Tag: travel
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Survival Instinct on I-86
“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” ― Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis Three-hundred fifty-six miles away, somewhere in the armpit of the Hudson Valley – more like a rat-hole, a stagnating dumpster on the edge of a bog – I’ve found myself…
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Couch Surfin’ All Over the World: Part Two
38,000 feet and landing in the bright blue sky. We’ve begun our steady descent. It looks normal enough, landing in Cancun, and I figure I’ll be in time for Thanksgiving dinner with Harold, somewhere rustic, street food with lime in the moonlight. Depressingly, after power-walking while applying lip gloss thinking I’m about to collect my…
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Couch Surfin’ All Over the World
Halloween’s ghosts have risen from the ashes to walk the streets again, visiting friends, relatives – maybe even you. Their old haunts may look a little different now – what was once a brothel, say, is now Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen – but ghosts have a knowing sense of direction. They can find their way around.…
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Abducted in Poughkeepsie
“Gibson Mcaskill and Crosby, LLP,” I recite the law firm name painted on a brick wall behind me, in the tone of voice an anchor girl would use before removing her top. “You’re beautiful,” shouts a man from parts unknown. “Cut,” says Pete. He lowers the camcorder. “That was really good.” “Now what?” Randy says.…
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The Slut Diaries: Part I
There’s playing with fire and getting burned, and then there’s dousing yourself in lighter fluid and going full-on Richard Pryor. Ever since the emotionally-abusive cycle with Billy ended, after he spazzed off on me in a jealous rage and things went totally caput, I’ve propelled myself into a Sluttylicious Spree of epic proportions, with party…
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Cupid, Cuckolds, and the Cherry on Top
A Valentine’s Special It’s a cold winter Saturday, the time of night when fog creeps into this part of downtown and hangs over the cobblestone streets. It seems haunted, eerie, like something from the days of Jack the Ripper. Smoke clouds emanate from a factory on the horizon. I’m wandering the casino with Louis and…
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Inside the Boulevard Motel
A couple years ago, a Motel 6 on the outskirts of town – or maybe it was a Super 8 – found itself under investigation. The shabby motel housed an intricate prostitution ring, and plenty of drugs. The week of the bust, a girl’s dead body was found in one of the rooms. It appeared to…
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