The pavement bends up behind the Catholic church, and we leave the smallest city in Germany down in the valley, turning a corner to find ourselves in the bottle-green halls of the summer Black Forest. It’s been a long time since my trail map was a constant companion, since Emily and I traced these little diamond-marked…
Tag: future
Hurdles
The hurdlers are not happy. From where I stand at the end of the long jump pit, waiting for my seven jumpers to come bounding down the runway, to land with a sandy splash in front of me, I can see the hurdlers, shivering in their navy warm-ups, less than eager to start their race. “We like…
Beyond the Hallways
We’re driving away from our last exploration. Switzerland is damp and cool this April day, unseasonably grey for the spring Senior Day trip to Lucerne. Upon our arrival to this touristic hamlet on the shores of Lake Lucerne, I’d sent them off with a small walking map and instructions that included “walk across the cool wooden…
Oh, The Places We’ve Been
The times we had oh, when the wind would blow with rain and snow were not all bad we put our feet just where they had, had to go never to go “Postcards From Italy,” Beirut The view from our castle tower is stunning, the lights of Saturday-night Nürnberg spread out below us in sequined splendor. We’re…
What Are We Doing Today?
“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?” Isaiah 45:9 Last spring, I contributed a “Teacher Translation Guide” to the yearbook. Mostly satire, it contained phrases that students should never…
Of Wedding Plans, Pinterest and Parameters
Pinterest, that cyber-hybrid of down-home wisdom and commercial temptation, has garnered passionate disciples among the expatriate missionaries of Black Forest Academy. I’m more a reluctant convert, drawn in almost a year ago because I suspected I’d be planning a wedding in the near future. A real one. My own. According to my scientific research (i.e….
Long Distance
I’m sitting out in the long-expected sunshine, a stack of Honors American Literature exams on my lap. I’m reading them, marking them, but slowly. I keep getting distracted. A senior is heading off to Scotland in the fall, and he perches on a bench long enough to talk about summer jobs in America and the…
A Ring and a Question, A Kiss and a Prayer
Meet me where you’re going, Cause I want to be going where you are. Teach me what you’re knowing, Cause I want to be knowing who you are. “Meet Me Where You’re Going,” Cloud Cult For the seventh time, I return to the candle. It is alone between a road and a wide, snowy field,…
This Is The Day
This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice, and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 “I’m not that sporty,” I said one day long ago, walking around Greenlake with a friend. “You didn’t do sports in high school?” “No, I did. I ran cross country for three years. I didn’t really…
There Are No Lakes Till Eternity
We are not permitted to linger, even with what is most intimate. From images that are full, the spirit plunges on to others that suddenly must be filled; there are no lakes till eternity. Here, falling is best. To fall from the mastered emotion into the guessed-at, and onward. Rainer Maria Rilke, from “To Hölderlin” We…
The Way Home 