Modern Junk: A Poem
POEM BY VAGRANT MOON
PHOTO BY JC JOHNSON
Monterey Dreamin’: Friendship on the California Coast During the Vietnam War
Ocean bays that face westward inspire a strong fascination. My European ancestors left such anchorages to travel to the New World, and as a youth I found my way across the U.S. from Gary, Indiana, to Monterey, California. This city and its bay remain the dream of my green years.
From January to April 1966, I lived in Monterey at taxpayer expense while I roamed the coastline, visited the coffee shops, and enjoyed the city’s ambiance. At that time I earned my living as a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier—enrolled in a three-month Spanish course in the Defense Language Institute (DLI) at the Spanish-built Presidio of Monterey. I was destined for the 8th Special Forces Group in the Canal Zone of Panama.
Hamstrung by Trump’s Executive Order, a Syrian Family and a U.S. Private Sponsor Group Hope for an Exception
STORY BY HEATHER M. SURLS
The day of Donald Trump’s inauguration, Rania Walid Alyousef checked her social media feeds often. The wife and mother of three, who has lived in Amman, Jordan, since 2013, was apprehensive.
Last year, she and her husband, Mohammed Basim Alkurdi, known as Basel, had connected with a group of Americans willing to sponsor their family’s resettlement through Welcome Corps, a private sponsorship program. The family’s and their sponsors’ applications were progressing, and the family’s move to the U.S. seemed within reach.
But after Trump’s November reelection, Rania recognized that renewed travel bans and cuts to immigration were possible, given the way Trump halved refugee admissions in 2017. So when news of the president’s executive order halting refugee programs came across her screen, she was upset and saddened but not surprised.
When the Fallout of Political Winds Affects Real Lives: Afghan Edition
BY KAMI L. RICE
It’s been a wearying couple weeks for volunteers working with Afghans pursuing pathways to safety in the United States. In addition to being the editor of this fine publication, I count among those volunteers, assisting Afghans resettling in the U.S. and Europe as part of the NGO Allied Shepherd. This work began “accidentally” three and a half years ago when Kabul fell to the Taliban and journalists needed help to reach safety.
The day after President Trump’s inauguration, I woke up to messages from devastated Afghan friends as word of the president’s executive orders spread across the globe. Two of these orders in particular affect America’s wartime Afghan allies. The new president’s right to review policies and expenditures isn’t disputed, but advocates for Afghans are disheartened by the slash and burn governance method that is endangering people who, in the case of Afghans, literally protected American lives and supported America’s values.
A Special Train Fare, a Painting, and Ancient Religious Prisoners
STORY AND PHOTOS BY CAROL LARREY
The train running 150 miles east to ancient Carcassonne from my home in southwestern France was, unusually, only one euro. Given that my husband was absorbed by projects in his office, I decided to spend the euro and head east for a stroll by myself around the famous citadel. The cheap ticket would provide a chance to do some things I’d never done before, such as walk the Canal du Midi from one lock to another and climb the 232 stairs of the Saint Vincent belfry to enjoy a view of the Cité from a mile away.
Plans taking shape, I further discovered that entrances to the restored castle and its battlements were free that day, as well as the art museum downtown. It seemed like a fun day was ahead. Of course, Carcassonne is more than just a cool setting for the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves—it’s also a reminder of historical tragedies. So “fun” might not be the right word.
There Was Nothing Wrong
POEM BY RACHEL JOY WELCHER
PHOTO BY EJ BOWMAN
Le Gigot: A Meal That Brings People Together
A VIDEO REPORT BY BILL DIEM
The leg of lamb, or “gigot” in French, is slowly disappearing from French tables. Fewer lambs are being raised in the country, and the stronger taste of the meat is less appealing to young people. And yet, because of its traditional role as a special meal, this dish still has the power to bring people together around the table. Lamb is associated with the Christian holidays of Easter and Christmas and the Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Adha, and the gigot is the choice cut.
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Finding My Center in Jerusalem: A Post-October 7 Photo Essay
PHOTO ESSAY BY ELSA WOLMAN KATANA
Other cities in the world speak to me—Amsterdam, Beijing, London, and San Francisco—but Jerusalem is my favorite. In love and solidarity, and seeking some serious emotional, mental, and spiritual R&R, I made two different trips in the last year from my current home in Baltimore. As a Jew and an Israeli, only in Israel could I find refuge from the general refusal of the world to acknowledge the atrocities of October 7, 2023. In Jerusalem, my world spins on center.
What Happened When I Tried to Like Arizona
STORY BY HEATHER M. SURLS
PHOTOS BY MARY VENDEGNA & KAMI RICE
Rain spattered the windshield as Austin turned into the Water Wheel Trail parking lot. Driving the two-lane highway here from Payson, we had seen charcoal clouds emitting a fine scrim of rain, but we’d decided to hike even if it were sprinkling when we arrived. In the passenger’s seat, I folded down my striped socks, pulled on my sneakers. We would not be stopped. Not when our boys were overnight with their grandparents for the first time. Not on our first getaway in two years.
London-based Composer Teodor Doré Explores the World Through Sound
STORY BY JOANNA MARSH
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DYNAMIC AGENCY
Ever since he was a young boy in Crimea, music filled Teodor Doré’s life. At four years old, he would come next to his mother, a pianist, while she was practicing, and he would try to imitate her on the keyboard as best as he could.
Not too long after, he composed his first piece for the choir his grandmother conducted. He set the poem The Birch Tree by Russian poet Sergei Yesenin to four voices.