We like to take road trips. For us, it’s way preferable to flying – unless, you know, we’re going to New Zealand. The thing about road trips is that they’re not just about getting you to where you think you have to go. More often, they’re about the things that happen to you along the way.  And those things can happen good or they can happen bad -- that’s part of the deal. That’s what makes road trips the whimsical little suckers they are -- because you travel without a plan,

Jill picking olives (press play for video). Hi, as you can see the above, we're in Umbria picking our olives.  It's our favorite time of the year.  But this is work, folks.  Hard work.  And, as you can see, it's not easy to find good help.  Here's a poem I wrote about our trees: THE FECUND TREE O! fecund olive tree of yore With branches hanging low Today I shall unburden you Then to the mill we’ll go!   I cannot reach the highest branch; My arm’s not long enough. If I don’t s

Max Tucker Jill is acting in a play out of town, which means we’ll be apart for periods of time. Which is fine. In the old days, we were...

Jill and Michael in Big Sur with Tico Back in our jackpot years, when we were able to own and care for horses, I had a bit of a love...

Jojo, Bruce and Mike in Umbria “Yeah, Bruce is good with all that flour stuff. He can make anything.” Jojo waved her hand vaguely toward...

The Rustico We wake up to a text from Alison and Francis -- that’s our daughter and son-in-law --saying their flight from JFK to Paris...

Michael Tucker in THE TEMPEST at ACT My knees wobbled as I edged out onto the catwalk and looked down through the ropes and pulleys and...

“I have a kidney stone.”  That’s my opener.  Simple, evocative.  Not unlike, “I had a farm in Africa …”  Close your eyes and imagine...