A common enemy

Gen. Eisenhower really needed something for his men: 3 million bottles of Coca Cola. And bottling plants to refill them. Eisenhower’s requisition was sent to the Coca Cola company on June 29, 1943. Robert C. Woodruff complied. He set up dozens of bottling plants across Europe, and U.S. servicemen were able to buy Coke for a nickel, Coke’s history … read more A common enemy

Accent in Pink, 1926

When I browsed my Kandinsky book this morning, his painting Accent in Pink jumped off the page to embrace me. The diamond-shaped rectangle stretches its “arms” wide and reveals the energy emanating from the center. The energy take on many colors, black, dark green, three shades of blue, gray, pink, red, emanating from a mottled gray square … read more Accent in Pink, 1926

Target achieved

It took five months. But today I achieved my target weight. I’m finally at a “normal” weight, instead of “overweight,” for my height, according to the standards of the Body Mass Index. I’ve lost 25 pounds since March 1. That’s an average of about a pound a week, which is the pace at which weight-loss … read more Target achieved

Taking a shower

Tom startled me by confessing he’d taken a shower. By himself. Those of us who haven’t had a stroke take a shower every day, without thinking about it. For Tom, this accomplishment is real cause for celebration. It’s made up of so many individual accomplishments, each of which took hours of therapy and exercise to perfect. First, being … read more Taking a shower