Archive | Stories

My story about floating down the Canal du Midi in the south of France appears in No Set Boundaries: Eleven Stories of Life, Travel, Misadventure, the second volume of essays from Townsend 11, a publishing entity created by my long-term writers group. Get it wherever good e-books are sold, or download it to read on […]

My story about cruising the Nile appears in No Fixed Destination: Eleven Stories of Life, Love, Travel, a new collection from Townsend 11, a publishing entity created by my long-term writers group. Get it wherever good e-books are sold, or download it to read on your computer or phone. Here’s the lead: Up a Lazy […]

“Perrrrrrrrrrrrrrrro,” I stuttered, failing completely to roll the r’s as my seven-year-old daughter laughed with glee. “No, it’s perro,” she said in a perfect Spanish accent. “Like this.” She twittered like a bird demonstrating how to do it. “You need to practice.” “Do you think I can learn?” “Yes. Practice all the way home.” So […]

It seemed like just a short time ago that I threw a surprise 50th birthday party for a close friend. He wasn’t impressed because he never liked to celebrate birthdays, and turning 50 was more than he wanted to face. But he played along, a good sport, and when it was over got back to […]

A friend flew from San Francisco to Panama last week and reported that his flight arrived late in LA, causing him to rush through the terminal and out to the shuttle at LAX worried he’d miss his connection. The shuttle bus took forever to circle the grounds and delivered him to the terminal for his […]

A few years ago I was in Australia in the weeks before Christmas and found myself in Adelaide. I didn’t know much about the city, but what I discovered there prompted a simple story I call “Christmas Carols in Adelaide.” Here it is, below. Christmas Carols in Adelaide I didn’t have high hopes for Adelaide. […]