1. My Brother My brother comes to visit frequently. He was here in October and then again this week. He said it seemed so long ago that he was here, but it wasn’t long ago at all. We are so spoiled that he comes to see us as often as he does. And I feel so […]
Yearly Archives: 2011
True Grit
Tue, 15 Feb 2011, 04:11 AM (-06:00)
We sat in the dark theater at Alamo Drafthouse watching the big screen. Trudy was eating her fish and chips and drinking a beer. I was devouring a BLT sandwich and relishing the luxury of hot french fries and ketchup. We were there to see the Coen brothers’ True Grit. This is my report, such as […]
All the Way From Kentucky
Sat, 12 Feb 2011, 10:30 PM (-06:00)
The fair and industrious Trudy bought some strawberries on a sunny weekend a while ago. A few days later we put some soil in a whiskey barrel and two old leaky buckets, and we planted the five little plants. We gently surrounded them with a little bit of pine straw and a three inches of […]
It Happened on the Day of Prayer
Fri, 11 Feb 2011, 10:25 AM (-06:00)
“You didn’t really think he was going to step down, did you?” My heart was black. I felt like a heel. How could I have let the cheering and the flags and the singing and chanting lead me to believe in change, lead me to believe that something good can happen there? That was yesterday. […]
Suleiman Speaks
Thu, 10 Feb 2011, 05:23 PM (-06:00)
And so we hear that the tyrant chooses to remain. The calls of the people fall on the deaf ears of the entrenched elite. The tyrant speaks and the people shake their shoes at him. And then the newly minted Vice President, Omar Suleiman, speaks. “Go back home,” he says. “Go back to your work.” […]
Yalla!
Thu, 10 Feb 2011, 01:09 PM (-06:00)
It’s 19 hours GMT, and Al Jazeera is covering live what is sure to be one of the great events of the early 21st century. What amazing coverage. I had given up on journalism. “After seventeen days of protest, excitement is growing.” And as far as you can see, they tell us, every street leading into […]
Tahrir Square
Thu, 10 Feb 2011, 11:43 AM (-06:00)
It’s night in Cairo. The lights in Tahrir Square illuminate people standing shoulder to shoulder, filling the square, waving hands and fluttering flags, whistling and chanting and clapping in synchrony. Things are moving very fast now. Mubarak may soon join the ranks of de-stringed puppets: Pinochet, Pahlavi, Marcos. What a legacy. Fingers crossed. Because we […]
Holidays
Fri, 28 Jan 2011, 08:49 PM (-06:00)
The room was glowing red. Red balloons were hanging from ribbons from the ceiling. And there were red valentines. From back to front. From left to right, ribbons and balloons and valentines hung over the tables, dangling over the heads of the seated diners. “One for dinner?” a waitress asked. “Two,” I said. “My wife […]
Coffee Grounds
Wed, 26 Jan 2011, 08:55 PM (-06:00)
The man walked up to the counter at the end of the long, warmly lit room. A couple was sitting in some overstuffed chairs in the corner, but otherwise the place was empty. The clerks looked up as he approached. They had been talking and stopped as he got near. He smiled, but they just looked […]