I once witnessed a total eclipse of the sun. I can’t recall the year — just that I was young. And that I was home in India. It was supposed to happen at midday. All of Kolkata was abuzz. We went and bought our eclipse-watching goggles and waited with the kind of anticipation that could …
Kevin left for a two-week road trip today. I woke up to an empty house. Made me think about how much space we are used to having in our American lives of comfort. My mother’s family in Kolkata live humbly, even by Indian standards — in dilapidated rented homes, without running hot water or modern …
My friend Robin came to visit me for a couple of days. She lives in San Diego and was on her way to the North Carolina mountains to spend time with family. I am so glad she decided to make a pit stop at my house. Robin and I have known each other since the …
Some people have asked me about the photograph of me with the camels. It was taken in Ramadi, Iraq, in April 2007 by my friend and former colleague Louie Favorite. We had spent two months in northern Iraq before arriving in al-Anbar province. Ramadi, the provincial capital was known as the world’s most dangerous city. …
I relished a glass of Oregon pinot noir at 8 a.m. Good wine is, well, good wine. Though, the sun, already blistering in the sky, took away from the elegance of it all. Sort of like drinking red wine from a plastic glass. Same stuff, not as tasty. But what to do? Everyone needs to …
I started working overnights this week at CNN. I haven’t worked into the wee hours of the morning in about 17 years. Then, I was more eager. Now, I am middle-aged. I thought it might be like all those crazy hours in Iraq. But it’s different when bombs are falling around you. I feel like …
A friend of mine e-mailed me a few days ago saying: “Aren’t you glad now you work for CNN instead of the AJC?”He was referring to the events unfolding in Iran, and of course, I was thrilled to be in the nerve center of the Cable News Network, where we’ve had a rather busy week.It …
Check out the AJC: On a Muslim woman barred from entering a Douglasville courtroom. www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/12/21/muslim_veil_court.html And a story that explores a widow’s search for justice as Atlanta’s most notorious murder case comes to a close. www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/12/14/Claudia_Barnes_widow.html
I have friends here in Georgia who crave acres and acres of land. They like living in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by lush grass and tall pines. They savor silence and go to sleep at night with the sound of crickets chirping outside the window. Most of all, they want to live where they …
Thursday, I sat in the Atlanta Municipal Court room where Brian Nichols, the Fulton County Courthouse shooter, is being sentenced for the murders of four people. The jury must decide whether to sentence Nichols to death by lethal injection. They listened to statements read out loud by 13 victims. I listened to them talk about …
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