Monthly Archives: March 2015

What Today’s High School Students Know

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Roger Walck

“Frame of Reference” by John McPhee. The New Yorker, 3/9/2015. John McPhee, 84, one of my favorite New Yorker authors of nonfiction, is talking about writers using descriptions based on popular contemporary references that may be unknown to a significant … Continue reading →

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Longwood’s Amazing Organ

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Roger Walck

“Pulling Out All the Stops” WHYY-TV, PBS, 3/22/2015. For years I ignored Longwood Garden’s display of their organ. I can barely play the radio, so why would I care about an organ?  When I finally did see it, I was … Continue reading →

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Potpourri-2

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Roger Walck

A vivid memory of 70 years ago is the view of the changing traffic lights from the back seat of our family Oldsmobile as my father drove through Philadelphia to cross the Ben Franklin Bridge into New Jersey (known then … Continue reading →

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Proofreader’s Marks

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Roger Walck

Years ago, as editor of a local monthly chemical society publication, I would mark corrections for each issue on galley proofs and return them to the printer by driving into Wilmington late at night on deserted streets. About a week … Continue reading →

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Beatrix Potter’s Lesson On Economics

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Roger Walck

A recent column in The Wall Street Journal refers to a story published by Beatrix Potter in 1909 called “The Tale of Ginger and Pickles.” Ginger is a cat and Pickles a dog. Ginger and Pickles open a general store … Continue reading →

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Longwood’s Belin the Cat Kidnapped (and Returned)!

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Roger Walck

Belin the Cat, one of Longwood Gardens’ most popular attractions, and some believe the reincarnation of Pierre du Pont himself, was kidnapped and returned. He usually hangs out at the Peirce-du Pont House.  (The cats at Longwood are all very … Continue reading →

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Team Bacteria

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Roger Walck

“In the Gut: The Mix of Bacteria Can Affect Weight” by Melinda Beck. The Wall Street Journal, 11/18/2014. “On the Subway, Scientists Track the City’s Secret Life of Germs,” by Robert Lee Hotz.  The Wall Street Journal, 2/6/2015. A recent … Continue reading →

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The Sad Loss of Katharine White, By E. B. White

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Roger Walck

Katharine White was an editor and heart of the early New Yorker magazine. When she was hired at age 32, she was a graduate of Bryn Mawr, a divorcee, and single mother of two, one being Roger Angell, who would … Continue reading →

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Potpourri

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Roger Walck

For a long time, I have carried a bottle of Frappuccino in my backpack as an emergency lunch wherever I happen to be: hiking, exploring Philadelphia, and even at Longwood Gardens. Its combination of sugar, fat, and caffeine is perfect … Continue reading →

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“Inevitable” Versus “Evitable”

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Roger Walck

The words that often send me to a digital dictionary are familiar words without their familiar prefixes. A perfect example was a in recent Wall Street Journal column by Peggy Noonan, who I would read just to absorb her writing … Continue reading →

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