My daughters were celebrating the holiday with their in-laws, and I wanted a bit of solitude after the long, crowded months. There were a few international students around, but I didn’t talk to anyone. I did my laundry, read a book or two, listened to the Pixies and the Kinks on my iPod, and took...
He told us to wake him up at five o’clock, and then, to remind us, he pinned a note to his pants: WAKE ME AT 5 PM. His handwriting was astonishing. Large capital letters with heavy serifs. It was just after two o’clock, so we went down to Smathers Beach. On the way there we saw a man selling coco...