Two quick questions: 1) Who is the most widely recognized, celebrated and popular Japanese artist? and 2) Where can you find the largest collection of Japanese art outside of Japan?

The answer to the first question is Katsushika Hokusai, born in 1760 in the Honjo district of Edo. The answer to the second is the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston, where a wonderful exhibit of Hokusai’s work is currently on display through August 9 of this year.

Hokusai is best known for Under the Wave...

Did you know...

…that the New York Yankees first donned pinstripes in 1925 when owner Jacob Ruppert decided he wanted to give Babe Ruth a somewhat slimmer look? The Babe, who enjoyed food and drink even more than the right field fence in Yankee Stadium, had ballooned to 260 pounds.

…that Red Sox outfielder Fred Lynn hit the first grand slam home run in All Star game history on July 6, 1983, 50 years to the day after the first All Star game was played at Chicago’s Comiskey Park?

…that...

I’ve written in previous blogs how fortunate I feel my life has been, highlighted by a good, supportive family, good friends, and some wonderful opportunities that, for the most part, I’ve been able to take advantage of. Along the way, I’ve worked with some incredibly talented people, taken some fantastic trips and enjoyed relatively good health. Yes, very fortunate.

But none of that has prepared me for my latest stroke of good luck.

It seems that someone recently died –  and don’t...

The sign states it pretty plainly: STOP – The area ahead has the worst weather in America. Many have died there from exposure. Even in the summer, turn back now if the weather is bad.

If you have done any hiking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, especially the Presidential Range, where 4,000- and 5,000-foot peaks dominate, along with Mt. Washington at 6,288 feet, you have undoubtedly seen this warning.

I’ve seen it twice, the first time when ascending Mt. Eisenhower in May, and most...