Hock und Sterb (“Hook & Stab,” the nickname of a thorn tree that grows in the Bush)

There are few more striking symbols of Africa than a thorn tree —

its gnarled branches, graceful form, jagged thorns and abundant blooms,

in many ways reflecting the paradoxes of the continent.

— www.wildwatch.com

Picture this: a king size bed under a white tented canopy in a floor-to-ceiling windowed room with a Continue reading “LIVING UNSCRIPTED: A Thorny Paradise” »

I wasn’t quite sure that anyone would really understand my resistance to settling back down in to a routine when I got back from my six-month travels, but when I gingerly mentioned to one of my investors that I wasn’t ready to unpack my bags — “just yet,” she responded with “I’d love to lose my furniture…Just get rid of it and travel.” Her husband was in the backseat, listening in to our conversation and wrote me in an email later that week, that he, too, would love to break free the shackles of responsibility and take the time he’s earned, to do/see what he’s always wanted to do/see — while he still can.  They’ve actually done a good bit of exotic traveling in the last few years but always on organized tours for specific amounts of time, not open-ended and certainly not by the seat of their pants. Continue reading “LIVING UNSCRIPTED: A Life of Couch Surfing” »

“There’s A Fine, Fine Line

between A Lover, And A Friend.

there’s A Fine, Fine Line

between Reality, And Pretend;

and You Never Know ’til You Reach The Top

if It Was Worth The Uphill Climb…”

I drove down from the Catskills to the end of Long Island on my two days off from the musical Pailey and I were working on, to celebrate Brielle’s (my youngest) 21st birthday and Nick’s (my son) 27th. Nick flew in from California to help Brielle organize a weekend bash out at the house my ex and I still own jointly — and I surprised her with a pair of Tiffany champagne flutes for the first toast. Continue reading “LIVING UNSCRIPTED: Nix the ‘I’m Done!’” »

“I don’t want to brag or make anyone jealous or anything,
but I can still fit in to the earrings I wore in high school.”

– “Cathy” greeting card

Summer in the city and my gal pals were looking great. Emma, still confidently single, cut out wheat and had already lost a chunk since she left me in London… Karen, handcuffed to Toolman (whenever possible), added jogging to her yoga and biking routine so she was fit as a fiddle; Pailey was still hot-to-trotting on the on-line dating scene, working out regularly in the gym & gorgeously petite –and JB was back on track with her Mr, planning their first vacation alone together in years. I, on the other hand, was paying the price for all the wonderful cheese I discovered my last couple of weeks overseas so my earrings were, indeed, the only things in the suitcases I was still living out of that I didn’t have to wiggle in to. My bad. Deal with it. Continue reading “LIVING UNSCRIPTED: Back in the Saddle” »

I’m home.

At 59, divorced and empty-nested, I opted out of the life I was living to travel for six months, visiting people I know and love overseas.  I sublet my apartment and left the country the day before Thanksgiving to the day before Memorial Day with three suitcases, a round trip ticket to Paris and a general idea of the countries I wanted to go to in between … I had no expectations– – and experienced the trip of a lifetime. Continue reading “LIVING UNSCRIPTED: Long Journey Home” »

I started walking… not even looking at Emma who was on line at the Royal Opera to get tickets for Sunday’s matinee. “I dropped my jacket somewhere” I moaned in her direction as I headed in the opposite, retracing my footsteps, out in to Covent Garden, around the corner, then right, past the Lion King, crossing the street where we came from, eyes focused towards the ground… on to Waterloo Bridge, looking down, left, right, for the matching jacket to my pants, that I was carrying on my arm because of the extraordinary warm weather… If you lose it, you’ll find it, I kept repeating, speed walking across the Thames. Continue reading “LIVING UNSCRIPTED: Lost & Found” »

I landed in the UK the day before William and Kate showed the world the very best of what it means to be a Royal (not to mention “young and in love”). Being an incurable romantic, I was engrossed from the minute I spotted the first silly hat to the last of the tacky outfits, running commentary with my gracious hosts, Mr. and Mrs. H, in Yorkshire. Could have done with a more tango-inspired kiss on the balcony, but all things considered (what with the Queen, the Step-mum and the Uncle who’s a bit sketchy), well… Well done! Nothing like a little blue blood spectacular to pump up the £ (pound). Continue reading “LIVING UNSCRIPTED: A Wedding and a Funeral Make History” »

Some things just make me wimp up . . . A good hallmark commercial, the ending of Charlotte’s Web . . . or apparently, saying good-bye to Ricky (my German sister) and Thomas (her husband) at the Express Bus stop to the out-of-the-way airport in Berlin where I was catching my low-cost flight to Edinburgh on a no-name airline with ridiculous weight restrictions. Unable to speak, I shooed them away without making eye contact . . . I just couldn’t say good-bye.

And it wasn’t because I got to share yet another wonderful Easter dinner with Continue reading “LIVING UNSCRIPTED: It’s Wimps Anonymous” »

Piss-S-S-S-T-T, Shaz!

S-h-h-h-h-h-h!

Around the bend, in the unseen, arising from the very uncertainties that may now seem to taunt you, there are amazing Continue reading “LIVING UNSCRIPTED: The Universe Hath Spoken” »

I had breakfast last Wednesday in Italy (speaking Italian), boarded a train for Zurich where I had lunch (speaking German) before catching my connection to Strasbourg (where they speak French).  And let’s not lose the fact that I’m writing about all this in English. It’s a private joke from me to me (that I spoke all of my languages in one day) and I’ve had a lot of those on this trip.  Private jokes that are funny to me — and then I look around, expecting to be able to share a laugh with a familiar face — and I’m reminded again, that I’m on my own, flying solo. Continue reading “Living Unscripted: Life in Any Language Is Still Complicated” »