J is for Jump
[And yes, I resisted the urge to do the painfully obvious: J is for Johnny…Depp, Cash, Unitas, Appleseed, Travolta, Johnny- Billy- Bob- Collins, and my own Mr Brilliant, himself the penultimate (or, rather, ultimate) Johnny. Self-restraint of such a kind is, by the way, highly overrated]. And so, instead of …
I is for Immortality
Immortality In Sleeping Beauty’s castlethe clock strikes one hundred yearsand the girl in the tower returns to the world.So do the servants in the kitchen,who don’t even rub their eyes.The cook’s right hand, liftedan exact century ago,completes its downward arcto the kitchen boy’s left ear;the boy’s tensed vocal cordsfinally let …
H is for Horse
In 1989 and 1990, I visited 17 countries in 12 months, a whirlwind of international work that took me right ’round the globe. There are so many memorable people and places from all those trips–Thailand and Korea and Japan and South Africa and Australia and New Zealand and far beyond–and …
G is for Gifts
“The pleasure of all reading is doubled when one lives with another who shares the same books.” – Katherine Mansfield Red velvet cake with butter cream icing marked the big day. And then birthday presents, many wrapped in an oddly similar and recognizable shape—rectangular and thick, sturdy and straight, like…well, …
F is for Fucchi
He stood still in front of the class, quietly, as we reconvened after our coffee break. “Kichom?” I asked, turning to him. “Would you mind telling the story of Fucchi?” “Now?” he asked, his eyebrows raising, seeking clarification. “Shall I tell it now?” I nodded and moved to the side. …
E is for Esther
Every time I teach a class, I learn more from the students than I could ever possibly teach them. From some, I learn how to be a better learner, from others I get insight into what happens when learning stops and the need to perform or win starts, from some …
D is for Dorodango
D was a tough decision for me: Descartes, devil, delicious, disease, depression, dimples, design, determination, dig, depend, day, doughnut, droplet, détente, debutante, Depp. And yet, with all those choices—even above dimples and Depp and dirt—it had to be dorodango. The silt that he uses to coat the mud balls is …
C is for Compass
“The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.” – James Arthur Baldwin There is no greater privilege …
B is for Beach
Since it’s not quite hot enough here, we are embarking at o’dark-thirty this morning on a 26-hour trip to the coast for a family wedding on the beach this evening (my wonderful nephew’s) and a side trip for a college tour for Emma (yikes!). It will be little Tess’ first …
