The American LadyThe American LadyI'm an American freelance journalist living in rural Austria with my London Black Cab and my adopted Jack Ruseell. If we aren't transporting sheep in the London taxi, we're stumbling across Vietnam, Armenia, Greece, Hungary, Romania, North Africa. Co Articles
Vinny's Take On It
2008-06-06 15:39:00 A'right, so I'm not the only one who can't get over the traffic here. My friends Margie and Vinny are in Saigon right now, too, and here's what Vinny has to say about it: So I woke up in the morning and was puzzled that my right leg felt like I had been skiing for 2 days. Then I realized that it was from hitting the brakes for 3 hours when Margie and I returned to Ho Chi Minh City from a getaway
Moto Mojo
2008-06-03 15:42:00 The newspaper has moved to a bigger building in Saigon's 4th district and now occupies a former cigarette factory. Here's a view from the rooftop. It's not yet rush hour. More About: Moto , Mojo
Helmets for Hell Rides
2008-06-01 14:13:00 The traffic here in Vietnam continues to amaze. More than 3 million motorbikes in this city and no apparent rules. If you can manage to hold a six-foot ladder in one hand, clutch a cell phone to your ear and steer the motorbike with your other hand--all in the pounding rain during rush hour--go for it. The only thing the government has imposed since my trip here eight months ago is the helmet More About: Hell , Helmets
What Makes a Hero
2008-05-31 12:35:00 The night I arrived in Saigon, I had a few beers with a local journalist and we talked a bit about the American election. He said a war veteran along the likes of a John McCain could never run for office in Vietnam. I asked him to explain and he told a story about a Vietnamese pilot who was ambushed by 15 American fighter jets during the war. His and another plane were outnumbered 15 to 2, so he More About: Hero
Eenie, Meenie Miney Mo....
2008-05-29 06:50:00 On a menu in Saigon:Bloodied ClamsSauteed Chrysanthemums
Eeeezy Does It....
2008-05-28 07:30:00 Sitting inside a cafe in District 1 in Saigon, I spotted this guy repairing an air conditioner--using a makeshift handsaw to fit a pipe. His heels were hanging off the ledge and soon after it started to rain. No net, hard hat, safety boots in sight. Here's a closer look:
Five Stars or Five Bucks
2008-05-27 16:38:00 My ticket from Vienna to Saigon routed me overnight through Qatar. Arrived in Doha at 6pm. Had no hotel. Asked around the airport about what could be done. Eventually, an airport woman took my passport and went behind a door marked "STAFF". 45 minutes later, woman emerges with my passport and a voucher. And then I spent the evening soaking in a jacuzzi at a five star hotel. Last night I arrived More About: Stars , Bucks
"Wuickly, Patti, Wuickly!"
2008-05-25 00:03:00 I got an email last week from the editor in Saigon who I've worked for a couple of times before (consultant) asking me to get there as soon as possible because they needed help with the launch of another new newspaper. "Wuickly! We need you wuickly!" I told them I'd be there as wuickly as possible, but to do that, I'd need the following from them:Airline reservation Hotel reservationLetter of
"Wilma!!!!!!!!!!"
2008-05-23 20:37:00 Remi and I came back from Florence heading due north and stopped just south of Innsbruck in more or less the Brennersee region. Coldcoldcold, so camping in the tiny tent is not an option. Remi is thinking Hilton, I'm thinking Motel 6, but we ended up rapping on the door of the Hotel Fuchs in the small village of Pfons. A few people stand talking around the counter of an otherwise empty
Ambling in Semmering
2008-05-21 23:13:00 A very shaky hand, but here's a little panorama of Maria Schutz, a little hamlet at the foot of Semmering, just outside of Vienna. It's one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Warning: Righties May Need to Read This SideUp Down
2008-05-20 21:57:00 Remi and I were driving back from Vienna this afternoon and got behind a truck that had a sign on the back in big bold letters: Left Hand Driver. I'm a leftie, and never felt the need to wear a warning sign, at least not about that. More About: Read , Warning
The Hills Are... Rugged and Kind of Rocky
2008-05-19 20:45:00 Coming back from Florence, Remi and I drove due north, through Bologna and on through the Alps. Took in the mile after mile of breathtaking snow-capped mountains that engulfed us--and it set me to thinking that the bit about the Von Trapps ambling over the Alps in their Sunday best was a less than likely scenario. More About: The Hills , Rocky , Hills
Mona Patti
2008-05-17 21:14:00 Eventually, I'll get my website designed and I've hired the right guy to do it--Mark Figlozzi. But before the designing starts, I talked my good friend Rick Tuma--a fantabulous illustrator for the Chicago Tribune--into illustrating something for it (hint: Remi the Jack Russell and George the London Taxi will play key roles). Rick said that the only payment he would accept is to have a scanned More About: Mona
Home Again, Home Again, Jiggidy Jig
2008-05-14 17:00:00 First, a three week swoop down the Eastern Seaboard. Home to Austria to unpack, wash, repack, and then off for a few days to Florence. I'd like to think I was jetsetting, but then I look at my 12-year-old tiny Renault with my dog panting in the backseat and it's more like a "Roseanne" roadshow. Anyhow, a quick stop at Johnny the Cameraman's house in Breitenbrunn to borrow a tent for the trip
Evil in Amstetten
2008-05-07 15:39:00 I've been back from the US not quite a week, but no updates because I've just been slammed with allergies again. I had fever and chills for a few days, and now I've just lost my voice. My nose is useless for breathing. It only catches pollen these days. It's a wonder anything get pollenated while I'm standing around--all pollen goes to me. While I was scurrying around the Eastern Seaboard, the More About: Evil
Happy Birthday, Dad
2008-04-29 00:42:00 My sister and her kids in England hooked up with my dad (and me and another sister who are visiting him) via skype in Florida to wish him a Happy 80th. More About: Birthday , Happy Birthday
Meet the Neighbors
2008-04-28 20:02:00 I'm visiting my dad in Florida for his 80th birthday. Met the new neighbor this morning. The alligator is a small one, and won't be moved out of the lake (in a residential condominium complex) until it gets to be about 6 feet. Meanwhile, dog walkers beware. I took a video of him, although my camera wasn't so steady. He started to lift his head, which is a sign he's about to take some More About: Meet , Neighbors
At the (McCracken) Zoo
2008-04-23 13:22:00 Not one minute of slow down while back in the McCracken Zoo. But while I monkey around with nieces and nephews, graduations, sisters, childhood friends, shotgun weddings, too many bongs (not mine!), mom's mooching lodger, and a fellow guest at the B&B who hula hoops in the rain, here's a look at a more orderly zoo. This little clip was shot at the Vienna Zoo about a month ago.
Do Ask, Do Tell, and Get Out of Military Duty Forever
2008-04-16 18:21:00 So I'm at dinner at the Benbows last night and Eileen and I are talking to her two little girls about who they want to marry, prompted by Ava announcing that she was minister of a playground ceremony that involved a blushing bride and a runaway groom. Davon and Dion are out of the question for 6 y.o. Ava, and Trey and some other kid are options for Ella, the 8 y.o., although she won't admit it More About: Military , Forever , Duty
Patti's Airline
2008-04-14 21:14:00 After my transatlantic flight I've decided that if I had any sort of money I'd use it to start my own airline. The key would be that each passenger would be allowed to fly only by consensus of the other passengers. This would eliminate or cut down on the following:GumsmackingSeatbacks as mattressProselytizingBoy Drumming Fingers on Seatrest for 10 HoursChild Kicking SeatFartingWoman Doing Tai Chi More About: Airline
Shall I Scare the Bejeezus Out of You or Shall We Go For a Coffee?
2008-04-07 14:48:00 I took Remi "hunting" for several days in a row, since I wanted her to hunt before the human hunters are back in action on May 1st. She knows the word Hunting, which sets off a Pavlovian response: Ears Twitch, Eyes Bug, Lips Get Licked. Her real hunt is for mice, snakes, etc... but chasing is included in the whole thing, so deer and jackrabbits are also part of a day out in the fields. The first More About: Coffee
Rx: Get Hit By a Bus
2008-04-05 11:12:00 Aaah, my achin' back. Aaah, my achin' neck. Can't. Move. This happened while I was in Algeria last year and I was whisked off to see the publisher's husband, who was a plastic surgeon, but she assured me he would fix that neck right up. Nadir The Interpreter kicked my ankle in a preemptive "Better not say no" kick. The Algiers stop and go traffic on poorly paved roads--bouncing around in a van--
Like a School Girl
2008-04-04 10:47:00 You know, I was gonna write a real entry, but there is a cute guy sitting near me. Throws everything off kilter. At least there's no sign of Sauna Boy. More About: School , Girl
You Say Chicago, I Say Chikago
2008-03-31 15:20:00 When I first got here I used to hear people always referring to Chicago . As in, yea, he lives in Chicago. Then I found out that "Chicago" was "Chikago" and they were referring to a tiny section of the tiny village of Kittsee. It was nicknamed Chikago sometime around the 1920s or so because so many people--prolly 10 or so--went to Chicago to work in the factories. Not to be outdone, the even
FKK and Then Some
2008-03-25 12:23:00 Here's more on bearing it all in the land of Mozart and Yodeling. Last week I was at a meeting with the editor of an online journal. It is important to state that both of us were fully clothed. But apparently, clothing was optional in the restaurant. As I sipped on my mineralwasser, a 70-something frau, wrapped in mink, wanders over to our table and points her cigarette holder at the editor
FKK and All That
2008-03-24 17:44:00 Austrians are uptight. Like, say, you cross without waiting for the little green man and just see the ruckus you cause. Hands will be waving, tsks, tsks all around, and lots of "She must not be from 'round here or she'd know better." Or ... or this... your dog barks even once between the hours of 2 and 4 pm, when this is the siesta time in the provinces. That's a crime equal to tire-slashing or
Workitis
2008-03-19 15:52:00 I'm finally admitting it. I'm burned out. I've hardly slept more than a few hours the last few nights. When my friend saw my puffy/swollen eyes, he told me to get off the computer and get away. It's not that easy, I said. Get away, he said. His insistence bordered on insulting, but only because I'm tired and need a mini-break. So I'm taking tomorrow off. Remi is going to Rudy's and I, in my
Recuperating Remi
2008-03-13 15:02:00 Remi's daily trips to the vet are paying off. She's feeling better. Some sort of throat infection. The vet said he's treating four or five other dogs for the same thing. How did they get sick? By doing this: More About: Remi
A.A. for Fish
More articles from this author:2008-03-11 22:58:00 Was tirelessly searching through files tonight, looking for my birth certificate. Instead, found an old printout from 2000 of an email I'd written to my brothers and sisters from Bosnia. I was telling them what was on a menu in Banja Luka: Drunk Crap. More About: Fish 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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