Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused. -Anon What I am recounting here is definitely the most embarrassing evening of my life. When I lived in Tanzania, one of my good friends was...
Read MoreI roam in gardens where lilacs bow to me, that silent applause that special praise no room-filled crowd could offer. It would be a lonely world to some, no clapping no finger snapping, but not for me. I leave my shadow, dancing...
Read MoreStanding at the window looking between icicles I can barely see across the street. Crosswinds of snow change direction, pile drifts against the front door. I feel trapped. In the emptiness of necessity, play a game of Scrabble ....
Read MoreI labored for years, weary in gardens, kept snakes as pets and picked apples for teachers where flowers bloom’d in that same space weeds spread, where they’d share the same water, gathering grace in early stages of resemblance,...
Read MoreAll cats are graceful, careful, and independent, but none more than Cleopatra. Always dignified, my tuxedoed aristocrat often sat halfway up the open staircase in deep thought, undisturbed by any commotion, staring out the front...
Read MoreMy wife and I rented what we called the “White House” for a year-and-a-half when we first moved to Costa Rica. A sprawling single story, it had five bedrooms all in a row down one side, with kitchen, living room, bathroom etc....
Read MoreA WeChat notification lit up my phone. I looked down from the piles of homework waiting to be completed over the New Year holiday. It was a text message sent by my grandmother: “Happy New Year! Let us bring all the luck...
Read MoreWhere high mountains never recede in snow， Water chestnut flowers bloom and grow, Plum blossoms welcome guests with their light scent, Over peaks in flocks, wild geese hastily flow. Gentle light pours sparse shades across...
Read More“If only my intended assassin had been as determined as your actual assassin was,” John F. Kennedy spoke to the portrait of Abraham Lincoln hanging on the wall of the Oval Office. Kennedy stood in front of the very desk where...
Read MoreCarmine Tortola and Andrew (Andy) Higgins are residents in the Esplanade, a facility for independent seniors where my wife, Anita, and I live. Carmine’s room is on the third floor, the same as ours, but closer to the...
Read MoreIn the days when Tsheko and his San tribe still wore animal skins and walked barefoot, they saw their world in the Kalahari Desert as a free and wholesome place. Throughout summer and winter, they would roam the red dunes, arid...
Read MoreSlice a baguette. Spread a tablespoon of mayonnaise on one slice and a teaspoon of Grey Poupon on the other. Slice a native tomato and arrange four pieces on the baguette spread with mayonnaise. Scatter Kosher salt and cracked...
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