Author Archives: Requiem for the Damned

5-10 August 2018: Groundhog Day in Paris Day 1 (early afternoon): I snapped my laptop closed with a self-satisfied smirk and wandered out into the kitchen humming tunelessly. Peeling a banana, I continued to hum through the noisy mouthfuls. “What’s … Continue reading →

15 July 2018: The Nature of Things Not long before the kickoff of the World Cup Final, I wandered up in the steaming heat to my favorite local pub in Paris with subterranean expectations of finding my usual spot on … Continue reading →

1-7 July: Too Darn Hot Starting last weekend, the Dog Days of summer arrived in Paris with a full-throated howl. It’s the kind of heat where sitting perfectly still is a sweaty workout and you spend half your time with … Continue reading →

15-21 June: Ave Britannia My trip to England, my birthplace and “home” for the first two years of my life, began last week with a short hop from Paris to London Gatwick aboard a “Vueling Airlines” flight. I know you … Continue reading →

7 June: Modern Love In the middle of the night last week, my bedroom became suddenly alive with epilepsy-inducing incandescent light crawling across the walls, a lingering preamble to the loudest and longest thunderclap I have ever experienced. The initial … Continue reading →

19-28 May: Lost in Translation I’m standing in Marksburg which, although damaged by American artillery fire in 1945, is the best-preserved castle of the many dotting Germany’s spectacular Middle Rhine* and first mentioned in historical records in the 13th Century. … Continue reading →

10 May 2018: Suicide should be painless Renowned Australian botanist and ecologist, David Goodall, arrived in Switzerland earlier last week in order to end his life in one of the few countries in the world where assisted suicide is legal … Continue reading →