Step Dois, Três. Turn Dois, Três
The folk dancers gather, circle out, promenade, move to the music. A man in a brown hat calls out directions, and the audience whispers, “Is that English?” The Portuguese folk … Continue reading
Possibility
My new niece is two weeks old. This brings my total to two nieces. Naturally, I know that Addy, Savannah, and I will certainly be traveling like mad–once they can … Continue reading
Older and Wiser (and Eating Cake!)
The treadmills hum quietly and the pair of ladies speak loudly. Their grey hair bounces, they swing their elbows. When one says, “All right, here we go,” they turn up … Continue reading
A Love Story At Just Over Five Feet
The elderly couple hunches together over their soup. They stay like this, heads tilted toward each other, even as they finish. The waiter reaches under the bridge of their gaze … Continue reading
Dinner Shift
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
The man and small boy park their cart and are waiting to be of service. Early in the evening, they sit on…
Citation
She was widely read enough to appreciate my literary wit but not so widely read that she knew my sources. I like that in a woman. I could say things … Continue reading
Self-Defense
In Vienna, I terrify a little boy who offers me his seat in the bus. He has a yin yang patch and an American flag patch affixed his backpack. This … Continue reading
Take Care
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
The bus trip from Vienna to Trogir, Croatia takes twelve hours and rolls overnight. As the monster idles–half the passengers taking final…
Among The Many Things I Can’t Say in Hungarian
In a Budapest shopping mall, I spot a boy with one bleached white eyebrow. The other is dark like his hair, like his eyes, like his gaze. I begin to … Continue reading
The Biblio-Commuter
The man’s briefcase lies across his legs like a desk and he rests his elbows on it. The U-Bahn stops, but he does not. He inhales, sits up straight, leans … Continue reading
In Bloom.
She had no expression ready for so direct a glance and with a sense of failure she fluttered and dropped her eyes. She wondered if she were blushing. She had … Continue reading
Double Czech
The Czech woman forgot her hearing aids. She is supposed to be doing the Reading at Mass, but there are two options in the Lectionary and, “oh dear, oh my, … Continue reading
Guest Post: Rachael Hanel. We’ll Be The Last Ones To Let You Down.
Thanks so much to Paige for allowing me to guest post on her fabulous blog! If you’re like me, you are inspired by Paige’s adventurous travels. If you’re like me, … Continue reading
Under Lock and Dream
I left him to his envy. A colleague’s envy, when all is said and done, is the scholar’s one reward on earth. I didn’t tell him that in all likelihood … Continue reading
My Shaky Sarajevo Notes
So there is such a thing as too much Bosnian coffee, and I have sipped on beyond it. Tiny cup number four clatters in my hand—three were invitations at various … Continue reading
Men
It is a Turkish barber shop in Vienna. A lean, dark-eyed man smokes a cigarette, even as the barber lathers his face for a shave. The barber works around the … Continue reading
But You Can Drive Something Foreign…
For the very notion of homeland, with all its emotional power, is bound up with the relative brevity of our life, which allows us too little time to become attached … Continue reading
Fashionably Saved
The tiny girl with the Louise Brooks haircut watches herself in the window’s reflection. She addresses her father behind her in a set of seats–giggling that she can see him … Continue reading
One Giant Leap for Ein Kleines Kind
The plastic bag is in the top of the tree. Three stories up. This distance means little to the two foot child under the tree, leaping with his hands up, … Continue reading
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
The pair meets in the Kültürpark, a space filled with palm trees, joggers, idle folks napping on benches, doing Sudoku on benches,…
The Nice Thing About Strangers 