Doug Rice’s An Erotics of Seeing is a gift of observation. A peek through a crack. A breeze. Makes it hard to keep your your eyes open. Makes tears fall. My response: a practice of seeing. A Saturday morning walk through the streets of México City. “The longer you live, the more you die.” What you see becomes you. Find questions in the image. Is the after more real than the before? … Continue reading A Visual Book Review: Part 1
Last night, Katie and I sat down to watch Life in a Day, a documentary about four amazing women competing in the 2016 running of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. Within minutes of the opening credits, I was already getting misty. The snippets of familiar trail sections and footage of runners, crew members, race officials, and spectators brought me right back to 2007 when … Continue reading Endurance
The last time I had seen the Washington D.C. Metro so jam-packed was back in 1993 when I lived in Virginia and was returning home with my friend Becca after a Grateful Dead concert. And really, there’s no way it could have been as crazy busy as it was on the morning of the Women’s March, Saturday January 21st. After all, 500,000 people converging from every corner of the … Continue reading Grateful
We ended our day of inaugural protest back at Busboys and Poets, 5th and K, and braved the line winding around the block. Crowds came for the fantastic food, but also to hear poets Eve Ensler, Kimberle Crenshaw (and more) perform works of resistance. Their website called it a “pep rally” for the next day’s Women’s March. From outside we could see the corner stage … Continue reading What Matters
With hours to kill before joining up with Disrupt J20, we hit A Baked Joint for some espresso, then Busboys and Poets, 5th and K, for breakfast. Paris, our server, couldn’t have been cooler. She made sure we knew about the free protest posters then let us hang out long after we paid. I watched inaugural happenings on the television over the bar. CNN. Scrolling … Continue reading Stay Woke
After cleaning my flat and stashing a fresh Andrew Jackson in a Coca-Cola bottle for my gracious hosts, I secured my backpack, left the two sets of keys on the kitchen counter, and locked the doors behind me. There was no going back. I marched around the corner to a new café I’d just learned was minutes from my front door – Cucurucho – where I had … Continue reading Esfumarse (to vanish)
I’ve got less than 48 hours before I leave Mexico City and my motivation to wander outweighs my desire to write. And bonus, the weather here couldn’t be better: mid-70s, clear slight breeze. A jeans and t-shirt sort of deal. As I explore Roma Norte, however, I am the one under-dressed. Most everyone else has busted out scarves and puffy jackets. My guess is it’s … Continue reading Hasta Mi Próximo Corte de Pelo
I’ve spent the past few Christmases away from home. In 2015 I was working at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY, and in 2014 I was in Fez, Morocco. Shoot, I might have even been gone in 2013 too but frankly I don’t remember. This year I am in the Roma Norte neighborhood of Mexico City. I’m here on a solo writing retreat and have … Continue reading Christmas Day 30k
This trip I’ve blogged a lot less than usual. And truth be told, I’ve done a lot less wandering than I usually do when I travel. The last two weeks in Mexico City have fallen into a routine. I get up early and go for a run, grab a juice at a hip café/book store a block away, I write until 1pm, have beans and … Continue reading Es Como Un Sueño
Author’s note: This piece was originally written for specialty coffee magazine Fresh Cup but cancelled at the last minute when their competitor, Daily Coffee News, printed a different piece I wrote about Mexico City coffee. I spent way too much time on it not to share it somewhere. Here’ll do. I stooped to peer through a jagged heart carved into the iron door. It was barely … Continue reading Love in the Federal District: Getting a Feel For Mexico City’s Coffee Culture
Tom Griffen 
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