How a dog and some sheep led Patricia Elliott to the world of cheesemaking
An obituary in The Washington Post caught my attention today. When Patricia Elliott was in her late 60s, she began milking her sheep to make cheese. As she developed Everona Dairy, her artisanal cheese company, she became one of the leaders in the farmhouse cheese movement, according to a New York Times food writer. How...
Annie Lennox on beginnings and endings
Annie Lennox’s musical journey began at age 3, when she began to pick out tunes on a small plastic toy piano. She loved to sing all the time. Luckily her parents realized she had a musical ear. By the time she was 6 or 7, she sang in a local choir every Saturday morning. She...
How Al Gore turned obsessions into businesses
What do you do after you almost become president? I guess the answer depends on who you are. Al Gore could have moped around or simply settled for a lucrative career as a public speaker, commanding up to $175,000 per speech and being considered the “ultimate Davos man.” Not bad, right? Instead he did far...
When Burt Bacharach branched out
It’s a mistake to assume that people who are standouts in their field were destined to become the stars we know now. The route we take to the work we like best may involve twists and turns. A final destination may not be clear at the beginning of the journey. Take Burt Bacharach. The songwriter...