The grand opening of the World Parks Congress, Sydney Olympic Stadium November 2014. The audiences is shushed and warned off flash photography. The hosts urge quiet respect, announcing that ‘this will be a sacred part of the ceremony’. The scene …
Category: crossed cultures
Safe areas of ignorance
I’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t have a skill they pride themselves on. Even just a small range of actions they know they can reliably perform well, with or without pressure. Simple, elegant expertise: tying a rope, milking a …
Luciérnagas (fireflies)
[I’m trying to finish a paper, meaning all time not spent in painful gestation feels guilty. With super storms, the unfolding tragedy of our bedraggled reef and a certain wobbliness on the personal front, sometimes things seem a little bleak. …
Outside the Island
It is from Dead Man’s Cove that the small group leaves. The sign reads ‘Pretty Beach’ and is nailed to a tree at a rakish angle. Soledad traces the faded yellow lettering with her fingers, watching the boat disappear out …
Latecomer
It’s 8:45am. The fishers sit silently, some studying the floor, others gazing out to the still waters visible from the hotel’s balcony with a (real? imagined?) longing for a day’s lost wages. All are dressed neatly, shirts tucked in, hair …