The mattress I bought in the Albert Cuyp market in 2007 has traveled internationally more than most, and I suspect more than most people. The initial move to Canada, which motivated the purchase in the fist place, turned out to be one of our bigger mistakes in life. We trusted people who were not trustworthy. … More Mattress II
There were just no two ways about it; somehow it had to fit in the car. If for no other reason than to spite the aproned, middle-aged Dutch housewife watching me from her second floor balcony across the street, bemused by my stupidity and willing my failure. An April thunderclap had corresponded precisely with my … More Mattress
Behind the hedge I hear the bat of the man in the practice cage at the Ickenham Cricket Club urging the bowler on, his bat drumming the ground in eager anticipation. Thump-thump-thump! Give it to me! Give it to me! “Whack!” A solid hit. Instinctively I look to the sky above to see if the … More The Hottest Day of Summer
The year I spent in Texas was pretty much the worst year of my life. Reed Junior High School had an Eighth Grade class of over 500 students – the school I moved away from had 20 – and I was completely overwhelmed by the scale of it, confused as well by a Texas culture … More Jude
The year, I’m guessing, was 1973. And it must have been late in the year because I remember the threat of rain throughout the day; Brasilia’s dry season had come and gone. At the Summer Olympics the year before, the USA men’s basketball team had suffered a controversial and ignominious defeat at the hands of … More When the Commies Came to Play
When the wind blows from the North we can hear the train. Not the thump-a-thump, thump-a-thump we heard as the carriages crossed the viaduct at the end of the street in the Czar Peter neighbourhood of Amsterdam, when the bedroom windows stood futilely open on hot summer nights; nor even the vague and distant rumble … More Travel Notes
Told you so. Soheila Sokhanvari, ‘Moje Sabz’, 2011 – Taxidermy, fiberglass, jesmonite blob, automobile paint. At Saatchi Gallery, London.
