Oh Well

UNITED STATES—During one of the breaks at the Census Office, I’d go around the corner of Manchester and read the National Enquirer. One week...

Once Upon A Crime

UNITED STATES—It amazes me how much time’s vortex can pack into a single afternoon. At that first meeting of the Spanish cultural club, where...

Hard Knocks

UNITED STATES—Samuel Johnson, the British wit and man of letters, said that he never knew a man with a toothache to be a philosopher....

Heavenly Daze

UNITED STATES—You wake up and you’re in this place where the clouds are all cottony as they glide across an achingly blue sky. Kinda...

Back To Begin

UNITED STATES—Back at the rooming house the pressure was on to get some scratch. Of course my teen horror screenplay, “The Persecuted” was floating...

Full Circle

UNITED STATES—Astonishing how things blossomed after joining the Spanish-language theater group. After one of the group's rehearsals Rafael, the director, invited me to check...

Better Than TV

UNITED STATES—I have it easy now as this memoir progresses: the diary picks up, following the finish of my screenplay. “The Persecuted” is on...

Knowing Where Everything Is

UNITED STATES—The hell with cleaning, I say. One of the traits of genius is being oblivious to a mess. What can be really phenomenal,...

Quick Comeback

UNITED STATES—The memoirist must always make a choice, to be didactic and distill lessons or to tell the story. Here I will pause to...

What Now

UNITED STATES—My jailhouse visit to Mac reminded me of the beauty of being free. But all was not free; only my fake walnut-paneled room...