Bleeding Beautiful

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 28 February 2017 There are friends and stories that remain in the back of your mind that sometimes require some dramatic moment to have their memory come rushing to your forethoughts. Such is the case of my Indian friend Sumit, originally of Orissa Province, India, and now Canadian resident of Ontario. I have known… Continue reading Bleeding Beautiful

Snowbirds

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 22 February 2017 In pauper’s fields the daisies grow There are no crosses, sadly, no To mark the place beneath the sky There is no singing from up high Scarce heard beneath the ground below These pauper’s fields. We are the dead, some time ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow Loved… Continue reading Snowbirds

The great adventure

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 21 February 2017 Sometimes words flow out of you, rushing and pouring out of your heart and soul like a waterfall that can´t be stopped. Other times ideas and thoughts trickle down into words upon a screen like a desiccated desert drain from which only gasping drops remain. And then there are moments when… Continue reading The great adventure

Half the sky: the wonder of Woman

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 6 February 2017 “We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, with so little, for so long, we are now qualified to do anything, with nothing.” (Konstantin Josef Jirecek) Could this statement be strangely appropo if we viewed it from the perspective… Continue reading Half the sky: the wonder of Woman

Out of the Shadows

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 2 February 2017 Sometimes inspiration flows like sap through a maple tree. Sometimes it is as slow-moving as molasses in January. Those who read this blog (both of them!) or follow me on Facebook (the rest of their families!) are aware that I work…a lot. Between working as an English teacher during the… Continue reading Out of the Shadows

Canada Slim and the Promised Land

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 21 January 1858 “I am astonished more and more at the stupid extravagance… Fashion rules so absolutely… The people in the house would lend me any amount of flower garden bonnets if I would but go out in them. This is so like the Americans… They are generous and kind but… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Promised Land

The cure for Wanderlust?

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 28 January 2017 As those already acquainted with myself already know, I earn my income in two ways:  I am a Canadian, resident in Switzerland, working as a freelance English-as-a-second-language teacher and part-time Starbucks barista. And while both physical and psychological health remain I wish to continue to do both jobs for a… Continue reading The cure for Wanderlust?

The sorrow of Batman

Istanbul, Turkey, 10 September 2016 In Istanbul, extraordinary experiences are found around every corner. Here, dervishes whirl, müezzins call from minarets and people move between continents multiple times a day. Istanbul is home to millenia-old monuments and cutting edge art galleries – sometimes on the same block. It is an utterly beguiling city full of… Continue reading The sorrow of Batman

The sons of Karbala

St. Gallen, Switzerland, 9 January 2017 “Turkey seems to be falling to pieces, the fall will be a great misfortune. It is very important that England and Russia should come to a perfectly good understanding… and that neither should take any decisive step of which the other is not apprized.”  “We have a sick man on… Continue reading The sons of Karbala