Saints and Selfies
Every few minutes the caretaker shushes the visitors. They go quiet for a moment, then keep on talking. It doesn’t disturb me as I kneel, watching young men walking cautiously … Continue reading
Prints
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
It’s the Department of Motor Vehicles, so no one is really crossing any items off their Bucket List around here. The lack…
On Dogs and Tough Guys
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
Photo courtesy of Brittany Rolle. The slim, green-eyed teenaged boy wears the now-typical skinny jeans, flashy shoes, and puffy black coat. He…
The Light in the Fridge
Of course, I’m chatting with the driver of the shuttle from the parking lot to the Boston airport terminals. The minute I walked up to the bus he said, “Look … Continue reading
How To Get Rid of the Hiccups
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
She has the hiccups. Her husband wears a golf cap. They are extremely slow in shuffling to their Buick. The snow has…
Hoşçakal to Life as You Know It.
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
You’ve thrown away your chance for a normal life…This is what makes you such an exceptional person. -Orhan Pamuk. Snow. Near Orhan…
Hana and Sarajevo
I hope you won’t mind a poem. This tale is attached to the photo from Wednesday’s post, but I couldn’t find a better way to explain the scene than in … Continue reading
Every Meal
With this feast I drank most of a bottle of Muscadet out of my modest ‘cellar’. I ate and drank slowly as one should (cook fast, eat slowly) and without … Continue reading
Stealth
The little boy entertains himself with a paper airplane. People with boarding passes wait on a flight that’s full-sized, but sit with quiet smiles and watch the boy’s take-offs in … Continue reading
The Ladies of Wifi
In the Italian restaurant overlooking a busy bus station and the remarkable Hungarian parliament building, three women exclaim, “Hotspot? Hotspot?” in unison. The waiter gives them the password and they … Continue reading
Livin’ on a Prayer
He doesn’t speak English, but he speaks Bon Jovi. He wears a black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a necklace with some sort of animal tooth or … Continue reading
On Gratitude
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
It is an intensely long line at passport control. Flights keep arriving and people keep cutting. A tall man and I are…
Compassion
She chooses her clothes carefully, this seems clear. Her shoes are leather, the hat on her head is fashionable, the hair underneath well-kept. She is staring ahead and muttering, shaking … Continue reading
To Slow Down, Change Locations
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
He wanted to slow life up and he quite rightly felt that by traveling he would make time move with less rapidity.…
Super
For a 6 am flight, there is a nice camaraderie in the airport. People seem too groggy to have their defenses up. We trade bleary-eyed glances. We stifle or release … Continue reading
The Tightrope Retiree
She’s tiny under her fuzzy red hat and scarf. She’s come out into the chilly weather to inspect her sidewalk. She steps like she’s on a high wire, one foot … Continue reading
A Place to Tie Your Wishes: Affection and Cargo
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
A line of tour buses waited outside the leather goods store. As tourists wandered in to admire coats and boots despite the…
It’s Not So Very Cold Here
The young man is sheepish about the avocados he’s placed at the check out. He’s looking at the cashier as she finishes the prior transaction. As soon as she turns … Continue reading
For Flyover Country
Oh, America, how I began to love your country! What miles of silences God has made in you for contemplation! If only people realized what all your mountains and forests … Continue reading
Red Light
Stopped in traffic, I may or may not be listening to 80s music and dancing in my seat. (Okay, I am.) I glance around for witnesses and find a bulldog … Continue reading
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