Category Archives: Adding Insult to Injury
Snap, Crackle, Drop…Scream [Close Calls] |
Bungee jumping sounds fun, right? The so-called “sport” has long been one of those three-beers-in vacation stunts that earns a person lifetime cocktail party cred, because having done it confers a certain badass-ness that belies how statistically insignificant accidents are … Continue reading
Christmas In Helladise [Water Water Everywhere] |
Being the selfless, caring person that I am, I generously give up my seat to an elderly man. My behavior is encouraged by the fact that it’s Christmas Eve and I’m waiting for a ferry that will take me to my home island … Continue reading
Seeing Stars [Drive Like Hell] |
It happened in Granados, Mexico, in the summer of 1997. I was 13 and visiting relatives on a family vacation. After a feast with family, laughing together, we got into the back of red pick-up truck. Seat belts in a … Continue reading
One Last Chip and Salsa for Papa [Insult, Meet Injury] |
Our family traveled for an unlucky reason: a reunion to commemorate the premature death of my father. Right after the funeral, the relatives still needed to be together, so we agreed to meet in Mexico to hug, cry, and wind down. We were … Continue reading
Finding English speakers can be a little hit and miss in Oman. While some locals speak perfectly, others struggle to even understand our very basic attempts at pronouncing place names in ‘gringo’ Arabic – but it’s not for want of … Continue reading
I am a geneticist who was invited on a medical mission to Saigon. On day three of my month-long trip, I stopped on a remote mountain road to photograph a beautiful valley below. Taking advantage of the solitude, I stepped to the cliff’s … Continue reading
The Death Grin [Surgical Tourism] |
The dentist grinned at me. He was missing teeth. Several teeth. He stood in front of a small, sturdy building in a dusty town in southwestern China, sharpening some kind of crude metal tools on a stone wheel. Like his … Continue reading