We first met in the Luxembourg Garden where I was sitting by the small Statue of Liberty after my morning class at the Alliance Française of Paris. It was the fall after graduating from Ohio State and I was now ready to make something of myself though I didn’t yet know what. My parents were […]
29
Oct
Oct
Each of us approached the move in our own frames of mind. Papa was angry but resigned. Mama saw it as an opportunity. And I was devastated by a sense of secrecy and loss.
18
Sep
Sep
Being alone on a boat at sea after a warm embrace on the quay carried with it the thrill of solitary freedom and possibility. I stood at the stern by the fluttering French flag watching Dinard fall away, then turned to Saint Malo with its central steeple poking out from the uniform mass of the town.
02
Mar
Mar
I am the last scuba diver on the dive boat. I look out to the horizon, where the gray sky meets the vast South Pacific Ocean. We’ve come a short ride from Matauri Bay in Northland New Zealand.
11
Dec
Dec
It’s early April. I stand at my sink watching the daffodils I planted last fall—I bought the bulbs on sale at a hardware store—begin to bloom, or try to. It’s been snowing and hailing all morning,…
31
Oct
Oct
A mother and daughter play pinball at the Silverball Museum in Asbury Park, New Jersey. If there’s a pinball gene, this vignette may be proof that it exists.
01
Sep
Sep
That last evening in Ireland, on the docks, our favorite aunt, Molly, and her husband, Bill, came to see us off, hugging us as we were about to board the ship.
21
Jul
Jul
Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t be caught dead waiting in line at 4PM on the 14th of July—Bastille Day, the French National Holiday—to enter the Champs de Mars to watch the fireworks from up close by Eiffel Tower.
23
Jun
Jun
All morning she and her brother had been begging to be allowed out but the childminder would only let them play in the garden. She said they were too young to go wandering around the village.
17
May
May
Somehow, in spite of everything, the rhythmic coughing of the motor had become reassuring. The children had fallen asleep
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