Making Arrangements for Another Adventure
Now I’m inclined to think it was the inevitable outcome of my years in Europe. Almost all the people who’ve had most effect on me I seem to have met … Continue reading
Volim, Ne Volim
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
It was a Sunday afternoon, not long after my arrival, and my pathetic-looking protein bar didn’t seem a nice option for a…
Be Cool
It takes a while before he realizes he’s on the wrong side of the waiting area fence. He’s in front of it. Dozens of other people wait obediently behind the … Continue reading
The Lone Star and her Husband
A man with a pink-striped polo shirt with a nonetheless tough disposition walks by the café window. He sees the sixty-something red-haired woman at a table inside. He breaks out … Continue reading
Personal Space
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
At mid-morning, the U-Bahn platform was nearly abandoned. The young woman with ceaseless layers walked to her usual waiting place and stopped.…
Mother, May I…
The tiny toddler girl takes a long draw on her carton of milk. She concludes with a loud “Ahhhh” of alleged refreshment. She grins at her mother. She tugs at … Continue reading
Already Packed
We carry within ourselves the direction our lives will take. Within ourselves burn the timeless, fateful stars. -Antal Szerb. Journey by Moonlight.
When All The German Fell Out Of My Head
In every tunnel, because the darkness turns the windows into mirrors, people in the train gaze at their own reflection. They pose, pat their hair, examine their own eyes. As … Continue reading
For A Rainy Day
Love and trust and gentleness between two humans is rare. Love is rare and the expression of love is rare. I am grateful to you. -Iris Murdoch. The Green Knight.
Sundance Kid
The shaggy-haired boy has stopped his bicycle to watch a man on a machine unearthing blocks of cement. The boy plays with the strings from the hood of his sweatshirt. … Continue reading
Pool Rules
In the apartment complex swimming pool, two women have the expanse to themselves. They hold the wall and kick, stretching their legs, exercising between observations about the day. Their graying … Continue reading
Baby’s First Swim
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
The mother slowly hands her infant to his father, who waits in the shallow end of the hotel swimming pool. The baby…
A Pledge to Curl Up With More Books
“Always I find when I begin to write there is one character who obstinately will not come alive. There is nothing psychologically false about him, but he sticks, he has … Continue reading
She’s kind of, oh my gosh
The three elementary-aged kids outside want to be characters from Star Wars. The little boy is trying to stake a claim. “Who is, you know Chewy? You know Chewbacca? What’s … Continue reading
Health and Wellness
The old man winks at a woman on a stationary bike, the kind where one can sit upright with the pedals before them. He is pushing seventy, or pulling eighty. … Continue reading
A Small Winter Story in July
Phillip is so tiny for his age. Even among the Kindergarteners, he is miniscule. Heading out to play, he is about to wear his house-shoes outdoors. The kids are bundling … Continue reading
Pick Me Up
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
The Taksim bus station, night and day, hosts chaos. Buses line up and depart from four doubled-up lines and feature the soundtrack…
Should We Be Taking Advice From Cookies?
Opened this fortune the other day with a bit of a jolt! 🙂 Have a nice weekend! The word happiness was often used, although since they were all in their … Continue reading
Another Love Story Where Nothing Happens
He is hustling across the U-Bahn station, but as he passes the elevator, he slows his pace. Then he shifts his path to head for the stairs. There is a … Continue reading
Caught, Captured, Heaven-Forbid Memorialized.
At first, the poet looks like all the other men at the table. He turns toward the PowerPoint slide of the painting that the panel was meant to discuss. The … Continue reading
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