Smile Like You’re Home
Outside the meeting to cover the Dos and Don’ts of volunteering at the asylum seekers center, I feel an urge to dash away. I am always terrified at the thought … Continue reading
Happy
Tomorrow I will read books, eat a care package of Mom’s ginger cookies and have my next birthday. I’ve got a stack of books waiting to be chosen, but I’ll … Continue reading
To See the Small Things
One never took the time to savor the details; one said: another day, but always with the hidden knowledge that each day was unique and final, that there never would … Continue reading
Cat Scratch Traffic
She squints at the stop sign with the groggy look of 6:00 am drivers. Watching for a break in traffic, the woman suddenly comes alive. She jolts. The car rolls … Continue reading
Breathtaking
At the symphony, the tall woman loses focus during Strauss. When she returns from intermission, she seems determined to try again. A row of men who resemble retired diplomats watch … Continue reading
Brotherly Love
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
He tumbles, his small souvenir fez cap flying. The boy and his younger sister had been running down the cobblestones by the…
The Fence, The Dog, The Gasp.
There’s a creature sniffing in the bushes, this is clear to the small girl with a set of freshly coiled braids. She tugs at her pink backback on her walk … Continue reading
Table Manners
Is it raining? At an outdoor café in Novi Sad under an expansive web of umbrella-like-awnings, I wait for a slice of pizza. The tent above is tapped like there … Continue reading
The Beast.
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
After dinner the small boy stood at the far side of the lawn with his back to the street. He focused on…
The Church Flirt
The church is freezing, though it isn’t particularly cold outside. Suddenly even attending Mass seems an exceptionally pious act. The tourists walking through blow steam from their lips. They clasp … Continue reading
Mess Things Up.
After all, there is nothing but failure. If at least we have the will to fail we make progress. If we give up each time before we have started we … Continue reading
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
Ölüdeniz, Turkey. He was his sunglasses. He could see perfectly well, but these were as much a part of his outfit as…
My First Trip to Europe Anxiety. Part II.
Bus and tram trip from the airport through Prague. An old Army barracks being renovated into a mall, a KFC. Lots of graffiti, signs–I see them and the words mean … Continue reading
My First Trip To Europe Anxiety. Part I.
Glory. I’ve uncovered a notebook from my first trip to Europe six years ago. I was absolutely terrified! Reading this reminds me how new I have become in the last … Continue reading
Nana, did you have any idea?
Not a day of strangers, I spent the afternoon with my niece Addyson (yes, that Addyson). My mother’s birthday gift was a surprise on her return from Oregon. We cleaned … Continue reading
Thank You For Searching, You Nice Strangers
One of my favorite things is to see the search terms that bring people to the blog. I wanted to share my ten favorites. Many made me laugh, but still, … Continue reading
Concerto for Cello and Springs
An infant boy in red-footed-pajamas races down the moving sidewalk. His curly locks bounce as he bounds. Bystanders cringe as he nears the end, his father breaking into a sprint … Continue reading
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
This is perhaps the only time in recorded history when a woman has given a double-take to a man in a beige…
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
Iceland. Or The Moon.
How foolish we were to be afraid of loneliness. -Graham Greene. The Heart of the Matter.
The Nice Thing About Strangers 