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The Stranger

He continued riding down the hill in front of my house, wobbled a bit, then lost his balance and fell head first over the handlebars onto the asphalt, the bike toppling and twisting behind him.

Dale

Dale and I sit in opposite corners of the nearly empty McDonald’s where I come to grade freshman English themes — he by the front window and I in the back near the restrooms. Twenty years ago we worked together, but now Dale is homeless, and I pretend not to know him.

Sunbeams

I did not go to the Maggid of Mezeritch to learn Torah from him, but to watch him tie his boot laces.

A Hasidic rabbi

Sunbeams

Whatever you say about God you should be able to say standing over a pit full of burning babies.

Elie Wiesel

Sunbeams

It is not drawn on any map; true places never are.

Herman Melville

Dogland

“He says he believes God is a Yorkshire terrier.” My sister Nance’s voice hissed across the long-distance lines.

An Encounter

This afternoon, waiting for the crosstown bus at 79th and Third Avenue, leaning wearily against the shelter support — a long wait — I saw Christ.

The Kindness Of Strangers

The original Odd Couple, Vivaldi on the bus, a sheep dog named Sailor

Our Rag-Bone Hearts

Richard was introduced to mental institutions when insulin and shock treatments were in their experimental heyday. Inappropriate and excessive use of these treatments dealt him the blow ensuring that he would never again plead for his home or protest his lot.

At War With Ourselves

The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty available now.