This week there was a fog that covered Shelter Island for an entire day. It was light enough that standing in the middle of it, the warm colors of the autumn leaves blurred together a little like the yellows and reds of a Van Gogh. The distant trees on a small hill could’ve been any […]
Tag: Casablanca
The Open Sea
Yesterday, when I was headed to board the MSC Poesia in Barcelona, there were two large buses shuttling passengers to the harbor. I stood in line next these absolutely beautiful Spanish girls and just thought, “Awesome.” Then when I showed the bus driver my ticket, he said, “No, no, your bus is the next bus. […]
Sacred Goodbyes
A lot has happened lately. There’s a thousand little stories to pick from. My friends leaving. New ones coming to visit. Glasses being distributed left and right. Emails that show up with exciting or wonderful news. Emails that show up that cause you to take a step back and take a few, slow and deep […]
19 Months
If you’re a regular reader, you already know why my grandfather was so important to me, and you ought to know that he spent time in Casablanca working on planes as a mechanic during World War II. It’s just a little thing that gave me a strong sense of purpose in coming to this country, […]

Deciding to be Happy Already.
I’m not one to tout karma, but last year when load after load of bad news kept coming my way from my grandfather dying to multiple graduate school rejections, I felt like something good was destined to happen. I even felt like I deserved it. After all, I’d hit rock bottom, and it was past […]

A Legacy of Service, or Why Morocco Mattered to Me Before This
Morocco was, strangely, my first choice, among Peace Corps countries I could serve. I say “strangely” because as I dreamed about Pacific Islands or Guatemalan potholes to hell (my dear friend Maria really wanted me to go to Guatemala), Morocco was never a serious consideration. I mean, I certainly mentioned it in one of my […]
