“And here comes my neighbor Stávros. He lives with his wife and son in the only other house on this side of the small bay. If I’m on my veranda when he passes,…

“Thalia began by pointing out the general geography of Athens and proceeded to speak about the history of the small church, whose exterior walls gleamed white and whose bright blue painted dome was…

“When I think of what my Yoga teachers have imparted this year, and especially Jill and Ali, I realize that they’ve helped me—and the poses have helped me—to somehow accept (I’d like to…

“Emil—a poet in black and white, as well as in Demotic Greek—and I laughed and scribbled our way through the composition of my four Manghes (‘Tough Guy’ ) Columns featuring the hapless Athenian…

“Robert seemed thrilled by the prospect of this buddy trip. On the folded-down back seat of my VW Fox, Robert had set up a little travel planning office complete with a bar. As…

“You do not make a habit of blowing your own horn or celebrating the defeat of your adversaries. You do Good Works, and then you do more Good Works. You do this because…

“Pacifists are often jealous of the fact that Bhutan has more monks than soldiers, Monaco’s national orchestra is larger than its military, and Costa Rica must borrow a cannon from El Salvador when…

“I believe, oh yes! We will get there./We’ll row out from these islands/where we’re marooned, sorting shells/and scribbling notes to send/into the dark. We’ll gather/on that porch and lift our glasses/in a salute…

“Back in the day, my parents were always warning about calamities and tragedies waiting to happen if I didn’t look both ways when I crossed the street; if they weren’t vigilant and we…

“Looking back over all that has happened since the 4th of June, 1972, it seems I was extraordinarily fortunate in that roll of the dice that sent me here. It didn’t look like it…