I have been accused of being somewhat morbid I’ll admit. It’s the newshound in me that constantly searches for information and reads everything. I read the obituaries all the time. Today’s news brought with it sad tidings of the loss of three men of letters and much more. Howard Zinn, a much loved activist and historian who I wrote about last year has died as has J.D. Salinger, author of everyone’s favorite book, Catcher in the Rye. Another real New York chronicler, Louis Auchincloss also passed away today. While not members of my family certainly, all were people in my adult consciousness who bettered our society and will be missed. A toast is in order to celebrate the lives of great men.

On a cheerier note, I was privileged to participate in a tasting yesterday with several Master of Wine students (I am not an MW student) led my Stephen Skelton, an MW who graciously hosted the tasting. Once again, I was impressed with the depth of knowledge and dedication that people exhibited. The MW program is certainly a quantum leap beyond the Diploma program I completed in July 2008. I had been told that by numerous people but yesterday’s tasting was a real confirmation. It also confirmed to me how fascinating the world of wine is, once again, and how much more there is to learn and explore. I was excited to see that none of my initial fascination has worn off despite these 13 years of study.