In July 2019, I started walking the city of Madrid. 2019 — which, if we’d only known it, was the…
Grist for the Mill (news, in other words)
Winter Coat
Little yappy dogs in pastel knitted sweaters; whip-thin trembling galgos wearing the dog-equivalent of down vests; stocky pugs in hoodies,…
Big Thief
Sitting in the café, I joked: Understanding what’s going on is overrated but I was whistling in the wind. I…
Pubs, Winter 2022 Edition
The beach house has a terrible name, half pun, half innuendo — hearing it, you can’t help but roll your…
Homeplace (Revisited)
Oh, Georgia. I moved to you when I was six, in the middle of an ice storm. The first place…
Weather Report (Little Things)
The next 10 days’ forecast is for rain, pure and simple. We need it (we always need it). Madrid only…
Slices of Life
Madrid is back. It was a long summer, meteorologically speaking: the searing, life-changing heat of August, which gives teeth to…
The Old Country/The New World (Snapshots)
It’s the time of day when it could go either way, café con leche or caña of beer. Walking past…
Elemental: August
The first August, we’d just gotten here. Besides, for most of that month, we were sealed inside an air-conditioned building…
In the Barrio (July)
If we’re lucky — and in July we’re often lucky — no matter how hot it gets during the day,…