An oil painting of a lit candle.

Sight Unseen

A blind expat's musings on life, death and the Trump era

April 23, 2026 | Rome, Italy

Hose

My youthful world was one in which no one "passed," let alone "passed away." They either "faded away," as Gen. [...]

The last Gandalf

The old ambassador had me at “hoodwinked.” When he added “bamboozled” and “railroaded,” I was in Seventh Heaven, as always [...]

Finding Bob

Columnist Joe Scott's memories of his father were few and harsh, until a box of letters brought pieces of a dark past into better focus.