Trocadéro Man smelled like springtime and fresh laundry, spoke English, German, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian, was easy to talk to…
Author: michellefacos
I am a multi-lingual art historian, consultant (art, travel, writing), editor, entrepreneur, lecturer, and writer who has lived along the shores of the Baltic, the Mediterranean, and Lake Erie, in New York and in Paris, and in the forests of Quebec and Sweden. While I’ve lived a semi-nomadic existence for the past few decades, I’m inching toward a life anchored in Europe.
Six Degrees…
Sometimes your worlds—past and present, near and far—collide…
Father’s Day
He called me Macushla, after the 1912 song undoubtedly sung to him as a child by his Irish mother…
Choices
I don’t spend a lot of time wondering ‘what if’ but without question the aspect of being human I find most frustrating is that we can only physically live one life, pursue one life path, even if our imaginations offer a broad palette of possibilities…
June 2020
An excerpt from my book The Pandemic Year in Paris. A Coming-of-Retirement-Age Memoir, coming out in the fall. It seems like only yesterday! “Although much of the week was glorious – warm and sunny – today was rainy. Caroline, the professor who looked at the apartment recently and with whom I have picnicked several times… Continue reading June 2020
Rewards
For dogs, it’s a biscuit, for cats, a spot in the sun. For people – a martini or a massage at the end of the workday, a bonus or vacation for jobs well done. For teachers, it’s student feedback. Today, I opened the student evaluations for the Women Artists’ course I taught in the spring.… Continue reading Rewards
Oh My, Omai!
One of my favorite portraits is Sir Joshua Reynolds’s portrait of Omai, a Tahitian man in his early twenties. Omai had already led an adventurous life before he met Captain James Cook in 1769 and joined his third voyage, which took him to London in October 1774. Although presented as what John Dryden in his… Continue reading Oh My, Omai!
Road Trip
Do you ever, suddenly, get the compelling urge for a road trip? I apparently do…
Romance
Last week, I sent The Pandemic Year in Paris. A Coming-of-Retirement-Age Memoir to the several generous authors who have kindly consented to read, and perhaps endorse, it in advance of its September publication. Here’s a flashback excerpt from Chapter 1:
Educating Whitie
Long ago, I realized that some of my most memorable experiences were those resulting from my choice to do something alone despite hesitating when I couldn’t find someone to join me. Now, I rarely hesitate. One such event occurred two decades ago when I was temporarily immersed in, really, embraced by, Black American culture…