Mrs. P
Today I went to an assisted living home to visit my first grade teacher. We reunited after over 30 years. The facility is in a lovely location with views of … Continue reading
Birdwatching
“Tavuskuşu var, tavuskuşu var!” The little girl is squealing over the presence of peacocks in a small aviary near the restaurant. Her calling spooks four white doves, who flap into … Continue reading
Golden
They sit on the bench with their ice cream cones. She swings her legs as she sits. He hunches under his baseball cap. Without comment, they watch a man who … Continue reading
A Nice Lady
At a gas station in Missouri, two hitchhikers approach me while I am filling up. They are in their 20s, with backpacks and a cardboard sign. They ask if I’m … Continue reading
The Reading
I have an awesome story from a gas station today, but I am absolutely exhausted. Nothing I am typing is legible–so you know that’s bad news. This week, I wrangled … Continue reading
Blameless
Passing the produce market, a woman in a pink coat walks alongside her preschool child, and calls over her shoulder to her own mother who has stopped at the tempting … Continue reading
So when you’re out to dinner and…
As their parents sat at the table and talked, the children kept running around, hiding underneath and shouting at one another. These people’s happiness pleased Mevlut. Human beings were made … Continue reading
The Vocation
As people merge into a line to board our airplane, a Grandmother steps up and then steps back. She asks the boy behind me if he and I are waiting … Continue reading
Street Charades
The man is in a beret and a sweater-jacket with a high neck and a vaguely American Southwest pattern. It gets my attention because I’m in Budapest, Hungary, quite a … Continue reading
To Sit and To Read
It’s making an elderly woman nuts that I won’t sit in the S-Bahn train to the Vienna airport. She nodded to the seat across from her. She recommended it, offered … Continue reading
The Day Tour
The family traveled from San Diego to New York, New York to Istanbul, Istanbul to Kayseri, and then collapsed into a hotel room for only few hours before heading out … Continue reading
Where the Heart Is
Someone has let loose a dozen small red, glittering hearts made of some sort of plastic sheeting. They might be an accompaniment to a St. Valentine’s Day package, but I’m … Continue reading
God Bless Darlene! :)
I’m excited to share an interview I did with blogger, adventurer, and all around lovely person, Darlene. 🙂 She asked me some questions about my book, my travels, and my … Continue reading
Be Nice To Yourself (As Well)
It’s more like: if you can think of times in your life that you’ve treated people with extraordinary decency and love, and pure uninterested concern, just because they were valuable … Continue reading
A Puzzle
A young man with a shark-tooth necklace, a skateboard, and a black wrist band sits in the Metro and stares into space. One stop later, he reaches into his backpack, … Continue reading
From Glen to Glen
Between the flute, the violin, and the piano, the melody comes together and I recognize it in a few notes. I seem to be the only one to catch the … Continue reading
Cat Confidantes
He’s rustling a sack as he walks, as he slows his pace. He begins whispering to the gathering crowd and smiling. He has come to pay his respects to the … Continue reading
Live Like You’re 70+
“Because I am 84 I am frequently asked, ‘What was the favorite time of your life?’ As though it is all over. I always say, ‘Right now.’ “I mean it. … Continue reading
From Strangers to Friends
As many of you know, I published a collection of my very-short creative non-fiction stories in the winter. I’d always wanted to write a book, ever since the stories that … Continue reading
Dad and Dog Wait for the Daughter
Dad and Dog wait for the Daughter’s school bus. Dad has one hand on his hip and the other holding the leash. Dad stands, the dog sits. They glance down … Continue reading
The Nice Thing About Strangers 