Men
It is a Turkish barber shop in Vienna. A lean, dark-eyed man smokes a cigarette, even as the barber lathers his face for a shave. The barber works around the … Continue reading
But You Can Drive Something Foreign…
For the very notion of homeland, with all its emotional power, is bound up with the relative brevity of our life, which allows us too little time to become attached … Continue reading
Fashionably Saved
The tiny girl with the Louise Brooks haircut watches herself in the window’s reflection. She addresses her father behind her in a set of seats–giggling that she can see him … Continue reading
One Giant Leap for Ein Kleines Kind
The plastic bag is in the top of the tree. Three stories up. This distance means little to the two foot child under the tree, leaping with his hands up, … Continue reading
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
The pair meets in the Kültürpark, a space filled with palm trees, joggers, idle folks napping on benches, doing Sudoku on benches,…
Book While You Can.
In fact most artists recognize their own weaknesses far better than the critics do. Only naturally there is no place for the public parade of this knowledge. If one is … Continue reading
I’ve Been Everywhere, Man
Two boys in shoes unsuited for the crisp day stand seemingly unaccompanied in the Vienna U-Bahn. There are several potential mother-types seated nearby, perhaps taking a break from supervision while … Continue reading
Weight Weight…Don’t Tell Me
Waiting for a three a.m. flight after their vacation, the couple weigh themselves on an airport baggage scale. She giggles before stepping up on the square silver platform. Her husband … Continue reading
Potential (and Shelf Life)
Over there [in America] you think of nothing but becoming President of the United States some day. Potentially every man is Presidential timber. -Henry Miller. Tropic of Cancer.
Clock Watching
The shuttle heading north is supposed to leave the airport at 8:05 pm. The elderly pair in the front seat wait. The driver leaves the door open and the shuttle … Continue reading
Boarding Pass
I’ve stocked up some new stories. The trouble, as usual, will be inspecting my attempts to take photos of what I have seen. For me, the stories leap, but the … Continue reading
Achtung: Puderzucker
A man at a crosswalk unsheathes a freshly purchased chocolate croissant. He is exceedingly tall, but boyish in his impatience, but adult enough to be wary of the powdered sugar … Continue reading
On the Path, Nonetheless.
Writing is the only activity which makes me feel “only I could produce this.” Whether or not “this” is of any use is of course the crucial question to which … Continue reading
Fishing With the Straßenbahn-Netz
A man sweeps the sidewalk in front of the hotel, casting gravel into a diminishing snowbank just past the curb. He wears a purple sweater over a white shirt, navy … Continue reading
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
I was trudging home from an English lesson with my astounding student, an asylum seeker and former child soldier from Sierra Leone…
Go and Look
“All the critic can tell you with regard to Titian’s Entombment of Christ, perhaps of all the pictures in the world, is to go and look at it. What else … Continue reading
The Well-Behaved
The baby has more hair than most of Economy Class. Her mother totes the tot in a carrier over her front, like a nervous tourist who carries their backpack over … Continue reading
Refresh
Sorry to be remiss, but I’m on a trip. Taking a little time to refresh both the spirit and the story reserves. Slated for next week: a baby with some … Continue reading
Someone to Watch Over Me
The lady behind me at the stoplight has a very tired looking Guardian Angel figurine hanging from her rearview mirror. For good reason. Since pausing, she’s been engaging in an … Continue reading
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