Category: Uncategorized
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Years ago, I went to the House of Terror, the former secret police headquarters on Andrássy ut in Budapest. It documents the human rights abuses of both the Nazis who occupied Hungary in 1944 and the communists who took over Hungary in 1947 and weren’t ousted until 1989. The museum, which was like descending into…
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I had the good fortune to travel to Germany this summer with five of my friends on a bike-and-barge trip along the Moselle and Rhine Rivers. I had never been to this part of Germany before, and the beauty of the river valley with its steep slopes covered with vineyards, the June roses in full…
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I had the privilege of visiting Vietnam just before the celebration of Tet–the lunar new year. 2026 is the Year of the Horse. It just so happens that it is also my Chinese Zodiak sign. Horses need room to move–they are independent, don’t like to be hemmed in, and prefer to choose their own path–very…
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Cambodia is a country with a long, proud history. At its height, the Angkor Empire once dominated much of Southeast Asia. The photo above was taken at Angkor Wat at sunrise. Once the ancient capital of the Angkor Empire, the city went into decline in the 15th century. Today, the vast temple complex of Angkor…
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As many of you already know, I am a native of Budapest, Hungary. My family escaped the oppressive communist regime in the immediate aftermath of the Hungarian Revolution. We lived in Switzerland and West Germany before finally settling in the United States—our refuge. I embraced American culture, but at home we kept many Hungarian and…
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My kids sometimes reminisce about their childhood years. They remember when I used to blast rock ‘n’ roll music and we’d dance while we were cleaning the house. Music is a natural accompaniment to the rhythms of life. My son-in-law still smiles about the time when my husband and I were there with them after…
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I have been playing tennis since I was a youth. And as an adult, I played on both USTA women’s teams and on mixed doubles teams and women’s doubles teams at my local club. For decades, my friends and I played on Wednesday nights. We’d have a cold beer or a glass of wine afterward—and…
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Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love the food–but I especially like what it has come to mean to most people–a chance to reflect on the many blessings in our lives. Whether it’s family, friends, or found families, it gives us an opportunity to be together to share a meal and memories. My…
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I am no stranger to publishing. As a historian and college professor, I published two books and several journal articles with academic presses. These provided copy-editing. But it was I who had to make the final edits to complete the manuscripts. For the contemporary romances in the Providence Office Series, I did extensive copy-editing on…