Among The Many Things I Can’t Say in Hungarian
In a Budapest shopping mall, I spot a boy with one bleached white eyebrow. The other is dark like his hair, like his eyes, like his gaze. I begin to … Continue reading
The Biblio-Commuter
The man’s briefcase lies across his legs like a desk and he rests his elbows on it. The U-Bahn stops, but he does not. He inhales, sits up straight, leans … Continue reading
In Bloom.
She had no expression ready for so direct a glance and with a sense of failure she fluttered and dropped her eyes. She wondered if she were blushing. She had … Continue reading
Double Czech
The Czech woman forgot her hearing aids. She is supposed to be doing the Reading at Mass, but there are two options in the Lectionary and, “oh dear, oh my, … Continue reading
Guest Post: Rachael Hanel. We’ll Be The Last Ones To Let You Down.
Thanks so much to Paige for allowing me to guest post on her fabulous blog! If you’re like me, you are inspired by Paige’s adventurous travels. If you’re like me, … Continue reading
My Shaky Sarajevo Notes
So there is such a thing as too much Bosnian coffee, and I have sipped on beyond it. Tiny cup number four clatters in my hand—three were invitations at various … Continue reading
Men
It is a Turkish barber shop in Vienna. A lean, dark-eyed man smokes a cigarette, even as the barber lathers his face for a shave. The barber works around the … Continue reading
But You Can Drive Something Foreign…
For the very notion of homeland, with all its emotional power, is bound up with the relative brevity of our life, which allows us too little time to become attached … Continue reading
Fashionably Saved
The tiny girl with the Louise Brooks haircut watches herself in the window’s reflection. She addresses her father behind her in a set of seats–giggling that she can see him … Continue reading
One Giant Leap for Ein Kleines Kind
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, … Continue reading
Book While You Can.
In fact most artists recognize their own weaknesses far better than the critics do. Only naturally there is no place for the public parade of this knowledge. If one is … Continue reading
I’ve Been Everywhere, Man
Two boys in shoes unsuited for the crisp day stand seemingly unaccompanied in the Vienna U-Bahn. There are several potential mother-types seated nearby, perhaps taking a break from supervision while … Continue reading
Weight Weight…Don’t Tell Me
Waiting for a three a.m. flight after their vacation, the couple weigh themselves on an airport baggage scale. She giggles before stepping up on the square silver platform. Her husband … Continue reading
Potential (and Shelf Life)
Over there [in America] you think of nothing but becoming President of the United States some day. Potentially every man is Presidential timber. -Henry Miller. Tropic of Cancer.
Clock Watching
The shuttle heading north is supposed to leave the airport at 8:05 pm. The elderly pair in the front seat wait. The driver leaves the door open and the shuttle … Continue reading
On the Path, Nonetheless.
Writing is the only activity which makes me feel “only I could produce this.” Whether or not “this” is of any use is of course the crucial question to which … Continue reading
Fishing With the Straßenbahn-Netz
A man sweeps the sidewalk in front of the hotel, casting gravel into a diminishing snowbank just past the curb. He wears a purple sweater over a white shirt, navy … Continue reading
Go and Look
“All the critic can tell you with regard to Titian’s Entombment of Christ, perhaps of all the pictures in the world, is to go and look at it. What else … Continue reading
The Well-Behaved
The baby has more hair than most of Economy Class. Her mother totes the tot in a carrier over her front, like a nervous tourist who carries their backpack over … Continue reading
Someone to Watch Over Me
The lady behind me at the stoplight has a very tired looking Guardian Angel figurine hanging from her rearview mirror. For good reason. Since pausing, she’s been engaging in an … Continue reading
The Nice Thing About Strangers 