Journalist Sheilah Bright
Swirls of alabaster dust puffed through the crowd and settled like confectioner's sugar onto Kyauk Sit Tan, Mandalay's famous stone-cutting lane where Burmese workers have chiseled, sanded and polished stone into sculptures for more than 150 years. Here among the whitewashed crowd of Buddha builders and tourists, a woman smeared with soot sat on her haunches and scooped handfuls of black hope... Continue Reading →
On the banks of the Chindwin River deep in Myanmar, I watch mysteries glide through the gossamer curtain fringed with the dew beads of early morning and wonder if this is how it feels to be inside a snow globe. The landscape swirls with every strong puff of wind or when sunlight splinters through the heavy gray blanket swaddling the... Continue Reading →
Near a bend in Myanmar's Chindwin River, the 180 villagers of Kazat watch progress lumber by on the backs of weathered cargo boats loaded with shiny factory-made vehicles and heavy equipment. The midday sun sometimes reflects off the chrome and casts a silver wink up the path leading to Kazat's truck factory. Here in... Continue Reading →
A friend of mine married a much younger man last year. They celebrated their 1-year anniversary recently so I think it might stick. She is 101. He is 89. "At my age," Opal Clark Moss told me, "they're all younger men." There weren't many people at the wedding because most of their friends and many... Continue Reading →
