A Surprising Reunion
It’s rare for me to meet anyone outside of my immediate family where I share childhood memories or a historic connection. Moving frequently means that these types of social connections vanish. Certainly, social media has altered the landscape and I now occasionally discover past acquaintances (or they locate me) through Instagram or Facebook. But I […]
On Friendship
Moving frequently growing up, childhood friendships were made and broken but not necessarily forgotten. I have vivid memories of a girl from first grade in Florence, Alabama who invited me over to spend the night and we stayed up late jumping madly on couch cushions like they were trampolines. There was gentle red-headed Pam Bowers, […]
Contains Tobacco Depictions
Accustomed as I am to the verbal tomfoolery of streaming services labeling, nevertheless, I was astonished to recently see a descriptor for The Bear, an American television series with drama, comedy and cooking set in a restaurant in Chicago (on Disney+). We are alerted that it ‘contains tobacco depictions’. This is a warning to viewers […]
Repatriation Penalty Phase
My reentry to the United States after living overseas for more than three decades was a trial by fire. Everything was familiar but everything had changed. I didn’t understand the professional scene, health care or the property market. Everything was a challenge as I attempted to master a culture that I had once belonged to—I […]
Call to arms
As an expatriate American and an Australian citizen, the experience of Anzac Day in Australia is filtered through my childhood memories of celebrations around the Fourth of July and Memorial Day in the United States. Memorial Day is the American national holiday that honours the men and women who died while in service of the […]