The chronicles
The complete saga, from Menorca to Kentucky.
1. The Spanish Teacher
A leap into the void After more than fifteen years teaching at high schools in Menorca, I felt a restlessness begin to beat inside me, demanding a change. It was a silent call, constant yet relentless: …
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Aside 1: A Stop Along the Way…
I have had to stop. The presses ground to a halt this past Monday, March 11, due to a slight indisposition of the author. However, days later, the machinery resumed its task so as not to leave the …
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2. And What Am I Doing Here?
It's a question that washed over me the moment I opened my eyes on that first morning on American soil. When I woke up, I found myself surrounded by the walls of the sumptuous room 222, in a hotel on the banks of the …
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3. The Why Behind the 'Crónicas Kentukianas'
I remember that I began writing them almost involuntarily, as if an inevitable impulse had taken hold of me, unconscious and spontaneous. I jotted them down in my phone's notes, shared them with friends on social media, left them …
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4. 'Skin and Bones' (Part I): The Countdown to Registration
Skin and bones is nearly all I had left… Today, December 2, 2023, marks four months since my arrival in the United States, and I can say out in the open that, so far, I have survived. However, …
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5. 'Skin and Bones' (Part II): superPPVVivors
First phase of the game: Sign up and survive. Filling in every field, attaching the exact documentation, submitting the application without a single error, printing it, and getting it to the Civil Registry of Granada on time was like crossing …
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6. 'Skin and Bones' (Part III): Between Texas and Indiana, a Journey Through La Mancha
I had just been relocated from the South in Texas to the mid-eastern states, what they call the mid-east. And so, the Indiana advisory office, which also handles the states of Michigan, Kentucky …
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7. 'Skin and Bones' (Part IV): Embassy and Farewell Party
The next day an early train took me back to Madrid. Upon my arrival at Atocha I made my way to 75 Calle Serrano, where a long line was already waiting to get into …
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8. 'In the Air': From Menorca to Cincinnati
Menorca - Granada - Barcelona - Chicago - Cincinnati It seemed like the moment to leave would never come, and boy did it come — twice over, no less. And so, if on July 29 …
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9. 'On the Ground' (Part I): Serendipities
(Continuation of Chronicle 8. 'In the Air': From Menorca to Cincinnati) They say that when you go out partying alone is usually when you have the best time and sometimes, I would add, the best of …
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10. 'On the Ground' (Part II): Serendipities
(Continued from Chronicle 9. 'On the Ground' (Part I): Serendipities) The Southgate House Revival is located in the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church. It was built in 1866, right at the end of the Civil War. The tornado …
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11. At the Comet: 'The Mortals' Final Show
(Continued from Chronicle 10. 'On Land' (Part II): Serendipities) It was Friday, September 8, and summer was stubbornly refusing to leave. It had been one of the most scorching seasons ever recorded on Earth …
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12. 'In the Water': An Unexpected Journey
(Continued from Chronicle 11. At the Comet: 'The Mortals' Final Show) When the big show with which 'The Mortals' bid an indefinite farewell to the stage came to an end, we were all left floating …
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13. 'In the Water': Just in case
(Continued from Chronicle 12. 'In the Water': An Unexpected Trip) The road was practically all ours. We must have been doing about 60 miles per hour, while through the right-hand window …
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14. 'In the Water': The Chicken Is Involved, the Pig Is Committed
The moment I stepped into that house, I came upon a spacious living room and its kitchen. It was a rather elongated and cozy space. I found the living room, and with me, the two beautiful dogs that in there …
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15. 'In the Water': Ei buddy! Are you ready?!
It was the first time I had ever climbed aboard a yacht and, on top of that, one towed by an old pickup truck like Darren's, a 2008 Ford F150. Old, but it did its job wonderfully. In fact, it …
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