Life on the Amazon

I’ve prided myself on a life relatively unconcerned with “things.”  When I moved to Japan, I packed a single, solitary suitcase.  “Is that all?” everyone wondered.  Already in my new pre-Zen, world-wandering, mystic… Continue reading →

It’s What’s for Dinner

I need to rant a little about this.  To be clear about this, I LOVE JAPANESE FOOD.  But I get so tired of Japanese people talking about it. A friend of mine passed… Continue reading →

By the Glow of the Cave Fire

As cataclysmic snow storms buried the US Southern states, I snuggled into a blanket at my brothers house in North Carolina.  Folks here reacted with expected levels of end-of-the-world fear as the snopacalypse… Continue reading →

Goin’ Down South

I’m road tripping.  This has always been my favorite state of existence. As a child I took long journeys during the summer with my folks, who as teachers had long summer holidays.  The… Continue reading →

You Are Just American

I was raised to be a proud Irish-American. Bagpipe lessons and step dancing, shamrocks and an shillelaghs were a constant presence in my youth.  On St Patrick’s Day of course myself and the… Continue reading →

American Joke

I’ve been doing standup comedy for about thirteen years now.  Which is to say, as long as I have lived in Japan. Except for some brief forays into stand-up in university and while… Continue reading →

Big in America

It is easy to be big in Japan, because everything tends to be on the small side.  But whether big is good or not I’m not so sure anymore.   My conception of… Continue reading →

Banter

I have no idea how to banter anymore.  But apparently everywhere I go, people want to engage me in some sort of conversation.  I’m just trying to buy a quart of ice-cream and… Continue reading →

Not in a Long Time

Some things you’d never imagine going long without and others you didn’t notice were gone become absent from your life when you move abroad.  Now confronted with them once again, I’m relearning how… Continue reading →

You know you are home when…

One of the most common questions you get as a returnee is probably “When did you feel like you were back in America.”  (“What did you miss most?” Is another, but I’ll save… Continue reading →