Author Archives: Hope Helps

(I approach a store checkout wearing a collared shirt and a Merlot-colored tie) Checker: Hey, nice tie, you look good.Me: Thanks.Checker: So, do you like work at Olive Garden or something?Me: (…….)Me: No, I just felt the need to wear a tie. Aren’t the ties at the Olive Garden green?Checker: Oh, I mean, I hopeContinue reading “Of all the Possible Insults”

wistful flies like honeycomb through shiftingfields of tender, ambergrain lilting maids of liliesbow and shudder frombreaths of sighing summer’swaltz creaking bristled hoppersmoan and whistle, proudbending withered waningblades all it seems, in heresypaying brazen homageto the garish sun

(actual conversation from Spanish today) Teacher: (after showing everyone a copy of one of my homework papers as an example for good creative writing) “Does this person want to identify themselves?” Me: *uncomfortably raises hand* Teacher: “Yes, it’s Hope, that quiet girl in the back of the class with the glasses.” Guy sitting at myContinue reading “The glasses. And the hair.”

I was in the LCC bookstore on Wednesday getting my books for Fall Term. I had my printed booklist in hand, and I had just picked up a textbook for a health class titled “Human Sexuality.” I was holding the textbook face down in my hands, with my booklist on top of it, when IContinue reading “Oh Sweetie, This is Not an Art Book.”

Meet Tau. Tau enjoys nuzzling noses, holding hands (yes, he actually wraps his paw around my finger sometimes), and bounding up the stairs with ferocious speed. He doesn’t understand vegetables (often waiting for them to move or DO something), loves talking, and hates alarm clocks. Tau is a South African word for “lion,” a tributeContinue reading “Meet Tau”

Today was driving, driving, driving onto a boat, sitting on a boat, driving off the boat, and driving to our hospitality for the night, a unicyclist, Rocket, who derives his nickname from the fact that he actually is a Rocket Scientist. The driving was pretty uneventful. Driving onto the ferry we had to go throughContinue reading “Customs”

Mont St-Michel, as I think I’ve told you before, is a tidal island of the coast of France. It was about a two-and-a-half hour drive from where we stayed last night, but well worth the trip. As you can see in the picture above, the abbey is situated on the top of this huge pieceContinue reading “Mont St-Michel”

This morning we set out for a theme park based around the Asterix books. It was a smaller than Disneyland, but the theme made it fun to wander through, and it has several rides worth mentioning. There were two water rides with huge drop, and a roller coaster where our car was on wheels andContinue reading “The Asterix Park”

The Eiffel Tower is one of those touristy musts. And while it was packed and the lines (despite the freezing wind and sprinkling rain) were VERY long, I could see the appeal. It is very grand and very statuesque against the Paris skyline. The view from the tower is vast, reaching across Paris in everyContinue reading “Paris Day Three: The Eiffel Tower”

Today was the Louvre, featuring the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace (see below), the Raft of the Medusa, and the Venus de Milo, among many, MANY other pieces of art. The Louvre is a lot of art and a lot of walking to see all of the art, but nonetheless, somewhere between theContinue reading “Paris: Day Two, The Louvre”