For Harisa.
Five years ago, I met a beautiful woman from Bosnia on a flight. We spotted each other before we boarded, and since the plane wasn’t totally full, she came over … Continue reading
I’m Thinking Lovely
She parks in the first spot outside Arby’s, and he waits patiently in the passenger side, readying his oxygen tank as she comes slowly around the long Buick. She wrestles … Continue reading
For the (Mean) Professor who told me to be Realistic
On a brilliant November day, my students talked me into teaching outside. So we were at an outdoor amphitheater on the Danube when I broke into the story of the … Continue reading
Not Helpless
I was trudging home from an English lesson with my astounding student, an asylum seeker and former child soldier from Sierra Leone who had the most remarkably shy smile. He … Continue reading
Packs of Blondes
Granted, it was a small sample, but from the Turkish TV dramas I’d watched in passive attempts to learn the language, all of the blonde women were evil. Friends in … Continue reading
Rock With You
The bus is running and the doors hang open, but not a single passenger climbs in. At other gates people impatiently crowd the doors, but at #3, everyone waits on … Continue reading
Carpe Diem, Handsome Farmer
He had been handsome when younger; he remained handsome, but had reached an age where people gazed at him like his days were numbered. He shuffled down the narrow hallway … Continue reading
Get In Someone’s Way
Pen at the ready, the old man attempted to fill out his check, clutching the checkbook in one hand and scrawling with the other, so as not to hold up … Continue reading
Fearless Zumba Septuagenarians
Zumba is like a cruel trick on the elderly ladies in the sparsely populated fitness room: an eight-dollar drop-in fee for overly complicated dance steps and music featuring figures such … Continue reading
Totally Not Making This Up
The salesman gazes and grins at a tourist sitting alone in the outdoor café. Her chair points toward his shop. To investigate him, she looks across the center line of … Continue reading
The Shared Eyebrow and the Runaway Tablet
He has a blue jogging suit and winter coat, she wears leggings as pants with a ski jacket. They stand close while waiting for the plane. She tries to hand … Continue reading
Window Shopping
No need to rush to the airport, two business men opt to take a coffee in the lobby of their hotel, where all of the signs are in English and … Continue reading
Self-Sufficient
An elementary-aged girl pushed the button for the tram to stop, then turned to her birdcage, which she had propped on a nearby seat. She exhaled and prepared herself with … Continue reading
The Guy in Sunglasses
He was his sunglasses. He could see perfectly well, but these were as much a part of his outfit as his long black ponytail. Reasonably, he wore the sunglasses while … Continue reading
To Health
In a café on the Dalmatian coast, a middle-aged waitress leans on the bar and takes coffee and unceasing cigarettes for breakfast. The music on the radio is lively so … Continue reading
The Nice Thing About Strangers 