Topics

Apr

Sunny with a Chance of Cherry Blossom Petals

by Janine Boylan on April 15, 2013

Japantown Cherry Blossom Festival, showing Japanese cultural traditions

cherry blossoms in San Francisco’s Japantown
© Janine Boylan

The Beauty in Japanese Traditions

This time of year, many families in Japan are not checking weather sites for weather but for sakura, which are cherry blossom forecasts. This is the season for hanami, or picnics under the pale pink blossoms.

The Cherry Blossom Custom

Centuries ago, emperors and elite began the practice of cherry blossom viewing. Over the years, more and more people adopted the custom, and, in the 1700s, Shogun ruler Tokugawa Yoshimune planted cherry trees specifically to encourage the tradition. Now viewing cherry blossoms is a deeply-rooted part of the Japanese culture. Read more...

Janine Boylan Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/On the World Stage/USA

Mar

Secrets of Success on Leon Panetta’s Walnut Farm

by Sheron Long on March 7, 2013

The Panetta walnut farm, one source of Leon Panetta's secrets of success

Morning light on Leon Panetta’s walnut farm
© Robert Long

Welcome Home, Mr. Panetta

The morning light illuminates Leon Panetta’s walnut farm in his beloved Carmel Valley, a place as unpretentious as the man himself. Fences here are a little bent, a little rusted and hardly the type that you associate with the words “Department of Defense.”

Yet, this walnut farm was home to Panetta whenever he could leave Washington, where he most recently served as Secretary of Defense and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Read more...

Sheron Long 2 Comments

Secrets to Life/USA

Nov

Life’s Changes on a Thanksgiving Tablecloth

by Janine Boylan on November 19, 2012

Table set with a Thanksgiving tablecloth showing a record of life's changes

Our Family’s Thanksgiving Tradition

Many years ago I spread a thick, gleaming white tablecloth on our Thanksgiving table, and, after dinner, passed around a permanent pen and asked everyone to write short notes of gratitude on the cloth next to their place.

Thanksgiving tablecloth with "Bats and Frogs", showing a record of life's changes

Our First Messages

That year there were just five of us: Mom, Dad, my husband, my tiny son, and me. My son was the first to accept the task. He scrawled “BATS AND FROOGS!” in his boxy uppercase letters. Read more...

Janine Boylan 2 Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/USA

World Views: