Anywhere
A stranger: the word meant nothing to her; there was no place in the world where she felt a stranger. She circulated the dregs of the cheap port in her … Continue reading
The Day We Flew a Kite, Read Books, Hid Under the Lilacs…
I spent the day with my oldest niece. We flew the butterfly kite she got for Easter. Both of us kept breaking into the tune from Mary Poppins, “Let’s go … Continue reading
Get It Back
“Happiness, that’s what life’s about, it’s your job to be happy, not to spread gloom and despair all round. Don’t be so selfish. Get your courage back, get your narcissism … Continue reading
The 400th Post: Something So Perfect.
The fact that I am publishing the 400th blog post is totally amazing to me. This all started as a way to sort through notes from my travels. Since then, … Continue reading
Hip
A little old man offers to take their picture. He’s exiting the restaurant with his wife. Outside, a woman is snapping a shot of a very tall man who just … Continue reading
Your Easter Dresses, Love Grandma.
Grandma is buying the girls a pair of Easter dresses–the fluffier the better. Her two granddaughters stand close and grin. They love the dresses; Grandma adores the dresses. One is … Continue reading
The City of Strangers
He had this voice so deep it rumbled along the back beams of the bench we were sharing. I arrived very early for an appointment and thought I should sit … Continue reading
So, Thank You.
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
Flirting with the narrator was a sure way into the story. He must have known this, though certainly half her age. He…
Office Decoration and The Pencil
Pnin purchased for three dollars a faded, once Turkish rug. With the help of the janitor he screwed onto the side of the desk a pencil-sharpener–that highly satisfying, highly philosophical … Continue reading
There’s No Crying in the Vienna Airport
I’m crying in the airport. Just returning from a trip, feeling a bit overwhelmed with heartbreak and worry, it is nice to be back in familiar Vienna. I know how … Continue reading
The Opportunity of Everyone
For the time being, by reflecting on what exactly the culture of human cooperation is, a culture that has, at its foundation, the idea that the other person has much … Continue reading
In the Standings
Granted it is a baseball card exhibit. For a New York City museum guard, it must have been different from the ceaseless Picassos. The cards feature baseball players from a … Continue reading
Refreshing
A set of parents wrangle their two sons near the checkout for the Burlington Coat Factory. While Mom makes final selections and pays, the tallest boy keeps moving toward the … Continue reading
Finding Your Field
Life is whatever we conceive it to be. For the farmer who considers his field to be everything, the field is an empire. For a Caesar whose empire is never … Continue reading
How To Be Clever
The man who writes very little always has the advantage over the one who writes a lot, since his every phrase is carefully constructed; just as the person who stays … Continue reading
En Garde
Runaways from a political rally, two helium balloons clap together. They are entangled above an intersection, caught in a wire on the side of an apartment. A man in a … Continue reading
On The (This Isn’t A) Road
Trying to get back to the chapel, I find a sign that points vaguely at two different roads. Perhaps it’s Robert Frost’s eyebrow-raise that points me to the red rocky … Continue reading
This Seeing of the World
But he went on to reflect that he had done very wisely to pull up stakes and come abroad; this seeing of the world was a very interesting thing. He … Continue reading
Love Your Neighbor (Coffee Helps)
The man in the seat in front of her is restless during the flight. Watching movies, shifting in his seat, opening a book, closing it, writing something, stopping. She’s just … Continue reading
Out with the Girls
I feel that I am growing old, I feel lonely and in need of the support of old friends, in which (in my case) rather small battalion I certainly count … Continue reading
The Nice Thing About Strangers 