Icy Conditions
In the middle of Pennsylvania, after driving through sleet and ice for five hours, it is a relief to smile at the two older men sitting for coffee at the … Continue reading
New Year, New Adventure
I’ve enjoyed the holidays, though I found few strangers. I’ve been spending time with family, childhood friends, neighbors who have seen me grow up, and my sweet nieces who make … Continue reading
My Journey Home
TSA airport security in O’Hare is making me cry. I receive glares, short-tempered orders, eye rolls, and blank stares. After twenty hours of travel, I have tears in my eyes … Continue reading
Random Apple of Kindness
Our checkout woman has short, funky blonde hair and she’s been very unhappily scanning groceries for a ceaseless line of customers. I don’t blame her for being grumpy. I’m with … Continue reading
On Your Way
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
You know, my dear child, that one cannot find peace in word or in pleasure, in the world or in a convent,…
Writer’s Blah
It’s not been Writer’s Block, but Writer’s Blah. I’ve found many Nice Things lately, but the stories are giving me fits. It’s like I keep pulling burned cookies from the … Continue reading
The Fence, The Dog, The Gasp.
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
There’s a creature sniffing in the bushes, this is clear to the small girl with a set of freshly coiled braids. She…
A Heartening Tip for Homebodies
Travel? One need only exist to travel. I go from day to day, as from station to station, in the train of my body or my destiny, leaning out over … Continue reading
You’re a Stray and That’s Okay
The woman proudly marches with a designer purse and sunglasses, but she also totes a plastic bag of cat food. She stops along the sidewalk to give a handful of … Continue reading
The Biblio-Commuter
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
The man’s briefcase lies across his legs like a desk and he rests his elbows on it. The U-Bahn stops, but he…
Inheritance
I inherited from my father his way of looking at things and some of his integrity, and from my mother her dissatisfaction with the mess the world is in and … Continue reading
Traffic Dynamics
I like to imagine the shuttle bus from the airport to Taksim Square is a tour bus for my band. Of course, I’m in this band with about 40 people … Continue reading
A Sentimental Sunset in Montenegro
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
In his saner moments he would have been ashamed to respond so strongly to the familiar, banal and utterly meaningless colours of…
Over Your Shoulder
Brno is a city that nearly evaded all vowels. You can see the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul straightaway upon arrival. It leaps up and towers above everything. From … Continue reading
Meet Me in St. Louis
It did not take him long to act. Often nowadays people do not know what to do and so live out their lives as if they were waiting for some … Continue reading
I Want To Tell You Something Beautiful.
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
After a few weeks practicing my Turkish with various strangers, I’m pleased with my progress–but overwhelmed by how much I still have…
Wandering and Mispronunciation
A friend asked me, “What did you do in Krakow?” I smiled to myself because my chief activity was wandering. I walked for hours in random directions. I sat in … Continue reading
Resolution
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
“Beware of pickpocketers while praying.” I pass the sign in the entryway to the Church of the Infant of Prague. I keep…
The Delight of Responsibility
He’s overjoyed. The small boy has been placed in charge of the hose at the car wash, and he’s drenching the hood of the family sedan. Straining to keep the … Continue reading
There There
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
He is the man with dark, well-slicked hair and a perfectly pressed dress shirt–imposing even in the shuttle to the airplane. He…
The Nice Thing About Strangers 