I have a vague memory of a 'challenge' of some sort involving Joshua Bell, the acclaimed violinist, 'busking' for change in a Washington DC subway station. On his Stradivarius! Would anyone stop to listen, or recognize him? (He dressed for the part). Gene Weingarten was the journalist who covered this event, and many other curious and interesting events in The Fiddler in the Subway: the True Story of What Happened When a World-Class Violinist Played for Handouts ... and Other Virtuoso Performances by America's Foremost Feature Writer. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll learn something new (well, I did) (!) in this enjoyable collection of columns from The Washington Post.

Crime has not changed all that much over the years and proof of that may be found in Scoundrels of the Salish Sea: Tales of Crime and Punishment in Washington State's History, by Carol Turner. There's murder, of course, and theft, adultery, scams ... and how the 'bad guy' tried to get away with the crime (and who caught them). There's also the 'law' side here with the lawyers and judges who convicted them. The author scoured newspaper archives, journals and letters to write this glimpse of the seamier side of life here in the Evergreen State in the late 1800's to the mid-1900's.

Reading Hermit With Dog