Cheer up, Buttercup.
A little girl with curly blonde hair perches in her stroller with a scowl. Her mother navigates toward their departure gate, and the girl’s lips are twisted, her brow gathered, … Continue reading
Wave To Mama
A mother shuffles away from the school bus stop after her daughter has boarded. She moves like it is exceptionally early in the morning, though the sun is up and … Continue reading
Thank You For Your Service
He ambled through the aisle of the convenience store. His hat read “Veteran: World War II.” I beamed at him, as I do at most elderly people, and he stopped … Continue reading
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
She parks in the first spot outside Arby’s, and he waits patiently in the passenger side, readying his oxygen tank as she…
In-Flight Entertainment
The flight was half Coloradoans catching the first leg of a trip to the US, and half Icelanders heading home after a tour in Germany. I had been trying to … Continue reading
Watch Your Step
Thank you Lord that I spotted the three little old ladies in their long skirts and head scarves recoiling in horror at the prospect of riding an airport escalator. Made … Continue reading
Saturday-Ja-Vu: Shimmy in the Suburbs
Heading home, I began to worry that I might run out of stories–or that my stories may not be as interesting when they all took place in English. I stocked … Continue reading
Saturday-Ja-Vu: Things to do in Indiana
Even if you can’t get to a keg lifting contest like this one, you might enjoy a trip to the movies this weekend. I’m Saturday-Ja-Vu-ing a story from guest blogger … Continue reading
It Takes One to Waltz
A boy in a hooded sweatshirt tips back his generic energy drink, then pauses under the illuminated sign for a dance studio. In the window, a display of streamers and … Continue reading
Grasping at Grandmas
I’d been on a mission: to get old Turkish ladies to like me. I love elderly people, but I wasn’t getting a warm reception when I beamed at the grandmas. … Continue reading
Palms
Two small boys track the line of workers trimming the palm trees. The men in green jumpsuits stare up at the man-lift. The boys nod at each other with tight-lipped smiles … Continue reading
A Place to Tie Your Wishes: Affection and Cargo
A line of tour buses waited outside the leather goods store. As tourists wandered in to admire coats and boots despite the 100 degree heat, their drivers scattered out–smoking, standing … Continue reading
Macho Maço Man
He struts wide, pacing to both sides of the sidewalk as he walks. He thrusts his arms out, adjusting his button-up shirt on his frame, propelling himself forward with a … Continue reading
Seaside Sobbing
At the park, the family waits for their turn on a swing. The huge contraption has two benches that face each other so the family can all sit together–knees to … Continue reading
Yes, I Believe We’ve Already Met
I get a kick out of meeting someone who is a cliché embodied. It produces a pleasant feeling of a world completed, of everything arranging itself without any of my … Continue reading
Morning Routine: Vienna
A woman on her balcony turns her back to the street and raises her arms in a wide V overhead. She stretches at her reflection in the balcony windows. She … Continue reading
Can I Get This To-Go?
So sorry! I collected one really amazing moment of life in Austria this morning. You’ll have to wait until Wednesday, though. (There will be jumping jacks involved.) In the meantime, … Continue reading
Hats Off
He tumbles, his small souvenir fez cap flying. The boy and his younger sister had been running down the cobblestones by the Archaeology Museum in Istanbul, dashing on ahead of … Continue reading
Baby’s First Swim
The mother slowly hands her infant to his father, who waits in the shallow end of the hotel swimming pool. The baby wears a diaper and a cloth head wrap … Continue reading
The ShoeDown
I believe we call this, The Competition. Repair or replace? From a shoe cart in Istanbul to a cowboy boot cobbler in Colorado Springs, it’s been quite a year already. … Continue reading
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