Jesse, my friend Greta’s fiance, was leaving the house the same time I was. He was on his way to vote. With a sousaphone. “For the line,” he said. “In case I have to wait a long time.” He also brought along a trombone in case he ran into someone who could play and wantedContinue reading “Sousaphones and gravestones”
Author Archives: Katie Botkin
New Jersey inventory
Yong gets a call from his parents asking if he can come help them clean up their dry cleaning business in Jersey City. They still don’t have power, and the water, which was over the countertops, has receded. Their computers are still fried, though; it’s going to take a few weeks to get anyone toContinue reading “New Jersey inventory”
Tasting Philadelphia for under $30 per person
Since I’ve gotten here, I’ve eaten a lot and drunk a little. Philadelphia is nice that way because it has about the same gastronomic variety and quality as New York, but it’s cheaper. On Thursday night, I went out to Marrakesh, probably Philly’s best Moroccan restaurant. You turn down a side street and knock onContinue reading “Tasting Philadelphia for under $30 per person”
Halloween sightseeing in Philly
It may or may not have been appropriate that the first thing I looked for on my Halloween visit to Philly was Benjamin Franklin’s grave. I wasn’t about to pay the $2 entrance fee into the Christ Church cemetery — there are several things that should never require money, and visiting a church and visitingContinue reading “Halloween sightseeing in Philly”
In Philadelphia after the storm
My tense of timing has thrown me into more than one drama in my lifetime. In this case, I had booked what turned out to be one of the first non-delayed flights into Philadelphia months in advance of Hurricane Sandy. Philly was hit much more mildly than some of the surrounding areas, and as theContinue reading “In Philadelphia after the storm”
Translators without Borders and changing the world
Sometimes I get really discouraged about all the stuff that’s wrong with the human race… the arguing, the senseless violence, the control-freak posturing and the corruption in every direction. Why don’t people see how stupid all of that is? Why don’t they listen more, put themselves in the shoes of their fellow human beings, tryContinue reading “Translators without Borders and changing the world”
In honor of my Grandfather
My Grandfather, John Norman Botkin, died 11 years ago, on September 21, 2001. I was in France — I had moved in with a French woman only two weeks prior after studying French for all of four months, and was dazed from the constant barrage of this largely-unknown language, from the sudden uncertainty of 9/11,Continue reading “In honor of my Grandfather”
In the interest of American marriage
I had already been thinking a lot about marriage, and what it does and doesn’t mean legally, so the news, ferried to my unwitting eyes today by the magic of mutual Facebook friends, that my ex-husband got married in an “impromptu” wedding this last weekend sort of fit right into that mix. The thing is,Continue reading “In the interest of American marriage”
In the interest of Biblical marriage
Are you disgusted by the thought of two obese bodies colliding during coitus? This is a natural reaction. We should all be disgusted at this sick perversion. God created us all small to begin with, and to exchange our small frames for something that will make us unhealthy, that will encourage others, including the childrenContinue reading “In the interest of Biblical marriage”
The little girl and the good mans on the roof
My niece is getting to the age where she can tell stories. Sort of. Her first attempt was: “One time, a little girl, a man, and a lady. Summer.” And along with that, she’s sorting out who is a good guy and who is bad guy, which basically at this point seems to correspond toContinue reading “The little girl and the good mans on the roof”
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