Italian 101 (or, In the beginning)
I’m teaching Italian at the University of Florida this fall. The course is called Beginning Italian II, which was my [...]
Sleeping with the enemy
Columnist Kristine Crane found an unwelcome bedfellow one night, reviving a fear of cockroaches in an American state they love.
From words to anatomy, and back
About five years ago, I briefly considered embarking on a second career as a doctor. Though I’d been a health [...]
Un paio di scarpe
Among the remaining artifacts at my father’s house in Iowa was my Italian running trophy. It sat on the fireplace [...]
To Kri with love
My parents nicknamed me Krissy when I was little. Apparently, it had something to do with Chrissy (Suzanne Somers), the [...]
A short history of catnip
There's a big white and grey cat that every so often comes out of my crawl space. Herman is his [...]
The long goodbye
It's official: My father sold the family home in Iowa. After talking about it for almost a decade, he finally [...]
Dammi la mano
Carne. It was my turn at the emergency room at a hospital in Bologna, and the male orderly butchered my [...]
Finish lines
Word got around in my labor and delivery room that I'd run the Rome marathon. I'd mentioned it to the [...]
For love of pigs
You can take the girl out of Iowa, but good luck taking the Iowa out of the girl, especially when it comes to pig love.
The dress in the attic
A grandmother's dress, extracted from its sleepy attic domain, opens into a world of Italian family memories.
Pianist to poet
Once a promising pianist, the author "graduated" to verse, with key life lessons learned along the way.