à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Swimming
Musings on My Zen Haircut
I am sporting a lousy haircut. The roots of this sad salon saga begin at a swimming pool, or perhaps in a previous life. Who knows? In late August my local YMCA closed its pool for major repairs for three weeks. Because I swim almost daily to continue to thaw my frozen shoulder, I couldn’t … Continue reading
Dispatch from Barcelona “Base Camp”
The films of Pedro Almodovar captivated me when I was younger, especially “Women on a Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”. The actresses he hired for that movie did not have traditional looks. One, whose name I can’t recall, had a slightly bent nose, a narrow face, and huge asymmetrical red lips. I remember being enthralled … Continue reading
Of Chanukah and Darkness within the Light
During the holidays, Budapest is aglow with dazzling lights. The glittering silhouettes of bridges, illuminated landmarks and twinkling decorations on streets and buildings create a magical if not mesmerizing cityscape. Despite the high wattage public splendor, dead bulbs seem to be haunting me like Scrooge’s ghosts. Earlier I described the rather laborious attempt of a … Continue reading
The Water Gives. The Water Takes.
Last Saturday I arrived at Walden Pond around 6:30pm. A firetruck and two police cruisers, lights flashing, were already stationed on the side of the road. The parking lot remained open so I turned into it, found a spot, grabbed my swim gear and walked to the pond’s main entrance. “It’s closed,” said a uniformed cop at … Continue reading
When the Swimmer is Ready, the Wetsuit Appears
As recently as this summer, I told my younger brother how I hated wearing a wetsuit. I hated getting into, and getting out of, a wetsuit. Getting into a wetsuit is like putting very thick, and extraordinarily expensive, panty hose on your entire body. You have to maneuver the fabric so there are no wrinkles or saggy bits … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
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