clinging to the wreckage

  Through the darkest days, or the best of times, she is on my mind. I met her eleven years ago in Madrid… the French goddess. In eleven years, I have had other relationships, I have felt love, but she has always been there in my heart and in my mind. I have always considered her to be the one (for me). But she was engaged then, with one child, and she is married now, with two children. Her style and grace are timeless. Her elegance, I feel, is unappreciated. But perhaps that is just me imagining things. When I met her in 2013, she had been with her boyfriend for 10 years. It is now 2024, so she has been with him for 21 years. It is almost unimaginable. Each night, before I go to sleep, I think about her and often imagine that she is there beside me… or that she knocks on my door and asks if she can join me. Most mornings I wake up and imagine that she is beside me. I want to reach out and say hello and tell her that I love her. We briefly spoke last weekend, and she recommended a ...

  Arriving home to all that was familiar was wonderful. But, after a short while, it became apparent that everything had changed. They had voted for him… the criminal, the selfish bastard who stole and lied and cheated from anyone and everyone, even children with cancer or parents investing in the education of their children. He’s a mockery to politics, leadership, the country, decency. The days passed by, silent and empty. Everyone was married, having children, or wallowing in the joy of having ‘won’ regardless of the cost of that victory. There was no one to talk to. There was nothing. Everything felt lost and without significance.   Now I spend my spare time reading to try to find solace, but I also spend time searching for places to live. Other countries, perhaps, to escape to, or do I simply move to a blue state to rebuild and fight back. I love this country and want to see it on a progressive path but, for now, I see that the majority of people want to go backwards, they...

It was a 14-hour flight from Dallas to Dubai, and I was flying in economy. I was both excited and terrified because the ultimate destination was Bengaluru, India, and I had never been to India before. This opportunity excited me. A 14-hour flight to Dubai followed by a 4-hour flight to India terrified me. It was a great privilege to have a job that afforded me the luxury of travelling to many different places and working with so many varied cultures and backgrounds. However, this had been a really busy period in time with people visiting me, trips for myself, the start of a new job, going through US naturalization process, applying for a passport, registering to vote, voting, planning the trip to India, etc. It was the final stretch before, I hoped, a lengthy period at home, sticking to routine, and spending time alone.   Arriving at Dallas airport, via the train and terminal link bus, I found the ‘bag drop’ section for Emirates and was asked to show my visa for India. I had c...