Category | Observations
In a Heartbeat

In a Heartbeat

by | Mar 12, 2026 | ,

It was the nightmare I had been hoping to avoid. I had arrived at the inescapable conclusion: I would have to go to the emergency room. Questions that I had been worrying about now needed quick answers. Where was the nearest ER? Would they speak English? Would my insurance pay for medical treatment in Kosovo? Who should I call for help?

I had already experienced three episodes of atrial fibrillation dating back to 2009. The first two times, my heart righted itself with little effort – some IV hydration or a dose of a fast-acting beta blocker. The third time was a bit more dramatic. The easy fixes didn’t work and I was sedated for a procedure called cardioversion – the application of two electric paddles that deliver a shock to the heart to jolt it back into rhythm. The attempts were unsuccessful and my heart continued to go rogue through the night until it decided on its own to return to regular beats. These two instances left me feeling uneasy and, although I had not had a reoccurrence in many years, it had remained a background fear as I traveled to unusual places such as Kosovo and the Caribbean Island of Nevis. read more…

The Electrician

The Electrician

by | Jun 24, 2023 |

Part 1: Harly in the Drink

Harly may or may not be an actual electrician. He is, nevertheless, the man on whom we call these days when our wiring needs attention. He has replaced our former person, Glenman. Glenman may or may not have been an actual electrician as well, but it was he who did all the original electrical work in our Nevis home. And he may also be the reason that the wiring in our house so frequently goes on the blink. read more…

Searching for Brah

Searching for Brah

by | Jun 17, 2022 | ,

It was a good night for a barbecue. John and Ingrid were visiting us in Nevis from Boston and we had a large salmon to cook for dinner that night. Our grill was nothing more than an old propane tank sliced in half lengthwise and mounted on a metal stand. read more…

Mr. Lonely Hearts

Mr. Lonely Hearts

by | Jun 15, 2022 |

We wake up every morning to a rhythmic drumming on our metal roof. This is a new phenomenon, most likely brought on by the installation of our bird feeders that swing suspended from our third floor balcony. Our most loyal visitors from the very start have been the woodpeckers – the Downy, the Hairy, and (our most stunning) the Red-bellied. read more…

The Cruise

The Cruise

by | Jun 15, 2022 |

It was what we call at our house “a first world problem.” The day before my brother and his family were to visit us in our tropical home on the island of Nevis, the dishwasher broke.

It had been fading for the last year or so. First the buttons controlling the cycles froze so that the ability to change from ‘pots and pans’ to ‘light wash’ was no longer available. read more…

Greatest Hits of the 1970s

Greatest Hits of the 1970s

by | Mar 13, 2022 |

James Taylor almost sang at my wedding. During the waning days of winter in 1970, we were living in Cambridge with some Harvard Law students. Our friend Lou – a dropout from the Law School – had just gifted us a record album. On the cover was a skinny guy in a rumpled tan suit, wide paisley tie and beige suspenders, lying on the grass against a stone wall. read more…

Do I Bow or Can I Hug?

Do I Bow or Can I Hug?

by | Sep 30, 2021 |

Do I Bow or Can I Hug?

I pondered this question as I sat on the ten-hour flight from Los Angeles to Haneda Airport near Tokyo for our first ever visit to Japan. Tatsuya had been a twenty-nine year old businessman when he joined our family briefly in 1994. He came as part of a cultural program being offered to my school at no cost: read more…

Afternoon in Prishtina

Afternoon in Prishtina

by | Sep 28, 2021 |

While snow piles up in Vermont and New Hampshire, I have to buy a pair of sunglasses to shield my eyes from the bright Prishtina sun because it never occurred to me to pack my own. It is in the mid-fifties and I sweat a bit under the scarf and winter coat that I packed for my February trip to Kosovo as I walk with a quick pace to keep up with the urban throngs on the pitted sidewalks. I’m heading to Mother Theresa Square, the pedestrian mall lined by benches, bistros, and shops. As I pass the government complex, I look up and I see the American flag. It flies third in a row of five flagpoles in front of the buildings that house, among other governmental agencies, the Ministry of Education and Sports, or MEST as it is known. It is where I have come to work as a consultant and how I landed by myself in this tiny Balkan nation. read more…

Polite Panic

Polite Panic

by | Sep 15, 2021 |

It’s fifty degrees and the March sun is shining. I put on my water-resistant cross-country ski gloves, take hold of a shopping cart, and pass through the automatic door. I am at my local Hannaford supermarket. read more…

One Fine Day

One Fine Day

by | Sep 15, 2021 |

It is September in the year of the pandemic. A summer of drought followed by torrential rains and high winds brought what seemed to be a sudden and cruel end to the fall foliage. Our majestic sugar maple read more…