Professor,
Communication, Arts, and the Humanities
The University of Maryland Global Campus
I found this the other day at Shorpy.com. I thought it fitting, what with this being Memorial Day weekend. As I watched this, I realized that Emmett’s father fought at Petersburg. He may have known some of the soldiers in this presentation. Regardless of what side these men fought for, […]
Do you have a writing routine? Mine is fairly simple. It is generally first thing upon awakening, usually around 4 am, when it is dark and quiet. I have a cup of coffee ready (the percolator is on a timer), and my desk is cleaned up. I have to do […]
I’ve never been a fan of throwing something away or tearing anything down just because it is old. Our family has always been big on recycling, repurposing, and conserving resources. We’re not tree huggers by any stretch, but repurposing, to me, makes sense. We try to do what we can […]
I have good progress to report about Emmett and his six month sojourn in Sterling, Illinois, in 1906. First, I finished the microfilm from the Abraham LIncoln Presidential Library in record time. I had no choice; the loan window on this set of film was small. I think I gave […]
I often wonder about the relationship Emmett had with his mother: Was it formal or relaxed? Was it “Mother” or “Mom?” At this point, even after two years of research into Emmett’s life, I still don’t know much about Emmett’s mother, Elizabeth Virginia Maxwell Wilson. I’m still looking for family […]
If you’ve ever listened to historic recordings found at the National Jukebox (the Library of Congress’ recording archive), you know the recorded tunes or speech can be rough, or hard to hear. Or, as in this example, as featured yesterday on NPR’s All Things Considered, creepy. Thomas Edison created a […]
Did you know that the state of Florida actually has it’s own embassy in Washington, DC? True. You won’t find it on Embassy Row, but on Capitol Hill, right behind the Supreme Court on the corner of Second Street NE and East Capitol Street, and across the street from the […]
Remember the post last week where I accidentally outed myself as a recovering alcoholic during Mass? Well, I’ve had another program-related outing. It is a follow-up about the experience I had with my children’s Sunday school teacher, and it just goes to show you: This program works. Back in […]
Call me crazy, but when I find myself hitting a brick wall in the research, I ask Emmett for help. Truth. Also, every time I’ve done it, I’ve gotten a response — usually in the form of new information, or a new lead. The fact I am also dogged and […]
Quick, name a ‘second banana’ who transcended the ‘sidekick’ or second-in-command role into superstardom, after breaking from the partnership that gave him or her a sense of identity, that ‘household name-ness’. Don Knotts? Nope. Once he left The Andy Griffith Show, and struck out on his own, his star didn’t […]
Tell my story. 