identity — Blog — New Voodou

Good Neighbors

I have been contemplating gratitude. Grateful for my family, for my friends from across my life and across the country, and especially grateful these days for the warm and supportive community of neighbors we have here in Santa Fe.

place, identityNancy EganNovember 25, 2024Santa Fe, Zocalo, Ricardo Legorreta, Contemporary architecture, Neighbors, Neighborhood, Butte MT, Santa Monica. Ocean Park, Brookshare Avenue, Brookshire Avenue, Ventura California Comments

Critique

It was as a graduate student in literature at the University of California San Diego that I came to understand the concept of a critique.

identityNancy EganOctober 12, 2024critiqe, photography, graduate school, University of California, UCSD, Frederic Jameson, literature grad student, Santa Fe Community College, Sage Paisner, Marcel Perez Comments

First Stop New York

Reading about the restaurant's recent revival, I was the one who was both amused and proud of my young self on a long-ago night at Le Veau d'Or in New York.

identity, placeNancy EganSeptember 14, 2024New York City, Egan Family, Le Veau d'Or, Texaco, Chrysler Building, France, French, Bronx, Archbishop Thomas Donnelley, Port Authority, Grand Central Terminal, P.J. Clark's, Longchamps, Perfect Rob Roy, Edmund F. Egan Comments

Abroad in Bordeaux

Bordeaux, with its elegant 18th buildings, open public squares, and bustling shopping streets, could not have been more different than the American West, nor more beguiling.

culture, identity, placeNancy EganAugust 18, 2024UC Education Abroad Program, Bordeaux, Universite de Bordeaux, University of California, Talence, Place de la Victoire, Pays Basque, Ascain, Mai 68, Lalande Wines, Rue Abbe de l'Epee, Rue Sainte Catherine, France Comments

Uncle Florry's Will

This week, trying to winnow down a file box overstuffed with my father's papers, I rediscovered a curious, heartwarming copy of Uncle Florry's will.

Old Friends

Class reunions are few and who knows when we might be together again. So we indulged our nostalgia and laughed.

identity, placeNancy EganJune 26, 2024Memorial, Mission Basilica San Buenaventura, Ventura CA, Solimar Beach, Academy of st. Catherine, Reunions, Catholic Mass, riual, amazing Grace Comments

A White Sports Coat and a Pink Carnation

When my prom date Charlie Holtz arrived at the door in a white sports coat, I was waiting in the living room wearing a pink spaghetti strap formal, the most beautiful dress I had ever owned.

Picture-Perfect Weekend

After all the recent rains, the the Santa Ynez Valley never looked more beautiful.

place, identityNancy EganApril 15, 2024Central Coast California, Santa Ynez Valley, Solvang, Los Olivos, Buellton, Mission Santa Ines, Ventura CA, Santa Barbara, wine country, vineyards, tasting rooms, California poppies, wisteria, Sunday drives Comments

The Girls

My great aunts Marion and Kathryn left their home and family in Butte, Montana to move to Los Angeles in 1928. A radical relocation in those days and yet they remained in the city for more than 40 years

identity, placeNancy EganMarch 20, 2024Nolan Sisters, Butte Montana, Los Angeles California, Red Car System, MacArthur Park, Westlake Avenue, St. Andrew's Place, Helen Pettibone, Della Liss, John Nolan, Mary Nolan, Butte Park Royal, Palos Verdes Comments

Station Wagons and Me

After I moved back to Southern California from New York City, I took a quiz that said that my ideal car was a station wagon. Ridiculous, I thought—I was driving a racy red BMW sedan

Uncle Eddy and the Gift of Family

Like Santa he would always come at Christmas.

Archie's Anxiety: Summer 2021

We have a guest blogger here at Practical Voodou. Archie Waters is finally ready to share his story of the stressful summer of 2021.

identityNancy EganOctober 14, 2023folk art, cavapoo, summer 2021, pandemic, climate change Comments

The Boys From Butte

Waiting for the "It's a Small World" ride at Disneyland a young man approached us. "You're Nancy Egan, aren't you?" I had no idea who he was.

place, identityNancy EganSeptember 15, 2023Butte Montana, Ventura California, Disneyland, Grad Night, family, Vietnam war Comment

Becoming Emeritus

At the gala celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Society for Marketing Professional Services, our group of longtime members sat laughing and talking like children at the kids table on Thanksgiving.

identityNancy EganAugust 20, 2023Society for Marketing Professional Services, SMPS, 50th Anniversary, AmplifyAEC, Janey Aubry, Howard Wolff, Laurin McCracken, Randy Pollock, Houston Comments

Everywhere Guadalupe

I have been spending a lot of time with the Guadalupe over the last few months.

culture, place, identityNancy EganJune 17, 2023Our Lady of Guadalupe, Guadalupe, Murals, Santuario of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, red handprint, Tonantzin, Nancy, The Art of Noticing, Rob Walker, @whereslupita, syncretism, Mexico City, Lupitia Comments

Missing Ocean Park

Last May when we returned to Santa Monica for a visit, we were greeted by the same weather that had welcomed me when I moved to Ocean Park 20 years ago.

Della's Decision

Della became a widow on her 35th wedding anniversary. At 58 she was not sure what she would do.

identity, placeNancy EganApril 15, 2023Grandmother, Della Nolan Liss, Tom Liss, Butte Montana, Mary Kay Liss, Jim Egan, Echo Lake, Los Angeles, Barstow, Union Pacific, Chicago World's Fair, Civilan Conservation Corps Comments

Storytellers

My Grandmother would entertain us with her stories. Some evenings, at our urging, she would recite
The Spell of the Yukon by Robert Service, the sad improbable tales of Sam McGee and Dan McGrew.
There were lessons in the lyrics.

The Last Invoice

Last December was the first month in over 30 years I did not send an invoice to a client.

identityNancy EganJanuary 18, 2023Consulting, Work, Architecture, Design, Accounting Comments

Lifeguard

It was the toughest job I have ever had and one of the most rewarding.

identity, placeNancy EganAugust 27, 2022Lifeguard, swimming, swimming lessons, swim team, Ashcroft BC, summer job Comments