Reassured in Dharamsala
When a Buddhist monk in Myanmar sprawled out over several seats in the train, or one on the bus in Malaysia blasted a radio no one else wanted to hear, or a third… Continue reading
Category Archive: better conversations
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Scared to go to Turkey
The walls were solid and strong, despite the detritus of old neglect in the corners, the spray painted confusion, and the sense of old cigarettes. And everywhere, the kind of shadows you’re supposed… Continue reading
Would you rather…feel good?
The playground game was simple. Ask “Would you rather…” followed by two options, probably one that’s physically unlikely and one that’s gastronomically inadvisable. Both options were reliably horrendous. It was a “choose your… Continue reading
How do we talk about this?
The woman had clearly had enough. She scanned our groceries with aggressive speed, and manifested stunning levels of boredom, irritation, and scorn when it came time to pronounce our total. In the parlance… Continue reading
Trump is exactly what America needs
Equal Pay Day yesterday deserved a post. Something to address the crushing idiocy that women would have to work these extra months into 2018 to earn as much as men did in 2017.… Continue reading
Ghosts in the grocery store
Waiting in line at the grocery store made me think about torture and secret police. Around me shoppers huffed their indignation at slow cashiers, one of whom looked ready to cry, but my… Continue reading
Dentists, razor blades, and new friends
I didn’t know yet that another layer of institutional bureaucratic chicanery was going to keep me from getting my teeth cleaned yesterday afternoon, so I sat in the waiting room with the other… Continue reading
Krishna and friends
Somewhere along the line I stopped buying things. Friends back home were accustomed to my travel and didn’t need more stuff, but when some of my dearest folks found challenges early in 2017,… Continue reading
The undesirability of heroism
Hearing Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) discuss fungal infections, abscess scars, and which diseases merit treatment was a trip in itself. But it took me a day or so to realize these are far… Continue reading
Working man’s Buddha
The street was the kind of dark you can’t find in America. But this was Ninh Binh, Vietnam, and the only thing to compete with the single tangerine street lamp were the blue… Continue reading
