maternal grandmother early today, both which were taken sometime in the early 1960s. I believe the top photo was my mother's high school graduation photograph, or taken just before she started at Washington University that September. To the women in our lives who somehow keep everything glued together by hook or by crook. Happy Mother's Day 2025. -- Heinz-Ulrich