Personal Interests
- My spouse, Kathryn Grossman, is a
professor of French at Penn State. Her research interests are 19th-century French
literature, especially the fiction of Victor Hugo.
- We have been known to cook a decent meal or two.
I am an active member in a local book club. Our tastes are quite broad as
you can tell from the last few years' reading list.
- We spent a sabbatical year in London in 1994-95, but we were also able to spend a fair
amount of time in France. Recent holidays in Spain, Italy, Brazil, France,
and the American Southwest confirm
that there are so many wonderful places and so little time: to see a cougar
at Mesa Verde is an unforgettable experience (for me, not the cougar). We hope to visit
India soon. The best place
to look for my photos is Flickr.
I am a very big fan of Nikon cameras and lenses, and it is a great pleasure
to spend a day with my Nikon D80. For another glimpse of these photos on
Flickr, consider this quick display:
-
We are ardent fans of
day-lilies and almost everything
else involved with small landscaping dreams. We have learned to cope with
black walnut trees. We very much enjoy our walks through Millbrook Marsh.
Some of the pictures below are from a flood a few years back.
- Kathryn and I are active members of
St.
John's Episcopal Church in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, where I currently
serve as senior warden of the vestry. I am also active in
the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania,
where I serve on the Standing Committee (which.is like a vestry for a
bishop). The best way to understand terms like "vestry" or "bishop" is to
read Trollope's Barchester Towers (1857), which is not to be confused
with Fawlty Towers (1975).
- We believe that our dog Ike
was the Einstein of the canine world. He died on June 29, 1999. While we're not
prepared to offer (yet) Quicktime movies of his best tricks, we are confident that few
pets could equal his dexterity or creativity. Never believe that an old dog can't learn new
tricks, a lesson that has wider applicability than many people might think.
- While
Ike cannot be replaced, we have added two cats,
Minou
and Chou-chou, to
our household. They are real delights, and they are busily teaching us to
do tricks. That's the real difference, I think, between cats and dogs.
