“Par de chur” the waiter asked me, as a follow up to my order of cafe con leche. I hesitated and tried to act natural at the same time, my mind churning with the insecurity of not knowing what the right next response was. He is a local waiter, an older man, in a rush […]
one wild and precious life Read More »
“It’s the humanity of the connection,” she said. I was talking to Esther Mark on a zoom call. She had just finished the new playground building course that we had designed for the non-profit organization play360, and she was giving us some final feedback. When I evolved from my work at the community organization
“It’s the humanity of the connection,” she said. Read More »
“So do you all agree that you are taking this trip at your own risk?” She had just described that we would be walking through some areas where we would want to be careful with our belongings, the “picky picky” she says and makes the universal hand motion for pickpockets. We all agree, yes. We
Selective Memories Read More »
The young man sitting just in front of me messes with his watch and talks excitedly with his hands. He speaks quickly but quietly, punctuating his rapid fire speech with a suck of breath, a sly smile or a flick of his short blondish hair. The other youth sitting across from him is leaning in
the yellow tram #2 passes by and continues on Read More »
It took me 6 months to set up my profile on OkCupid. I opened the account and then quit the moment that I had to write a description, tried again and quit when I had to add a photo, barely tried again and quit again to decide that this just isn’t for me. Surely I
I can be very quiet. I can go days with my thoughts, with my work, with bright walks along the waterfront, the whipping wind providing counterpoint and white noise to ease my mind on repeat. But, I know that this isn’t the best for me and although safe and comfortable, it is also shallow, singular
Musings in Budapest Read More »
It is almost 9am and I am finding my way through the meandering streets of the medina in Essaouira, Morocco. I am looking for an open store to buy milk for my coffee but find myself amused at the multitudes of children dressed in white lab coats crowding the alleyways on their way to school.
Small Miracles in Dusty Classrooms Read More »
My father passed away on June 16, 2015 of a heart attack. He was found hunched over a soup bowl at his writing desk in the small apartment where he lived. His legacy is full of heart, complicated, sometimes disappointing and still very present in my life. My father believed that he was here
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” — Maya Angelou For the last several mornings I have woken uneasy. The news of protests thick in my head, the conversations I’ve had with my own family, with my kids, the things that I haven’t said, the people
When you know better, you do better Read More »
It’s been a hard few weeks, a few months actually. Eva, my father’s first wife, has been suffering with sharp pains that run through her buttocks and down the side of her legs, “oh, my bening!” she calls it, “my bening!” She wails in german. The doctors have been slow to respond, the Covid crisis