He boarded the train to St. Gallen with the confidence of a man entering a courtroom in which he was both plaintiff and defendant. Under his right arm, glistening in the weak morning sun, dangled the unapologetically plastic limbs of a woman no one dared to name. Her expression was fixed — lips parted, eyes… Continue reading The last gentleman
Category: relationships
This mediocre adventure
Journal de Jules Renard February 28, 1895 “I think that if I had to choose a profession all over again, I would not be a writer. I would be a peasant. A peasant doesn’t need to please anyone but the land. The land does not flatter in return. Writers grow hunchbacked over paper, hungrily awaiting… Continue reading This mediocre adventure
Next stop upon request (Runaway train)
Above: The logo of Swiss Federal Railways – the national railway company of Switzerland The train lurches with a sudden screeech, the hum of forward motion swallowed by the high eee of braking and the collective gasp of surprised passengers clutching at poles and seats. The train halts between Egnach and Arbon, a silent pause in motion.… Continue reading Next stop upon request (Runaway train)
Seeing red
Part Three of Peace of Mind / Part Two of The Road to Rorschach Sunday 6 April 2025 Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Schweiz Above: St. Leonhard’s Chapel, Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Schweiz I returned yesterday evening from a five-day mini-vacation in Bologna, Italy. Memory, at least mine, is much like a pot of tea. It needs time… Continue reading Seeing red
Control, Alter, Delete: The era and error of erasure
Saturday 22 March 2025 Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland Above: St. Leonhard’s Chapel, Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland As I try to revitalize my spirits in regards to my dual ambitions as teacher and writer, I slowly return to life through the writing of this blog. I have tried to keep a chronicle of calendar dates since… Continue reading Control, Alter, Delete: The era and error of erasure
The road to Romanshorn
Peace of Mind, Part One of Four: Sunday 16 March 2025 Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland Above: Landschlacht Bahnhof, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland “You must change your life. You must change your life not for a particular reason or to achieve a particular goal, but because life is change. To change one’s life means to be in… Continue reading The road to Romanshorn
Another season
Sunday 16 February 2025 Sometimes words are like tears. Sometimes they quietly emerge from out of the corners of our perception. At other times they pour out of us like the torrent of my rushing river. And there are times when they cannot flow. My research on this calendar day has drawn me to 1923.… Continue reading Another season
What’s love got to do with it?
Thursday 14 February 2025 Eskişehir, Türkiye Where does one find love? Perhaps Rome? Above: Roma (Rome), Italia The Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin is a minor basilican church in Rome, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Located in the rione (neighborhood) of Ripa and constructed first in the 6th century as a diaconia (deaconry) in an area of the city populated by Greek immigrants,… Continue reading What’s love got to do with it?
The fog of battle: Town vs. gown
Monday 10 February 2025 Eskişehir, Türkiye The streets of Oxford ran red on 10 February 1355, in what became known as the St. Scholastica Day riot. A quarrel over ale — at least, that is how the story begins. Two university students, unsatisfied with their drinks, threw words like daggers at a tavern keeper. Words… Continue reading The fog of battle: Town vs. gown
The road to Nirvana
Saturday 8 February 2025 Eskişehir, Türkiye Time is a river. Its current carries us through moments of human striving — some triumphant, some tragic. Each event, each life born into history on this day, speaks to a quest: For truth, for escape, for justice, for a world beyond suffering. But where does that journey end?… Continue reading The road to Nirvana