Tag Archives: small children

One Giant Leap for Ein Kleines Kind

Posted on March 27, 2013 by

The plastic bag is in the top of the tree. Three stories up. This distance means little to the two foot child under the tree, leaping with his hands up, reaching and stretching for the bag. Then calling, “Get down … Continue reading →

Posted in Fitness, Happiness, Mischief, Travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Neighborly

Posted on May 9, 2012 by

The eleven year old girl on the bus moves over to sit in front of her mother. This way she is now in the row across the aisle from me, so we can see each other. She gives me a … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Happiness, Mischief, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

To Pass the Time

Posted on April 27, 2012 by

Among the many reasons I like Croatian bus drivers is that they will carry on conversations with you knowing full well you don’t speak the language.  A test of your sense of humor, perhaps. A display of their own. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Mischief, Observed, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Mensch!

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

On the long day before a set of flights home to Colorado, I helped with a Halloween party in a private Austrian school. My favorite child, Phillip, with a perpetual cowlick at the back of his head, perked up when … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Inspiration, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Not Helpless

Posted on March 16, 2012 by

I was trudging home from an English lesson with my astounding student, an asylum seeker and former child soldier from Sierra Leone who had the most remarkably shy smile. He could speak English well, but he was now learning to … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Happiness, Inspiration, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Rush

Posted on February 24, 2012 by

In Kreutzberg, on a street of hip shops and Indian restaurants and postcard stands, a young boy with wavy brown hair hurries down the street. In winter, the sidewalks are littered with gravel, meant to provide traction in snow. Yet … Continue reading →

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Self-Sufficient

Posted on November 30, 2011 by

An elementary-aged girl pushed the button for the tram to stop, then turned to her birdcage, which she had propped on a nearby seat. She exhaled and prepared herself with a nod at the window, at the floor. Inside were … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Inspiration, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Not a Drop of Worry

Posted on November 28, 2011 by

A tall father rushed to keep his tiny daughter under their umbrella, trying to watch the fellow pedestrians so as not to gouge them, and also trying to watch the girl he so clearly adored as she jumped over and … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Carry On

Posted on November 21, 2011 by

Several members of the Hajduk Split soccer team coalesced outside the airplane. Since the players were spry, many were the first out. They wore matching tracksuits. A few punched at each other, a few wandered toward the terminal in meditation … Continue reading →

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Dinner Shift

Posted on November 16, 2011 by

The man and small boy park their cart and are waiting to be of service. Early in the evening, they sit on a step outside a long-abandoned barbershop. Huge posters with the dangling heads of Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Observed, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments