The Rush
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 … Continue reading
Nice to Meet You
His mother always started up a conversation with the other people on the train. She was like an old bird dog just unpenned that raced, sniffing up every rock and … Continue reading
Pick Me Up
The Taksim bus station, night and day, hosts chaos. Buses line up and depart from four doubled-up lines and feature the soundtrack of air brakes and honking horns. Pedestrians, as … Continue reading
Still Here
He also felt an excited touched surprise that such a complex of emotions could still exist in such an old man. “Such an old man,” he thought to himself until … Continue reading
Volim, Ne Volim
It was a Sunday afternoon, not long after my arrival, and my pathetic-looking protein bar didn’t seem a nice option for a celebratory relocation meal. So despite the rain that … Continue reading
Clever Boating Term and a Link to the Lemon Tree
The sunset was a dusty purple and blue–like eye shadow colors that women only wore in magazines. I had been collecting the sunsets in amazement at their variety, and to … Continue reading
Packs of Blondes
Granted, it was a small sample, but from the Turkish TV dramas I’d watched in passive attempts to learn the language, all of the blonde women were evil. Friends in … Continue reading
Shoulder to Shoulder
On the winding road down the Croatian coast, a couple gazes toward the turquoise sea one usually only glimpses in movies. She sighs, ”We’re driving in the clouds.” But he … Continue reading
Misguided Tour
Waiting at the station, she made a quick phone call. “Hi, baby, hi, yeah. Your brother is here, he’s going to take me around today. But he doesn’t actually speak … Continue reading
Rock With You
The bus is running and the doors hang open, but not a single passenger climbs in. At other gates people impatiently crowd the doors, but at #3, everyone waits on … Continue reading
A Seat of One’s Own
A boy and his little brother–each armed with a sack of groceries–board the bus and rush to pile onto a single vacant seat. The younger boy’s brown eyes flash as … Continue reading
Do-Re-Mi S.O.S.
As bus merged onto the highway, leaving no chance for unhappy passengers to disembark, a group of Slovakian college students old enough to know better broke into song. The driver … Continue reading
The Lost Tourist as Herself
Mothers walking with daughters needed time to assess whether to engage strangers, especially strangers who smiled too much and managed to turn up lost just past the auto repair shops … Continue reading
M’s Party Trick
M. is a shy Peter Pan. Reddish-brown hair, chestnut eyes, trim in the macho-black button-up shirts of his fellow Turkish waiters, he stands with his hands behind his back while … Continue reading
Get In Someone’s Way
Pen at the ready, the old man attempted to fill out his check, clutching the checkbook in one hand and scrawling with the other, so as not to hold up … Continue reading
Totally Not Making This Up
The salesman gazes and grins at a tourist sitting alone in the outdoor café. Her chair points toward his shop. To investigate him, she looks across the center line of … Continue reading
The Shared Eyebrow and the Runaway Tablet
He has a blue jogging suit and winter coat, she wears leggings as pants with a ski jacket. They stand close while waiting for the plane. She tries to hand … Continue reading
A Love Story in Eight Bus Stops
This is perhaps the only time in recorded history when a woman has given a double-take to a man in a beige running suit and fanny pack. He boards the … Continue reading
Carry On
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 … Continue reading
The Guy in Sunglasses
He was his sunglasses. He could see perfectly well, but these were as much a part of his outfit as his long black ponytail. Reasonably, he wore the sunglasses while … Continue reading
The Nice Thing About Strangers 