Category Archives: semi-fiction

Drunk in Moscow, Not Idaho 1994

July 13, 2024 – 1:23 am

In 1994 I traveled from Malaysia to Paris on Aeroflot. The Kuala Lumpur-Karachi-Dubai-Moscow-Paris flight time to Moscow totaled about 24 hours. None of them were comfortable in the flimsy chairs of the Soviet era jetliner. Disembarking at Moscow, I discovered that my connecting flight to Charles De Gaulle was delayed until the next morning. A […]

By Peter | Also posted in 90s, Travel | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

In Vino Veritas or Oblivio

June 20, 2024 – 12:03 pm

From 1847 to her death in 1901 Queen Victoria had ruled the British Empire from Osbourne House on the Isle of Wight. Prince Albert, her consort, had designed the royal residence with the aid of Thomas Cubitt, the London architect. Once finished the Italian Renaissance palazzo on the Solent Osbourne House served as a refuge […]

By Peter | Also posted in 80s, England | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Best Punch At CBGBs

June 19, 2024 – 8:15 am

Back in the 1970s CBGBs was a rough bar. The Hell’s Angels frequented the Bowery bar and no one challenged their claim to the punk rock venue, since the Angels scared off other asshole bikers, although not every night. In 1978 a packed house of garage rock fans greeted the Cramps’ debut and the Akron […]

By Peter | Also posted in 70s, East Village, Legend, punk | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

BETTER LUCKY THAN GOOD by Peter Nolan Smith

June 18, 2024 – 8:02 am

Back in October of 1990 a greasy nor-easter ruined Columbus Day weekend for New York. I shut my windows for the first time in months and dressed to leave my apartment for breakfast at the Veselka Diner on 2nd Avenue. The shoes and jacket seemed unnaturally heavy after a season of shorts and sandals. Luckily […]

By Peter | Also posted in 80s, france, women | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Wind River Mountains 1998

June 16, 2024 – 10:27 am

Wind River Mountains 1998 In the Spring of 1998 my 78 year-old father and I embarked on a road trip through Wyoming and Montana. We picked up a rented car in Bozeman, Montana and stopped the first night in Chico Hot Springs. The next morning the two of us continued down Paradise Valley to Yellowstone […]

By Peter | Also posted in family, The West, Travel | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)