Loving a country is like a friendship, a relationship, or a marriage, you only know its value when troubles come, when you’re tested, when… — Loving a country is like a friendship, a relationship, or a marriage, you only know its value when troubles come, when you’re tested, when pain wells up. What do we do then? If it is a human we decide whether or not we want them in our lives, do we…

By Charlene Smith — By Charlene Smith Tourism is the drug that economies rely upon. Withdrawal symptoms are worse now than at any time during the pandemic. The knowledge that healing isn’t instant is slow to sink in. A reason might be that the United States has not experienced a war on its soil…

I have broken this post into two, before you travel and the first part of my trip to Rhodes Island, Greece in mid-December, at a time where… — I have broken this post into two, before you travel and the first part of my trip to Rhodes Island, Greece in mid-December, at a time where nations were closing their doors as Omicron leaked like Ouzo, sticky and unseen around the globe. Right up until the day I flew…

Books procreate in my home, I’m sure of it, when I moved in, I discarded car loads of books — living in Japan helps make you ruthless… — Books procreate in my home, I’m sure of it; when I moved in, I discarded car loads of books — living in Japan helps make you ruthless about clutter — and I felt virtuous with just one bookshelf. I was delusional. Again. Still. Unpacking boxes revealed that there were more…

Words change the world; they speak to our hearts, inform our brains, and impel action. And in the rhetoric of the wise there is always a… — Words change the world; they speak to our hearts, inform our brains, and impel action. And in the rhetoric of the wise there is always a thread that links the past to a dreamed-for-future. …

By Charlene Smith — By Charlene Smith Every one has within, the unthinking bigot. One of my students, an Asian-American wrote of his pain, as a child, when, at the park, white parents would quietly remove their child from playing with this slant-eyed, yellow-skinned toddler. In later discussion, he had the grace to admit…

Leaving is at once an act of rebirth and betrayal. Leaving is rarely about retreat or discarding, even though something or someone is… — Leaving is at once an act of rebirth and betrayal. Leaving is rarely about retreat or discarding, even though something or someone is always left. …