The Nice Thing About Strangers
Creative Non-Fiction Short Stories. :) Travel, Oldsters, Love, and Compassion.
The Tightrope Retiree
She’s tiny under her fuzzy red hat and scarf. She’s come out into the chilly weather to inspect her sidewalk. She steps like she’s on a high wire, one foot carefully placed ahead of her. The days are so sunny that the snow and ice melt into a soft slush. Yet, by the afternoon the water freezes in the slightest bit of shade. It’s deceptively sunny, in fact, but a winter with sunshine isn’t so terribly bad. Small stuffed animals line the ledges of her windows; she likes snowmen, fake flowers, and family portraits. She is taking small steps to get to a trash can full of salt. It seems a delightful task as she casts the small white pieces along her walkway. She sows the salt like a child with confetti, smiling to herself as she moves mindfully back indoors. –Vermont
The Nice Thing About Strangers 
what a beautiful picture you have painted
Thank you! I just wanted to hug her, but instead I thought it might be more prudent just to write her story.
Paige
i see this building when i watch ‘The Bridge’. love that show.
I’ll have to look up the show. I’m a bit outside of popular culture these days. 🙂
Paige
Bloody awesome I can just picture her
I think I know her…And – have you been in Malmoe without telling me!!??? (It is Turning Torso, isn’t it!)
My brother and I went there back in…hmm…2006 or 2007? My father’s family is from Malmo! Yes, it’s precisely that building, and it was a highlight of our very brief stay there. We also had a breakfast so wonderful that it still brings us to tears. 😀
Paige
I remember you telling me you had relatives from Sweden, but I thought you had been visiting recently…which I would never have forgiven you not telling me…!
Hi Paige,
Hope you are well. Wonderful page.
Can you please contact me via email.
Thank you.
Merhaba Yilmaz Bey, I’d love to get in touch, but I don’t have your email address. If you’d like to write to me, you can reach me at: pmjerickson@gmail.com.
Kolay gelsin–
Paige