While cleaning out my closet last Saturday, I took out this vest and decided that after 25 years it was ready for another owner. I have not worn it much – too fancy for casual wear, and I don’t go to a lot of parties. Also, it has orange, which is just not my color. … read more The old orange dragon
Tag: China
The young woman in Wuhan
South China, 1992 For months I had been editing stories at China Daily about how China’s moribund state-owned enterprises were being closed, disassembled, and sold off in bits. It was part of Deng Xiaoping’s ongoing push for economic reform, which he had just re-emphasized with his tour of South China. As I traveled through South China … read more The young woman in Wuhan
First day on the clock
I always end up breaking one of the “rules of writing”: Do it in the morning. I just can’t do it. This standard advice for writers is intended to give your freshest, most creative brain over to writing. It’s also to make sure you get it done. But I work with people who are 10 … read more First day on the clock
Silent work
The teacher was doing something strange with his hands. Everyone around me was doing the same thing. So I did it, too. Then I stopped looking around, because of what I felt. I was in a park in Beijing, in 1991. It was at the end of a tai chi session. I had briefly studied tai … read more Silent work
The sabra: From Hanoi to Jerusalem
In October 1993, I had given up on men. I was still recovering from the break-up of a long and disastrously passionate relationship that spring. Summer brought a series of brief mismatches and a suicidal bout of depression. On top of Hua Shan in northern China that October, I stood exhausted from a grueling climb … read more The sabra: From Hanoi to Jerusalem
Day 51: Mao’s holy cards
In the midst of this week’s scare about China, I happened to be sorting through memorabilia from the early ’90s, when I lived, worked and traveled there. And I found the Mao holy cards. That’s what our group of resident foreigners called them: laminated portrait cards of Chairman Mao, which suddenly appeared, hanging first from … read more Day 51: Mao’s holy cards
Day 34: The last time I left home
I left Ohio many times, physically and mentally, before I left for good in 1984. But I always knew I would leave. Maybe it started when I was very little. I used to play along the banks of the creek that ran through our front yard, and built imaginary villages from twigs, leaves, moss, and … read more Day 34: The last time I left home