storytelling

  • Hey Me, Are You There?

    If you had a time machine and could send just one message to your past self, what would it say? I can’t tell you everything. It could disrupt the timeline. You spend childhood learning the basics. Fruits. Vegetables. Colors. Shapes.… Continue reading

  • A Matter of Taste

    What’s the best local dish you’ve ever eaten while traveling? “One does not travel to discuss the cuisine,” declared Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Ferrara. Judging by her expression, she had eaten at the grandest tables in Europe and found every… Continue reading

  • Indiana Jones and the Evidence of Ordinary Things

    Who is the fictional character you relate to the most? I absolutely share Indy’s obsession with rescuing history. Indiana Jones, that is. Though I’m not a college professor by day, I enjoy decoding clues to vanished eras. I am a… Continue reading

  • A Shield, An Anchor, and An Engine

    What is your favorite quote? When I was a kid on the playground, life was simple but loud. If someone threw an insult my way, I didn’t overthink it; I just raised my shield. My go-to defense was, “I know… Continue reading

  • The Architecture of a Thousand Dreams

    What’s your biggest dream? I am living my dream. My next dream is building the door so others can walk in too—stacking it high with the stories, histories, and pages that shaped me, then pushing open a pair of heavy… Continue reading

  • The Kitchen Broadcast System

    Which outdated technology do you miss the most, and why? Like most  Saturday mornings in the 1980s, I sat cross-legged in front of the television, completely mesmerized by The Jetsons. I couldn’t wait for the future. Flying cars, video calls,… Continue reading

  • The Five-Dollar Discovery

    What is the best purchase you have ever made? White chalk across the top read “$5.” At first glance, that was all there was to see. The resale shop was an old house where every room held collections that had… Continue reading

  • Table for Two, Suspect for One

    Rain had turned traffic into a slow-moving river of brake lights, but I arrived at the restaurant damp and exactly on time. I had just settled into the warm booth, with the scent of garlic drifting from the kitchen, when… Continue reading

  • The Teacher Beneath My Feet

    If someone had asked me yesterday which animal I’d want to be, I probably would have answered a panda. Peaceful. Unhurried. Completely unbothered. I’ve watched them fall out of trees, tumble down hills, and lose their balance more times than… Continue reading

  • Ordinary, On Purpose

    What’s one habit that has improved your life the most? Where the sea met a rugged coastline and fog often blurred the line between sea and sky, a lighthouse keeper began each evening the same way. He climbed a narrow… Continue reading