“The lion killed the tiger. Which one it is dead?” He was standing uncomfortably close to me while I finished one box of cereal and opened a new one. “We leave at 8:30 when Mom, Kathy takes me.” “Right. But my watch says its 8:15, so I still have time for breakfast.” “8:15 is what my watch says, too.” A pause. “Will you come in with me?” “No. I’ll drop you off at church, and then I’ll be back to pick you up at noon.” I’m fishing for a spoon out of the dish drainer because he’s leaning on the …

“I’ve been around the world…” A year ago today, I woke up in Germany for the first time. If I close my eyes, and tune out Sting on the stereo, I can still picture that morning. We had arrived at our hotel in Andernach quite late. I remember standing at the window the next morning looking over the biergarten below our room and admiring the age of the stone gate across the road. The light was golden in an early fall sort of way, gilding my nervousness for this adventure with a fierce excitement. Despite the long day of travel …