Chasing Hubert-Finding Léon Salles

When neighbors nearest my family’s cabin in the woods recently moved it gave me pause. Although I can count the number of times I saw them in a year on both hands their move left me with an empty feeling and made me realize that our connection, although infrequent, was not insignificant. A good portion … More "A life isn’t significant except for its impact on other lives." Jackie Robinson

This past month Chasing Hubert has yielded me not only a few lovely new acquisitions but a few new notions on greed as well. The dictionary defines greed as “excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions.” One of the seven deadly sins, greed has been known to drive people to act in unethical, … More "Lesson number one: Don’t underestimate the other guy’s greed." Scarface

Is it my imagination or are we experiencing the decline of manners? It might sound terribly old-fashioned but I believe that common courtesy is a thing of the past. If you doubt my statement all you have to do is go to a crowded shopping mall for confirmation. Last month I used my last vacation … More "Politeness is the flower of humanity." Joseph Joubert, French moralist

The more things change, the more they stay the same – Thanksgiving, for one example. Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday characterized by food, family and giving thanks for one’s blessings. That tradition has not changed since the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621. My own Thanksgiving, however, has been fraught with change over the … More "Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose" Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr

Thomas Wolfe once wrote “You can’t go home again.” Or can you? I found myself pondering this when I received an email from an old friend from the old neighborhood where I grew up. I had long since relegated those old memories to my mental filing cabinet where they remained stored away collecting dust because, … More "The past,’ he thought, ‘is linked with the present by an unbroken chain of events flowing one out of another.’ And it seemed to him that he had just seen both ends of that chain; that when he touched one end the other quivered." Anton Chekkov

I’ve taken an unintentional Hubert hiatus this summer. Life events took over and my search for Hubert fell somewhere between family, work, and trying to keep pace in a hurried world. Sadly, Hubert fell from an overriding obsession to a random rumination. Hubert’s fall from grace was perhaps also due to the dearth of information … More "Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why." Eddie Cantor

I’ve noticed a preponderance of publications lately on the subject of happiness. There are entire sections in bookstores devoted to achieving happiness. Newspaper articles and  magazine features tell us where to live to be happier, what foods we should eat to make us happy, what colors induce happy moods, even the amount of income we … More "The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery." Francis Bacon

Losing Hubert was inevitable. After years of admiring, collecting, and chasing Hubert I had grown to believe that he was exclusively MY mystery artist. After all, I was the one who saved him from oblivion when I found his etching hidden beneath an old mirrored beer sign. I was the one who started a blog … More "Happiness is not so much in having as sharing." Norman MacEwan

We all have our priorities. I’ve been guilty of neglecting Hubert lately. Daughter #2’s wedding has taken precedence – most of my time over the last several weeks has been consumed with wedding plans. When did weddings become such complicated affairs? Steve Martin said it best in Father of the Bride “I used to think … More One man’s priority is another man’s paltriness.

This week Hubert research has taken a backseat to my car woes. My nine year-old Volvo has been experiencing the aches and pains of old age. Like the old wives tale about dogs, I believe that one car year is equal to seven human years. Which would put my trusty Volvo at somewhere between 63 … More "You can’t think you are going to win all the races by being quicker, because it’s not possible. So you need to find another way." Alain Prost, French race-car driver