Neighborly
The eleven year old girl on the bus moves over to sit in front of her mother. This way she is now in the row across the aisle from me, … Continue reading
They Were Too Shiny Anyway
Outside Target, mothers previewed for their toddlers and pre-schoolers the agenda for the shopping trip. The children who were old enough replied, asked questions, such as: “But where are we … Continue reading
To Pass the Time
Among the many reasons I like Croatian bus drivers is that they will carry on conversations with you knowing full well you don’t speak the language. A test of your … Continue reading
The Smartphone Slaughter of Small Talk
This was a job for the large round table in the sportsbar. The Grandmother seated herself between the mother-type woman and her pretty granddaughter, whose smooth face was turned down … Continue reading
Safe and Sorry
An elderly woman in a headscarf lined up the start of YMCA, arms outstretched, but there was no one else to finish the chorus. Preparing for the 2 am flight … Continue reading
Business Man or Poor Man
Two Australian girls reacted with alarm that their protein bars hadn’t melted in the heat. Outside the Dubrovnik airport, waiting on a bus to the city center, the girls stared … Continue reading
Carpe Diem, Handsome Farmer
He had been handsome when younger; he remained handsome, but had reached an age where people gazed at him like his days were numbered. He shuffled down the narrow hallway … Continue reading
Fearless Zumba Septuagenarians
Zumba is like a cruel trick on the elderly ladies in the sparsely populated fitness room: an eight-dollar drop-in fee for overly complicated dance steps and music featuring figures such … 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
Window Shopping
No need to rush to the airport, two business men opt to take a coffee in the lobby of their hotel, where all of the signs are in English and … Continue reading
Unsuspecting
In a row of souvenir shops by the Hagia Sofia, a tiny girl with blonde curls wanders ahead of her mother, who has been enjoying the distractingly flirtatious salesmen. Both … Continue reading
Tram Nap
The Kabataş tram sighs through an intersection and a boy stops short to let it pass. He waits with some annoyance, until he discovers something in the last car. A … Continue reading
The Nice Thing About Strangers 