Sunny Easter Day in Manhattan. About 3:00 pm. Breezy. A guy in a black hockey jersey races full tilt down 58th Street. He barrels across […]
Category: Stories
Aww. Hail No.
Anatomy of a 2-hour trip: Tuesday 5:00 pm: Arrive at the airport 6:00 pm: Hailstorm with ice descriptions ranging from ‘baseball-sized’ to ‘tater tot-sized.’ 7-ish […]
No Joke. Political Talk Ain’t my Thing.
I bought my first New York apartment during the Bush-Kerry election. There I sat at the closing table. Just my attorney and me on my […]
He’ll Just Have to Wait
Everyone is all smiles on stage at this press conference in China’s equivalent of the White House Press Room. We were only a little bit […]
Sunrise Over the Fuel Farm
5:30 am. Monday morning. Styrfoam cup of coffee. Faint smell of jet fuel in my shirt. Hair doesn’t smell like jet wash yet. Feet on the […]
I Know You’ve Been Wondering
Like a bee sting. At first. The immediate reflex is to reach for whatever is causing such pain and try to kill it. But it’s very […]
A Questionable Storm
RMB 4 million. That’s four million yuan. Roughly $500,000 in American dollars. I’m told it was never spent. That the rockets were never launched, the planes […]
A Weeping Kiss
So there I stood, atop Tiananmen Rostrum, looking at the lights of Tiananmen Square, fully ablaze for a square mile in our honor. Dinner was […]
A Very Good Rainy Monday.
Monday – gave my umbrella to a soggy oldish man who was waiting at an uncovered bus stop, resulting in getting to work wet. This […]
Don’t Get Too Comfortable
Dateline: United Club. Slow night. 9:00 pm: Kids making a ruckus over by the airline club coffee machine. Incessant paging of Ms. Xxxx, a passenger […]
Hold This for Me, Please?
On the subway. Guy (over 6 feet tall) is sound asleep, wearing giant headphones, leaning precariously to the left, about a 70 degree angle above […]
Some Places Should Remain Secret
There’s something about sitting for breakfast in an unpretentious diner, with reasonable prices while the owner, whose English is passable, but not great, leans on […]
Sometimes, Cheerful is Too Cheerful
Me: I don’t feel like undressing and emptying my pockets today, may we just do a pat down? Tsa woman: Yes (waves me through). Step […]
I’ll Save You the Trouble …
I was just starting a post about those occasional reminders that one is getting old and grouchy, but then decided to just prove it, rather […]
Zetta — what?
Maybe I’ve heard, spoken, read and written too many words over the years, but I prefer to listen to a person who uses precise, simple […]
I’m a Slug. How Lovely!
At the office yesterday in DC, someone told me: “I’m a slugger” It was an odd comment in the context of the conversation, but I […]
Misery and a One-eyed Dog
I hadn’t yet decided if I was going to puke when the filthy, one-eyed dog poked its head under the bathroom door and started yapping […]
An Ostrich
The quietest place in New York is a commuter train in the morning. Only the sound of an occasional newspaper page turning, ventilation fan periodically […]
The Choices We Make
Maybe it’s the southerner in me, but I’m polite. Very polite. Most of the time. Let’s, as always, leave work aside for the moment. I’ll […]
Truth and Science Fiction
May 8, 2006 Klingon? Today was the first day at the office for a new person I hired. That’s generally an unremarkable thing other than […]
What Gift for a Guy Like Me?
20.8 mph – Calculating in my head as I look at my GPS, that average is on track to slaughter my previous personal record for […]
The Easy Way is Better
10 years, 34 countries, a bazillion stamps and visas, an awful lot of new friends. I can’t believe it’s time for a new one. Officially, […]
The Power of Fragments
If a War of the Worlds scenario were ever to take place (chances are probably pretty slim), rather than sending the common cold to defeat […]
One Question to Never Ask
When circumstances get messy, there is no question more pointless than “Why?” For example, yesterday’s experience isn’t the greatest story ever told, but is a […]
Zen and the Art of Argument
At the deli today I noticed a new 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of paper taped to the wall next to the order counter. On […]
Scratching a No-so-Prudent Itch
I’m not 100% sure the alarm went off. Usually, I wake up before hearing it and turn it off. This morning, however I woke from […]
Contemplating “that” Turn
“If I turn left up that dirt road,” I thought. “I could completely disappear. No one would ever find me.” I was 3 miles into […]