Layla La La La
There are only four of us in the bus. The driver and I smile as I show him my pass, and I take a seat on the left side and … Continue reading
A New Season
“See that tree?” he said. I nodded “What color is it?” I knew he was leading me to an obvious answer that I couldn’t yet see. “Green” I said. “It’s … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
It’s Not So Very Cold Here
The young man is sheepish about the avocados he’s placed at the check out. He’s looking at the cashier as she finishes the prior transaction. As soon as she turns … Continue reading
Random Apple of Kindness
Our checkout woman has short, funky blonde hair and she’s been very unhappily scanning groceries for a ceaseless line of customers. I don’t blame her for being grumpy. I’m with … Continue reading
Traffic Dynamics
I like to imagine the shuttle bus from the airport to Taksim Square is a tour bus for my band. Of course, I’m in this band with about 40 people … Continue reading
Your Life as a Masterpiece
Not all are called to be artists in the specific sense of the term. Yet, as Genesis has it, all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting … Continue reading
You Know How To Whistle, Don’t You?
He can whistle like a dog’s squeaking chew toy. A few of the people sitting in the park look up and expect to see a dog. Yet, it is the … Continue reading
Bunnies.
“Hi bunny. Oh! Two! Hi other two bunnies!” Yes, I greeted the bunnies aloud on my evening walk. I smiled as I said it, and felt another presence near by. … Continue reading
Corner Pocket
It doesn’t seem fair to give too many details, since she didn’t know she’d be on the record. She challenged my friend to a game of pool, she challenged everyone … Continue reading
An Apple A Day
She’s been silently enjoying her lunch. Though she’s consuming soup she blows quietly to cool it, like whispering over a sleeping child, and she eats from a breadbowl, which makes … Continue reading
Do Envy the Oldsters
From this one may see that there is no reason to pity the old people. Instead, young people should envy them. It is true that the old have no opportunities, … Continue reading
Way Far Away
He is tiny in Timberland boots. He holds the orange plastic bat over his shoulder, as his father shows him. When Dad tosses the light, white plastic ball the little … Continue reading
Learning to be Cool
The father wants to take a photograph of his daughter at the large airport window, in front of the airplane they will take to Vienna. He’s removed his shoes and … Continue reading
For the Hard Days
“Too often,” [Bear Hayes] said, “we lose sight of just how much we have to be grateful for. And we must be grateful for our hardships. We must be more … Continue reading
The Anticipation of Memory
To a certain extent he took comfort in the inevitable and when they sat down to dinner he could already, a little, look upon her as a lovely fragment of … Continue reading
Shoulder to Shoulder
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
On the winding road down the Croatian coast, a couple gazes toward the turquoise sea one usually only glimpses in movies. She…
The Nod
Waiting in the Arrivals Lounge, they stand, they gaze toward the gate area. A woman in bright white shoes tugs at the hem of her shirt in the wait, adjusts … Continue reading
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 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
The Nice Thing About Strangers 