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
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
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
Yep, I Was Just About To Do That
She’s in elementary school, somewhere near the middle of it, perhaps. Her hair is bright blonde and neatly trimmed. She’s sitting by two older women at Mass, the one on … Continue reading
On Gratitude
It is an intensely long line at passport control. Flights keep arriving and people keep cutting. A tall man and I are both determined to stick to the vaguely orderly … Continue reading
To Be Human
The Good Neighbor looks beyond those external accidents, and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human, and therefore brothers. -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Strength to Love.
Five Reasons To Travel Alone
After several requests for tips or hints about solo travel, I’m breaking a bit from the usual quick tales for a Five List. Feel free to let me know if … Continue reading
Baseball, Fatherhood, and Peace
The little old man playing the organ has lost most of his hearing, so he plays by heart. He plays beautifully, sweetly. Organs always make me think of baseball games, … Continue reading
How To Get Rid of the Hiccups
She has the hiccups. Her husband wears a golf cap. They are extremely slow in shuffling to their Buick. The snow has turned to patches of slush, some just puddles … Continue reading
What the Heart Wants
“I’m weak when I fall in love,” she says. “I walk on air. I lose my appetite. I can’t think straight. I’m not one to be sensible. My heart has … Continue reading
Why My Nieces Get Books for Christmas (And My Eerie Paul Street Boys Coincidence)
The influence of early books is profound. So much of the future lies on the shelves… -Graham Greene. A Sort of Life. On my last trip to Europe, one of … Continue reading
There There
He is the man with dark, well-slicked hair and a perfectly pressed dress shirt–imposing even in the shuttle to the airplane. He helps a little old lady move her suitcase … Continue reading
Carried on the Wind
They wait at the crosswalk outside of the Echt Günstig, a pair of twenty-something women in t-shirts and skinny jeans. The woman with the very dark, very curly hair watches … Continue reading
A Light Change
Her daughter is in the back, buckled into a car seat, but facing forward and in the middle. The baby girl holds a blanket and rubs her fingers against the … Continue reading
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
The narrow street has two neighboring restaurants. In the first, a woman setting silverware yells at the man behind the register. Her coworker is presumably family. She squeals as he … 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
The Lone Star and her Husband
A man with a pink-striped polo shirt with a nonetheless tough disposition walks by the café window. He sees the sixty-something red-haired woman at a table inside. He breaks out … 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
The Nice Thing About Strangers 