Category Archives: Route 1A

Wanderings: Here, There, Everywhere.

Tribute to This Evening, Courtesy of Pessoa

“Brief dark shadow of a downtown tree, light sound of waterfalling into the sad pool, green of the trimmed lawn — public garden shortly before twilight: you are in this moment the whole universe for me, for you are the full … Continue reading

Posted in Europe, Route 1A | Tagged , | Leave a comment

When the Clock Struck Twelve: Hong Kong, 2001

I have to admit: like many (including the writer of this Atlantic article), I’m not the biggest fan of New Year’s Eve. The celebrations always feel contrived, the parties overwrought. Not to mention that in a globalized world, there’s a … Continue reading

Posted in Asia, Route 1A, Smile | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Resolutions of the Written Word: Lessons in Sustainability

“The mind of the man who dreams is fully satisfied by what happens to him. The agonizing question of possibility is no longer pertinent. Kill, fly faster, love to your heart’s content. And if you should die, are you not … Continue reading

Posted in Route 1A, Smile | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Advice for the Itinerant

Early this morning, I steeped a cup of tea and looked out over the view that has been my home for eight years: the Pacific Ocean, the Santa Monica Bay stretching from Malibu to Rancho Palos Verdes. Last week, at … Continue reading

Posted in Route 1A, Smile | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How We Remember

Writing a book is often a long, lonely process. When you finally ‘finish’ (whatever that means), you have this strange amnesia about how much work actually went into it (much like the experience of birthing a child—or so I’m told). … Continue reading

Posted in Asia, Route 1A | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Grounding Places: The Wealth of an Hour (or Two, or Three, or Four…)

I depart as air…. I shake my white locks at the runaway      sun, I effuse my flesh in eddies and drift it in lacy jags. I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I   … Continue reading

Posted in Central America, Eco-Conscious, North America, Route 1A, Smile | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Guest Post: Chance Encounters

It used to be the norm for strangers to talk to one another on the street, hold doors for one another, chat in line at the bank. Now, given the proliferation of technological devices at our disposal, we seldom look … Continue reading

Posted in North America, Route 1A, Smile | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

In Celebration of Sendak and Siblings

I guess I was one of the lucky few who was up early enough on May 8th to watch the ‘Tell Them Anything You Want’ documentary about Maurice Sendak, author of ‘Where the Wild Things Are,’ before HBO pulled it … Continue reading

Posted in North America, Route 1A, Smile | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Looking Up

For my entire life, I’ve had trouble looking at the stars. Something about staring into that unknown, all the expansiveness of the universe, made me both queasy (literally) and uneasy. In recent months, I’ve been able to quell that anxiety … Continue reading

Posted in Eco-Conscious, Route 1A, Smile | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bilinguilism Rules! (当然了!)

As if this lover of language needed proof, several recent studies — and this New York Times article — prove that being bilingual not only makes you smarter, it can also stave off the effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. … Continue reading

Posted in Route 1A, Smile | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment