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jsmith532

Professor,
Communication, Arts, and the Humanities
The University of Maryland Global Campus

Ancestors & Antlers

Friends, a while back I had mentioned that Emmett and I share a common ancestor way back in the family tree, namely the Earl of Caithness. “Earl” is on my maternal grandmother’s side of the family. For Emmett, Earl is on his maternal grandfather’s side of the family, if that […]

So Damn Irritating!

Readers, I just finished the second Brand Whitlock book, Her Infinite Variety, in two days. It was a quick read (only 185 pages), and thank God for that. It made me seethe, it was so damn irritating! Argh! In a nutshell: Busy Chicago state senator finds himself languishing and bored […]

Deja Vu, Anyone?

Earlier this week, I came across a book, The 13th District, by Brand Whitlock. It piqued my interest in that it was written by a journalist-turned-lawyer-turned-politician, who was in Washington at the same time as Emmett. Also, it seemed like the type of fiction Emmett might have read. Although the […]

Tribute

Say hello to Emmett for us — and perhaps could you give him a few tips on punchlines? Emmett’s jokes were corny at best — but you don’t have to tell him I told you that. 🙂            

Oddities and Ironies

For the past few days, I’ve been trying to track down an odd clue that I came across in Emmett’s research. Earlier this week, while digging around for information on Emmett’s grandfather, Augustus Emmett Maxwell, an odd item — and I mean, a VERY odd item — kept coming up […]

Writer’s Angst

Readers, one thing I’ve learned about managing writer’s angst is that the only way to get past it is to just jump in and start writing. I’ve been wrestling with this on and off for several months. My concern is more about information management. I’m still in the midst of […]

A Lucky Guy

Friends, I read a lot of contemporary newspapers and publications from Emmett Wilson’s time, mostly to get a feel about what people thought and felt about everyday life; issues shaping society, and so forth. I also like to read other biographies on historic figures, to see how they position their […]

In the Public Eye

Readers, one thing I’ve noticed in doing Emmett’s research is that back in the early 1900s, if your lifestyle or behavior was even the least little bit out of the ordinary, you can be sure that it would at least make it into the local newspapers. Nowadays, for instance, our […]