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Once upon a footpath
Just over a decade ago, when the planet was more obsessed with terrorism than war, pestilence, or inflation, a short man with thinning hair [...]
Roma revisited
So here we are, springtime in Rome after having abandoned my fifteen newly-planted San Marzano tomatoes, a row of fresh coriander, beets, and radishes, [...]
Book Review: Forbidden Notebook
As Mother’s Day approaches, we may expect the usual demand for flowers, candy, and treacly greeting cards. While these gifts may be welcomed or [...]
The power of sound
When I moved to New York after a decade in Italy to go to graduate school, working with audio was one of my favorite [...]
Boyhood Empire
12. Spain: To catch Entonces
I have lizards to thank for teaching me to accept loss and disappointment on a daily basis. They taught me that some efforts will [...]
11. Spain: Matalo!
Even before we left for Spain, murmurings about this “thing” known as Catholicism had taken up residence in our Washington house. Less than a [...]
10. Spain: Noble Notsies
Once my Franco-American private school had rid me of my French ways — I was born in Paris and spent my first five years [...]
9. Spain: Rules by the mostest
The very first thing that struck me about living in Madrid, Spain was that the newspapers were in Spanish. I did not understand Spanish, [...]
In Case You Missed It
Disaster zone
I once saw a statistic on Instagram—so you know it’s credible—that 85 percent of the things we worry about never [...]
Business as usual
Some forty-one years ago, Christopher Winner had the opportunity to run a sensational story about a bomb that went off in his office building, but he did not.
Buon appetito
The one thing I do not enjoy in the world of food is the moment that I find myself with [...]
Death experience
Death and I are old companions. • Starship Captain, Star Trek, “Balance of Terror” As I approach the twentieth anniversary [...]
Seeking ruins and rebirth
Ruins have long held my fascination. Having knocked around a bit in Rome in 1984 as the “Rome Daily America” [...]
The New Mrs. Malaprop
“And he will avail.” In this sentence about the outcome of a plot, the writer confused “avail” with “prevail.” The […]
Twilight of an astronaut
Many moons ago I imagined myself an astronaut. I was then in my teens, but my head was in the [...]
Time for the next wave in cinema
During the pandemic, once thriving movie theaters suddenly turned into ghost towns. And even though many have reopened since then, [...]
A “gentleman” undone
I am by nature impulsive. Some forty years ago that lifelong impulsiveness, complicit turmoil within the give-and-take of gender codes, [...]
Street voices of yesteryear
There was a time when the village was alive with voices, voices of artisans who sang while working, voices of [...]