Seattle lost a great man last week, when Chef Thierry Rautureau died on October 29th. Only 64 years old, he succumbed to pulmonary fibrosis, an autoimmune disease that scars the lungs, making breathing difficult.

Have you ever noticed that it’s harder to capture something in a few, carefully chosen words than to express yourself without limits?  In April, I took a 3-session class called “How to Review Everything,” with Misha Berson, the former art critic for the Seattle Times. 

My parents named me Mindy Ellen Stern, and I never changed it. In Ashkenazi Jewish custom, the dearly departed are deeply honored by naming a newborn after them. Thus, an American Joe carries the spirit of a late European Yosseleh, Susie is named after Saraleh, Faye and Faith are modern versions of Faygie, which actually means “little bird.”