Blog
March 29, 2020
It’s a strange (no pun intended) new world we live in…I peer out from the blinds acknowledging we have ceded our patio to the creatures which inhabit the hill–a family of California quail, a pair of squirrels, the dark eyed juncos and towhee birds that forage in the leaves which, left unattended, have turned to mulch. Through all this, the […]
January 10, 2021
My mother was a gentle soul. Overly protected by Irish-American parents, she was taught to be polite, demure and avoid Norwegian (American) boys in their Brooklyn neighborhood at all costs. This was indeed amusing because whenever I asked why, she would respond that these boys were ‘given to drink.’ “But Mom, isn’t that the reputation we Irish have?” Mom’s silence […]
December 3, 2020
If somebody had told me how difficult it would be to find a literary agent, let alone one who might exude some interest in my non-fiction book, I would never have gone down this road. But, too late, here I am with a book proposal that is one edit short of submission. Best not to overly complain. I got myself […]
November 3, 2020
If Father Rocha, our parish priest, can do anything well–it’s deliver a memorable Sunday homily. Say what you may about the corpulent cleric–he may not be the most cuddly clergyman in the rectory, but when he talks, the congregation listens. It being All Saint’s Day, Father Rocha waxed melancholy about his childhood talking about how the Sisters of the Immaculate […]
October 17, 2020
The Mali assignment finished, I headed off to the Bamako airport with Pierre, the good-natured driver who, upon learning I had spent the morning with the Salesians of Don Bosco, whispered that he, too, was a Catholic. Pierre had been my driver for three evenings quietly sharing his collection of African hip hop music. One song in particular, Time is Now, a duet by […]
October 5, 2020
The third time had been a charm. I found myself precariously balancing atop Mexico’s fourth largest mountain–Nevado de Toluca—reaching out gingerly for a congratulatory shake of our guide’s hand. I could not help but betray my feelings to Salvador and the other climbers as their happiness for my achievement seemed to eclipse their own. Drained from the effort to summit, diminished by the […]
September 6, 2020
In writing “Madrid Nights” a few weeks ago, I never thought the past would catch up with me. It did so, recently, as a pleasant surprise. You might recall the story described an American abroad (me) running with a pack of Spaniards (including the Tejeiro brothers, José Manuel and Ramón) back in the days when Spain had “Serenos”–a centuries old […]
August 15, 2020
Pity the poor person who wakes in the pre-dawn hours and decides to follow so many loose and disjointed thoughts into the rabbit warren of the past. Which is where I found myself amidst the shadows and the aurora. Perhaps it was triggered by the loss of Janet, our faithful friend and neighbor from church who, my wife reminded me, […]
July 18, 2020
Just when we were to emerge from the specter of the “invisible enemy,” it seems to be lingering, toying with us. We’ve been asked by the politicians once again to hold off from the gym, from church and, most importantly, the hair salon for another three weeks. On the plus side, it’s given me some time to tinker on things I […]
June 27, 2020
Last week, I procrastinated in writing about “Bad Reviews” on Amazon. I had recently received my first bad review and was stung by its tenor and content. The review came across as scolding–like “why did you waste my time with this book–so full of shallow characters, too many footnotes, etc. A real writer would have explored each of these characters […]
June 18, 2020
It has been difficult this week to select a subject worthy of attention. Initially, I wanted to share the pain and trauma that comes with receiving a less than stellar review on Amazon, especially when the most positive comment was “this book was so-so,” the rest of the review precipitously headed downhill. However, because there is a political and cultural […]
