Fitting in between in Lamu
Lamu is too small to be called a town, but too active (and interesting) to feel like a village. It’s not part of Kenya’s steel-and-concrete economic ambition, but nor does it show the… Continue reading
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Cranky grandpas and the next election scandal
The two older gentlemen, both volunteer poll workers, could have been best friends. Robert Duvall (at his crankiest) and Clint Eastwood (at his beardiest) could have been Oscar contenders in this heartwarming tale… Continue reading
Riding horses in Tibet
Someone in the train station spoke enough English to get us around the cities of China, but this was the countryside, just across the border into Tibet, and we’d signed up for a… Continue reading
Thanksgiving
Turkeys, football, and construction paper imitations of pilgrim shoes and Indian headdresses, that’s where childhood’s Thanksgiving began. Oh childhood. Oh 1980s. Then I learned about genetically modified turkeys that can’t reproduce naturally,… Continue reading
Election Day in San Francisco
One of the things I most love about meeting people is hearing about all the niches I unconsciously knew existed but had never thought about before. That decorating the interiors of boats is… Continue reading
Everything I thought I knew about China was wrong
People would cut in front of us in barely civilized anarchy, especially on the subway, where someone said they physically push you in like sardines. That was one of the prominent things I’d… Continue reading
I’m living in a movie
It feels odd, living in the early scenes of an apocalypse movie. The toxic taste of city-spanning smoke is a seasonal normality here now, as enormous pieces of California burn in the… Continue reading
Coming home
The truth is, I have trouble coming home. On one level it’s just logistical withdrawal. I go from leading my 27 newest friends on a busy tour of some of the greatest things… Continue reading
Gratitude for Georgia
All the Renaissance masters, Roman gods, and Golden Age heroes showed up right when I needed them, no one was grievously injured, and even the weather behaved itself (for the most part). So… Continue reading
Where to start with the New Zealand shooting
When I woke to the horrible story of the shooting in New Zealand this morning, there was a flash of sorrow for the human tragedy. Then I read more news, including the… Continue reading
