A trip to the dentist wasn’t among the 2020 adventures Dorty Nowak was looking forward to. But narrowed travel horizons have offered fertile territory for introspection about matters large and small—including, dental floss.
What I Did Today: Pandemic life in 50 words or less.
One day, YourLifeIsATrip.com executive editor Judith Fein wrote to a few friends and asked what their day was like. The answers were unexpected, quirky, deep, funny, sad, anxious, bored, depressed, confused, and moving. So, we put out the question to our contributors: What did YOU do today? Then we asked them to spin it into a story in 50 words or less. Here’s what they had to say.
Purrdling With My Cat
To lower her anxiety over the past few months, Nancy King has found solace in solitary hikes along Santa Fe trails and extra time to purrdle, a word she’s coined during the pandemic, with her dying rescue-cat Mia.
Somewhere I Have Never Traveled
For many, knowing where they come from can provide a deep sense of community. For Elyn Aviva, however, this period of global political chaos and pandemic has revealed an ancestral history of seeking refuge from war, oppression, and persecution. Could this explain the innate terror and compulsion to flee she experiences in times of crisis?
GIVE ME A BREAK: TRAVELING WITH A CAST ON
Cliff Simon has a history of accidental injuries. He’s been bandaged and restrained in the Bronx, the East Village, Harlem, Vero Beach, Austin, and Birmingham, with narrow escapes in Santa Fe and Queens. Recently, while recovering from a bone break from yet another fall, he found himself thinking about his accident-proneness. Was he cursed? A klutz? Or was there more to it?
That Nameless Place
Gary White created from imagination from an early age. From music composition to book writing and dowsing, he’s spent a lifetime traveling to that nameless place of connection where imagination resides and ideas are manifested. Join him on the journey.
From Selma to Taos
When Denise Kusel decided it was time to give away her sweet, old Martin D-28 Herringbone guitar that had traveled with her for 55 years, she picked up the phone and called Billie Blair, who had been her boss at “The New Mexican” when she was Pasatiempo editor and a columnist. Billie always had answers.
Things Are Definitely Looking Up
In 1996, a then undiagnosed neurological condition had Cliff Simon fearing for his life with no hope in sight. Two months later everything had changed for the better. Now, when the gloom-and-doom media report depressing stories of the virus, of people mired in hatred, or science ignored and leaders mis-leading, he remembers how terrified he was in December of 1996. And, how quickly circumstances can improve.
A Phone Message From the Past
For years Nancy King resisted buying a smartphone. One day, to celebrate her 84th birthday, she ordered one. A flashback to childhood abuse and the resulting PTSD reactions triggered by the phone’s arrival wasn’t the journey into modern technology she’d anticipated.
Where The Enlightened Ones Are
Chris Pady was skeptical that enlightened beings walked the earth; that was until the day an enlightened being flicked him on the forehead and forever changed his mind.
The Lies I’ve Told About Childhood
Cliff Simon has carried memories and told stories about his family ever since he was an unhappy teenager. There’s just one problem:, they weren’t true.
Close Encounters With The Police
White, college-educated, compliant, and in his late sixties, BJ Stolbov shares his personal experiences with the police and why cops scare him.
A Road Trip During the Coronavirus Pandemic: Is it a good idea?
Compelled by necessity, Carolyn Handler Miller and her husband, Terry, set off for California from Santa Fe, New Mexico, with the coronavirus still gripping the country. Finding themselves in an unpredictable new world, they returned home safely and wiser, but would they do it again?
Traveling Through Time and Space Without Going Anywhere
Elyn Aviva decided that culling her computer contact list would be a productive Corona project. Easy, right? In theory perhaps, but the reality wasn’t quite the cleanup she’d anticipated.
Let Them Eat Cake
Like many people during this pandemic, Cliff Simon has been baking. Baking cakes has been a lifelong pleasure but under the lens of quarantine, baking and sharing have taken on new meaning and revealed new insights.
To Not Tell A Story
Are there some stories that are best left untold? In this essay, American expat BJ Stolbov recounts a decades-old experience which—until now— had remained private.
A Letter From Lockdown in Santa Barbara, California
Homebound with some time on her hands during the COVID-19 pandemic, Melissa Devor, reaches out from Santa Barbara, California, to share what’s happening in her world.
Leaving Fez, Biting Our Nails
Making plans in Fez for a last-minute Sahara excursion during Ramadan proved to be a bit of a gamble for retired American Michael Papas. As he handed over a stack of cash, he wondered if he was being foolish or if trusting a stranger in a foreign land would pay off.
Very, Very Short Mother's Day Stories
We challenged YourLifeIsATrip.com writers to tell us their Mother's Day tales in 25 words or less. But don’t let the small size fool you. At the heart of each of these very very short essays is a powerful story. So this is our gift to you — some very very short stories from the YourLifeIsATrip.com family.
From the Bottom of Africa
Rinki Cohn proudly reports from South Africa about how the country, with just a fraction of the resources of a lot of countries, has successfully flattened its COVID-19 curve and how leaders there are really trying to do the right things.