Note: The following was written in August 2023, but the events took place in June 2023. Past. Present. Future. Intertwined together in a single moment. These are the words that come to mind when I think of Evora, a small rural town with deep historical roots in the Portuguese backcountry. Life in the village dates [...]
Note: The following was written in January 2024, but the events took place in June 2023. It was a picturesque summer afternoon. The day's energy was carried by a mixed murmur of music and banter across the beach. In the heat of competition, barefooted soccer and volleyball players kicked clouds of sand into the air [...]
Note: Originally written in January 2024. The events described below occurred in June 2023. Narrow cobblestone sidewalks, roads, and plazas are common features throughout Portugal's towns and countryside villages. Strong and firm, albeit sometimes uneven, they're part of the historical influence that is integral to this European country’s identity. Admittedly, there is almost a time [...]
Note: The following was originally written in August 2023. But the events took place in June 2023. Over 30,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean, the midnight blue skies slowly fade into a dawning lavender haze. Beginning its descent, the plane banked into a blanket of cotton-candied clouds. In that moment, my personal window into a [...]
Whether it be birthdays, baptisms, holidays, or anniversaries, gift-giving is an inherently present aspect of our lives. One does not need much, if anything at all, to offer a gift to someone else. It can come in the form of a token, a compliment, a favor, or even something as simple as a smile.
As an instrument of human creation, music has an uncanny ability to express an emotion, capture a moment, and even define a whole time period of one’s life.
A stiflingly dry heat permeates in the Yosemite Valley air, as the aroma of Christmas exudes from the conifer resin of the trees nearby. Pickup trucks and four-door sedans alike, crunch and grind their tires through the gravel parking lot, kicking up a cloud of gray dust in their wake. Beside the lifted trunk of [...]
A quiet murmur resonates across the water, carried by a brisk, invigorating breeze. There’s a bubbling excitement in the air, one generated by the long-awaited release of spring from Father Winter’s icy grasp. Pedestrians walk by shoulder-to-shoulder, overtaking the frustrated drivers left honking in the stagnant, congested road nearby. Couples both young and old caress [...]
Last summer, I bought a book of poetry. It was an impulse-buy, I admit, from a dainty, quaint little bookshop in the small town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. I was running errands for a freelance project that day and originally had no intentions of going to a bookstore. But as I walked along the sidewalk, [...]
A cool forest air rolls through the windows of my Ford Escape as it slowly eases to a stop. The soft breeze continues on, caressing the treetops of Allegheny National Forest in western Pennsylvania and offering a brief respite from the heavy heat of summer humidity. Several cars rest idly by in the parking lot, [...]