I have lunch with Thomas Keller every day. I watch him working in his cool stone kitchen. I learn to confit eggplant, I learn the difference between glazed and carmelized, I contemplate pureeing artichokes. He is in a thirteen inch computer on my breakfast room table. I close the blinds behind him so thatContinue reading “Tools of Refinement”
Author Archives: Kathleen O'Hanlon
The Arenberg Forest
It was my plan to visit the cobblestones of Northern France today — to visit the iconic pavé that forms the route of the Paris-Roubaix bike race, which would have taken place tomorrow. It would have been my second visit. My first was in 2014 (Niki Terpstra won). Since that visit, I’ve written a novelContinue reading “The Arenberg Forest”
A Little Too Good
I’m a little too good at this. Tea in the morning. French grammar, needlework, a stub nib pen with jade green ink; a walk in the garden in sturdy shoes. I could be Jane Austen’s neighbor. Lunch will be lentils and chicken soup. Later maybe some Chopin preludes. And more tea. Maybe a cookie. IContinue reading “A Little Too Good”
Neat Little Bows
A short piece about Lucia Chase for International Women’s Day My professional women’s networking group is meeting this afternoon. Forty or so women will gather in a hotel restaurant at the end of the business day to have a glass of wine and a few bites of protein. We will arrange ourselves at tablesContinue reading “Neat Little Bows”
1492#
A short story The guard waved and opened the gate for her. Christina smiled and raised one hand in recognition as she swung around the delivery truck waiting to be signed in. She knew it was a violation of the rules. Every visitor was to be given a guest pass and the address toContinue reading “1492#”
A Well-Respected Man About Town
At the end of high school I was obsessed with the Kinks and, in particular, Ray Davies. It was the late 1970’s and I was already quite familiar with the full oeuvre of early sixties’ rock and roll. I was the youngest of four in a household led by a man who had been aContinue reading “A Well-Respected Man About Town”
Auld Lang Syne
New Year’s morning always seemed a little cleaner and brighter than other mornings. The air in my bedroom was thinner and even though I knew the tiled floor would be cold against my feet I catapulted from bed. There wasn’t a sound in the house as I made my way down the short hall toContinue reading “Auld Lang Syne”
The Old Russian Ladies Always Get the Best Spot at the Barre
When I was in ballet school I loved having the chance to attend the 10:00 a.m. class taught by Valentina Peryaslavic. Because it was a mid-morning class I could only go during school vacations or the summer. I don’t know anything about her background but when I was 17, Madame “Perry” (as we called her)Continue reading “The Old Russian Ladies Always Get the Best Spot at the Barre”
My Muse Wears Tap Shoes
My muse wears tap shoes. And sateen pajamas. She has dark hair and a gleaming head. She wisecracks, she jokes, she drinks too much gin at times. But she floats across the floor on silent feet when she wants to and pulls up the chair right next to me. She was born on a farm andContinue reading “My Muse Wears Tap Shoes”
Learning to Swan
This is an excerpt from my memoir Standing Room, which is about my experiences as a student at both American Ballet Theatre School and Stuyvesant High School in the 1970’s. Late in the spring we heard wonderful news. Gelsey Kirkland was going to doing her first Swan Lake. There was a long article in theContinue reading “Learning to Swan”
Kathleen O'Hanlon 