From the category archives:

Western Pennsylvania

Pre-Halloween Horrors

by Jenny 21 September 2017 Western Pennsylvania

  A few weeks into my junior year of college, one of my classmates, “Gwen,” passed away alone in her dorm room. Natural causes, from a longtime medical condition. On the same floor where I also lived. Our R.A., “Nan,” found Gwen during a welfare check after Gwen’s closest friends hadn’t seen her for a […]

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Where’d You Go, Bernadette?

by Jenny 12 September 2017 New Kensington

This isn’t actually a  book report of “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” Maria Semple published her novel in 2012. Goodreads and Amazon is already clogged with such reviews. However, the motion picture (with big name stars!) for this story (which actually takes place mostly in Seattle) is being filmed in Pittsburgh – and also New Kensington! […]

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Tecumseh and the Prophet . . . and the Eclipse

by Jenny 23 August 2017 History

  Did you know that a solar eclipse darkened the Ohio and Pennsylvania sky in June 1806? (The path of totality ran through the Pittsburgh region!) This eclipse is an important character in one of my favorite stories about the early 1800’s. During these years, the Shawnee warrior Tecumseh allied Native American tribes against the […]

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Confessions of a Train Passenger

by Jenny 25 June 2017 Travel

  I like to watch and listen to strangers in public. At the park. In restaurants. In stores. On the train. Several years ago, I rode the Amtrak by myself from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh. The Capitol Limited. I sat in the coach section.  A man and woman sat behind me. They were both white […]

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Midnight Train to Chicago

by Jenny 23 June 2017 Travel

  Jonathan and I went to Chicago for a week. Jonathan travelled to the Windy City for a work conference, and I tagged along for the tourist stuff. I was the most touristy tourist ever! I rode on the architecture river boat tour, 2 bus tours, and the brand-new giant ferris wheel at the Navy […]

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Lunch Break

by Jenny 14 June 2017 Western Pennsylvania

Some folks live – imagine that, actually LIVE! –  without seeing one sports championship parade. I saw four of them (so far) in Pittsburgh. Two Super Bowl parades, and two Stanley Cup parades. I saw all of them while at work. I work on the 22nd floor of a building two blocks from the parade […]

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Here’s What’s Up

by Jenny 2 April 2017 Western Pennsylvania

My youngest sister, O.,  turned 18 on the first day of spring. I got to celebrate with O. and our sister E. at Phipps Conservatory. Last weekend, I went prom dress shopping with O. and our mom. (I have my new theories about prom dress shopping now.) And this weekend, I went home to see […]

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Lighthouses

by Jenny 2 April 2017 History

“A lighthouse will always survive the storm.” I found this written over a bunch of memes on Pinterest during a search for something else. Inspiring. Except – this isn’t actually true. I pasted above a photo of the Erie Land Light in Eria, PA. The third Erie Land Light.  The first two lighthouses at this spot […]

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S – Town (No Spoilers)

by Jenny 31 March 2017 Western Pennsylvania

I found out Sunday night that the creators of Serial and This American Life had a new podcast coming out, and that all seven episodes were to be released on Tuesday. So, on Tuesday I downloaded all seven episodes. I listened during my commute to and from work, and as I went about my day. […]

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Chance Encounters

by Jenny 30 March 2017 Western Pennsylvania

I hear from my loved ones that they keep up with me by reading what I post here. So, is some stuff about my work life in Pittsburgh. I took this photo from my office desk in downtown Pittsburgh last week, at about 6;30 or 7 in the morning. I usually take an early bus […]

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