Driving into Los Angeles, it is difficult to imagine that the centre of LA looks like a sleepy little town. On the highway there are eight lanes in every direction and constant exits and access ramps. After an hour drive, we had seen the rise and fall of at least fourteen suburbs in search ofContinue reading “A fine musical instrument”
Author Archives: xmarksthespotno
We owned the night
The tram meandered slowly down towards the city. It was dark outside even though the clock had just struck 4PM. The light from the shop windows hit the people on the sidewalk and gave them a cold glow. “Cold city lights glowing. The traffic of life is flowing”. The lyrics from Coles Corner flowed perfectlyContinue reading “We owned the night”
Winter is coming
This week, winter came to town. Not winter in the form of snow. But winter as in cold. Winter as in scarves, gloves, winter shoes and winter coat. I looked through the closet for my winter coat – and there it was! Clothes that hang in the closet for too long tend to shrink. YouContinue reading “Winter is coming”
A new duck in the pond
It is already autumn. At least late summer. It’s almost a month since I quit my job to become a full-time writer. If not a true author yet, then at least I conduct research for a book project I have been working on for some time. All my working life I have had problems getting up inContinue reading “A new duck in the pond”
The Doppler effect
Once upon a time, a long time ago, I ran a pretty famous café. It was not just a café – but also a place where concerts were played, writers came to visit, and stand-up artists performed. At times, we dominated the culture pages of the local newspaper. This is often the case when youContinue reading “The Doppler effect”
The best Thursday of all times!
Every time I think of this episode, my first thought is that it happened on a Friday. But it must have been a Thursday. Where else does the tradition of Thursday gatherings come from? The fact that the restaurant would have been completely full on a Friday so close to Christmas also suggests that itContinue reading “The best Thursday of all times!”
Dodge the bullet
It’s October. Winter is on its way. The old wooden boat has been prepared for winter storage. It will remain on land for seven months. Fortunately, the winter does not last for seven months, but it takes a couple of months to prepare the boat for the summer season again. My girlfriend went to workContinue reading “Dodge the bullet”
An offer I could refuse
We were in Queens and visited my girlfriend’s family. Her uncle was originally from Sicily and had worked as an accountant in New York his entire adult life. He was now retired and a little forgetful in his old days. His background as a Sicilian accountant and my penchant for old mafia movies played outContinue reading “An offer I could refuse”
The writer
– Hey! Can you lend me a fiver? I’m having the kids over this weekend and I´m completely broke! And a fiver can fix it? Here´s three hundred. It wasn´t actually a loan. It was more like a donation. I never kept any records of what he borrowed. And there was never any talk ofContinue reading “The writer”
Stumbling through life
My girlfriend and I wanted to try somewhere new and stopped by one of the last legendary surviving brown water holes in town. We were sitting in a kind of booth that was screwed to the wall in such a way that I felt like I was sitting on display. The light in the roomContinue reading “Stumbling through life”
Billy Bronco is telling you 