travel

IN ARGENTINA: Dogs

Just watching the dogs of Argentina freed my soul. In the park yesterday, near the lake, my daughter and I sat on a bench and watched the dogs play, unleashed. They tussled over palm fronds, tried to take the ball out of each other’s mouth, raced each other for the stick thrown into the water,Continue reading “IN ARGENTINA: Dogs”

Scenes from France

Living in France was lovely, at least for ten days. I spoke French, ate and shopped French, and drove French. We ate foie gras, elaborate desserts, fried foods, butter, fragrant cheese; for breakfast we had croissants, and the occasional pastry. And we each lost two pounds. Terry says, “You know that book, WhyContinue reading “Scenes from France”

Toilets around the world

The champion toilet name is “The Great Niagara,” the name of my toilet in Athens, Greece in the 1960s.

Point Reyes Books

What better combination — a delicious meal and some great conversation about books.

Cafes in California and Europe

I love European cafes. They are a place of refuge, companionship, and, most of all, escape. They are where you eat dessert.

Traveling in Arizona: Prisons

Out in the middle of the desert – what was that? We drove closer and saw it was a prison. Wow. That’s a lot of prisoners. Building after long white building. This complex is run by the Corrections Corporation of America. It looks all spanky white and clean on the outside, like an outpost on Mars which contains its whole life inside its bubble.

Midnight in Rome

At night the center of Rome is as still as the middle of a remote lake at midnight.

The writer and the laundry

We all have to choose where to lay our sacrifices, and I have lain mine at the feet of my children. The greatest sacrifice was going to work every day, thus missing important events in their lives

A SAD GOOD-BYE TO PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN

The words “addict” and “greatest actor” don’t go together comfortably in our minds. Addicts are down and out, they’re criminals, you don’t want to be around them. They’re dirty and dangerous. But then, there’s Philip Seymour Hoffman. Years ago, I saw a film about programs in The Netherlands and Switzerland under which addicts are treatedContinue reading “A SAD GOOD-BYE TO PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN”