Novi Sad Part II: Chuck Norris Drowns the Ocean
My hosts take me to the hill by the Clock Tower. We pause. They confer and the beautiful girl sighs at them, and asks me if I would mind drinking … Continue reading
Novi Sad, Part I
Most of the girls in town have long, straight-cut bangs that make a horizon over their eyebrows. Most of the girls hold cigarettes in their unsmiling mouths. They pout like … Continue reading
If The Shoe Rips
There’s a Norman Rockwell-styled advertisement featuring a cobbler diligently crafting some durable soles. He is sketched in a moment of peering up from his trade to twinkle at the artist. … Continue reading
Pretty Much Every Love Story
She wanted things to be somehow as they had been, or as they had never quite been but might have been, or might be if only things were different which … Continue reading
Wednesday Strategy Session
Some people have a great dream and don’t accomplish it. Still others have no dreams and likewise don’t accomplish them. –Fernando Pessoa. The Book of Disquiet (immortalized in Lisbon graffiti)
Dreaming Unfinished Stories (Vienna Edition)
There were so many stories to write about that Miss Willerton never could think of one. That was always the hardest part of writing a story, she always said. She … Continue reading
Visas and Patience
He took the window seat and buckled himself in. His adult daughter shuffled belongings around the overhead compartment and gave commentary on her discomfort. He nodded at her words, not … Continue reading
Lawn Pilot
Still only one-third of the way through his job–navigating a riding lawnmower over two acres in front of the Lutheran church–he delighted in shredding each swath. He chose a bright … Continue reading
Locally Owned and Operated
In the tire shop: “Well, it’s a good car, you know, I do enjoy driving it.” The men chitchat, standing and pacing between the displays: cut-outs of the Michelin man, … Continue reading
Double Date
The couple ducks into the restaurant–the doorways give them plenty of clearance, but they bow anyway. The host shows them to a table and the woman takes the chair facing … 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
Uncanny
A full-blooded American, she was…She was routinely kind to other people, assumed they had good intentions; she smiled at strangers; it mattered to her what they thought and felt. She … 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
Guest Post by Steven Lincoln: Know Your Audience
He sat in the center of the third row, the person nearest the screen in the movie theater. It was a weekday, and he was attending a matinee of the … Continue reading
This is Grimm
The movies are onto the search, but they screw it up. The search always ends in despair. They like to show a fellow coming to himself in a strange place–but … Continue reading
Volim, Ne Volim
It was a Sunday afternoon, not long after my arrival, and my pathetic-looking protein bar didn’t seem a nice option for a celebratory relocation meal. So despite the rain that … Continue reading
Cross Over
Maybe it was the impact of the sky and the water, but even the narrow road had its charm. Driving the curves, or walking on the crumbling shoulder that grew … Continue reading
Rock With You
The bus is running and the doors hang open, but not a single passenger climbs in. At other gates people impatiently crowd the doors, but at #3, everyone waits on … Continue reading
Get In Someone’s Way
Pen at the ready, the old man attempted to fill out his check, clutching the checkbook in one hand and scrawling with the other, so as not to hold up … Continue reading
The Shared Eyebrow and the Runaway Tablet
He has a blue jogging suit and winter coat, she wears leggings as pants with a ski jacket. They stand close while waiting for the plane. She tries to hand … Continue reading
The Nice Thing About Strangers 