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Enchanted Evening

The London of my imagination is a nighttime city, a city of twinkling lights reflected in the Thames, of old-fashioned lampposts, of warm windows full of laughing people glowing into dim streets.  Sometimes it’s even like that in real life. One night I walk home from seeing a show at the Globe and I feel … Continue reading

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The Apple

It is hot in London, hot-hot.  Everywhere I walk are lobster-faced people, limbs sticky with sweat. Yesterday I walked home in the afternoon from Sunday lunch.  I had walked there in the sun over Tower Bridge, mid-tourist season, the bridge clogged with hesitating crowds all wanting the same photo in the same spot, distracted by … Continue reading

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Walking the Bounds

When I was young, we were forced to read Ethan Frome for school.  I found this novel utterly infuriating because one of the major themes is that the titular character leads a depressed, reduced life because he’d “seen too many New England winters.”  Now, New England winters are tough, but they don’t KILL people.  Okay, … Continue reading