Split Scenes
The teenage girl wears a tshirt that reads: “Love My Smile,” but she isn’t smiling. She stands next to an ad for shoes where none of the models are smiling. … Continue reading
Groove, Death, Italians
“Groove is in the Heart” is on the radio and the Italian tourists are certain that we’re all going to die. For me, the pace and aggressive passing of Croatian … Continue reading
Follow The Turtle
I’d lost track of how many bridges I’d crossed, which was not my first mistake, but one among many. I thought I had been retracing my steps, but must have … Continue reading
And Are You Happy (As You Wait)?
Sometimes your heart’s desire hung from the highest branch of the highest tree and you could never climb high enough to reach it. Or else you just waited patiently and … Continue reading
Consolation
I love that if you’re writing in a notebook in public, everyone thinks you might be a spy. A spy of sorts, I suppose, but not a very glamorous one, … Continue reading
In and Out of Love
All this time you are doing important things like falling in and out of love–things which broaden and deepen and strengthen the character more surely than anything else. I can … Continue reading
Sisters.
As they come down the isle of the airplane, it can be assessed that they are likely sisters, both about five feet tall, one with black hair the other lighter. … Continue reading
Hoşçakal to Life as You Know It.
You’ve thrown away your chance for a normal life…This is what makes you such an exceptional person. -Orhan Pamuk. Snow.
The Company You Keep
It’s a good time for the lonely. Wear a Bluetooth headset at the market, and you may speak to yourself with impunity while hunting for just the right melon. Your … Continue reading
Making Arrangements for Another Adventure
Now I’m inclined to think it was the inevitable outcome of my years in Europe. Almost all the people who’ve had most effect on me I seem to have met … Continue reading
Be Cool
It takes a while before he realizes he’s on the wrong side of the waiting area fence. He’s in front of it. Dozens of other people wait obediently behind the … Continue reading
Already Packed
We carry within ourselves the direction our lives will take. Within ourselves burn the timeless, fateful stars. -Antal Szerb. Journey by Moonlight.
When All The German Fell Out Of My Head
In every tunnel, because the darkness turns the windows into mirrors, people in the train gaze at their own reflection. They pose, pat their hair, examine their own eyes. As … Continue reading
For A Rainy Day
Love and trust and gentleness between two humans is rare. Love is rare and the expression of love is rare. I am grateful to you. -Iris Murdoch. The Green Knight.
Sundance Kid
The shaggy-haired boy has stopped his bicycle to watch a man on a machine unearthing blocks of cement. The boy plays with the strings from the hood of his sweatshirt. … Continue reading
Pool Rules
In the apartment complex swimming pool, two women have the expanse to themselves. They hold the wall and kick, stretching their legs, exercising between observations about the day. Their graying … Continue reading
A Pledge to Curl Up With More Books
“Always I find when I begin to write there is one character who obstinately will not come alive. There is nothing psychologically false about him, but he sticks, he has … Continue reading
A Small Winter Story in July
Phillip is so tiny for his age. Even among the Kindergarteners, he is miniscule. Heading out to play, he is about to wear his house-shoes outdoors. The kids are bundling … Continue reading
Should We Be Taking Advice From Cookies?
Opened this fortune the other day with a bit of a jolt! 🙂 Have a nice weekend! The word happiness was often used, although since they were all in their … Continue reading
Another Love Story Where Nothing Happens
He is hustling across the U-Bahn station, but as he passes the elevator, he slows his pace. Then he shifts his path to head for the stairs. There is a … Continue reading
The Nice Thing About Strangers 