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I Do Not Approve
There is a leak in our apartment. It’s in our living room, to be exact, right above the dinner table. The leak turned a spot of ceiling above my seat at the table a shade of dark blue, as if the plaster were being bruised. It was difficult getting a contractor here, with the whole…
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Benevolence
I longed for acceptance, and I suspect this was age-appropriate. I understood, even at the time, that fitting in, for me, would involve a special effort. My peers belonged by way of birthright. For them, belonging was a given. It all starts with language, doesn’t it? Mine betrayed me at the first word. The Spanish…
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Errata
A reader pointed out that the Star Wars movies mentioned in “Nomadic Christmases Past” are in fact sequels, not prequels. Hadn’t I noticed that Luke Skywalker had hit middle age? That Leia had a grown son? That she’d changed her hair? All very excellent points. It is mildly disconcerting that after six hours of cumulative…
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On Nomadic Christmases Past
It was Christmas week in Lisbon, and I found there was a delinquent gift for someone who’d expect it. “Pete, I thought you had bought that?” was followed by “Wait, I thought you’d bought that,” and we each ended up conceding procrastination, placing full blame on December’s busyness. I note that this is remarkably out…
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Accidental Herbivore
We were sharing a small fourth-floor walk-up, 102 steps, to be exact, across from Ladbroke Square Park. Pete and I had just moved in together. We were new to London, having just moved our few belongings across the Channel from Paris, with our prized possessions being a painting I bartered for proudly in French at…
