Washing Away the Blues As everyone knows – or maybe not, but it hardly matters – I was let go from the company where I’d worked for twenty-five years. The news came right before I was set to leave for vacation, which did nothing but bury my morale even deeper, a disposition already collapsed after Cosmin’s passing.…… Continue reading Bulgaria – Chapter 3
Category: English
Don Steffano – Confessions Of A Romanian Chatterbox
Bulgaria – Chapter 2
The Departure My comments from last year about the car and the caravan were taken very seriously. The trip was officially declared a Test Run, and a list was made of everything that needed fixing and/or improving. But as with any list for a caravan (or camping in general), it started multiplying on its own,…… Continue reading Bulgaria – Chapter 2
Bulgaria – Chapter 1
Introducere I’ve been told my texts are too long. I know they are. That’s why my blog is called Nea Fane Bate Câmpii (Old Man Fane Rambles On). It’s because I write a lot and, as some say, often to no particular purpose, but since no one is forced to read, I just keep doing…… Continue reading Bulgaria – Chapter 1
The Nail
Journal of The Kitchen Apocalypse This is a fluid post; it will be updated every time something else happens. Now (November 9), there is a pause in the madness. Journal of The Kitchen ApocalypseA tale of three Tonys (no, not the awards)Update 1Update 2Update 3Update 3 1/2Update 4Update 4 1/2Update 5 A tale of three Tonys…… Continue reading The Nail
Romanian Culinary Adventures
The “sister” post, in Romanian, is here. Day one, landing in the middle of the night in Bucharest, followed by the early morning pilgrimage to Hulubești, to pay respects to my parents at their resting place. Back to Bucharest in the afternoon, The Great Hunger led us to a trip to Ciorbărie for ciorbă de burtă (tripe soup). I love ciorbă de burtă.…… Continue reading Romanian Culinary Adventures
Joke
My wife came home with four cases of beer, three boxes of wine, two bottles of whiskey and two loaves of bread. “Are we expecting guests?” I asked. “No,” she replied. “Then why did you buy so much bread?”
The Survivor
For more than sixty years, Nea Fane has been tripping through life with his awkward little steps, just wandering along those wild paths that like to throw him a curveball. He spent 33 years living under a communist regime that turned into a dictatorship, quietly chuckling at the ridiculousness of the leaders, sharing those off-the-wall…… Continue reading The Survivor
Torpedo Sandwiches
Last night I had only a few hours of bad sleep. Around 3 a.m., I woke up hungry and needing to pee. Instead of choosing, I took care of both and ate my first giant torpedo sandwich. A glorious decision, since everyone knows that eating at night is the pinnacle of health. Five hours of…… Continue reading Torpedo Sandwiches
Life with dogs – Episode 192
Ladies and gentlemen, as you already know, I’m slow. Not mentally, not emotionally. Physically slow. My Lady says she can’t walk the dogs with me because my pace makes her tired and nervous. Nervous! Imagine walking so slow you cause anxiety. My buddy Mișu isn’t any better. I told him twice to drag his butt out of the…… Continue reading Life with dogs – Episode 192
The White Swimming Cap
🇷🇴 Today at the pool I had a memorable encounter. I was diligently swimming breaststroke, lap after lap, nice and easy so I wouldn’t wreck my joints (again). Next to me, however, was a speed demon. For every one of my lengths, he did four of his. I know I’m not a fast swimmer, but…… Continue reading The White Swimming Cap
The Art of Conversing with a Smartwatch
A brief guide for people emotionally monitored by technology As is already known on two continents, I’ve started swimming. Little by little. When I finally figured out that I could wear my watch in the water, I also found out precisely how much I swam because my watch is smart. Very smart. At first, we…… Continue reading The Art of Conversing with a Smartwatch
Living with Dogs – Episode 190
Gicu isn’t a cuddler. He’s a respect-my-personal-space kind of dog – stoic, dignified, and deeply uninterested in human neediness, unless a treat is involved. Some say he’s part cat, or at least spiritually feline. Maybe it’s all the time he spent with Bill the Cat, who apparently taught him the fine art of ignoring people…… Continue reading Living with Dogs – Episode 190
Living with dogs – episode 189
At exactly 4:00 a.m., Baloo let out some soft, tragic whimpers in the living room, the sort that scream, “I’m dying.” Naturally, I launched out of bed like some sort of barefoot superhero wannabe, convinced he’d poisoned himself again with his usual street delicacies: some dubious leftovers from a fast food bag and something that…… Continue reading Living with dogs – episode 189
Pyr Paw
It was a quiet, scorching Sunday morning, the kind where the sun filters stealthfully through the curtains and plants seem to wilt to death in front of your eyes. Stan Pendula, freshly returned from his morning routine – dog walking, cabbage shopping, dog feeding, coffee making – suddenly, and without premeditation, decided to scoot over…… Continue reading Pyr Paw
The Long Game of Mr. Cosmin
My father played sports. My uncle, his brother, played sports. My cousins, my uncle’s boys, also play sports. They all have the opposite of Dad bodies. They’re the standard for their clothing sizes. You know those catalog notes: “The model is 5’9” and wears a size M”? That’s them. And then there’s me. Pear-shaped, decidedly…… Continue reading The Long Game of Mr. Cosmin
The Big Book Of Grief
This is an apology post. Well, not quite. I spent two years writing this book/magazine. When I finally declared it finished, I sent it by email to some of you. And then, being a product of the Facebook generation, I waited for feedback. And waited. And waited… impatiently. One reply came quickly, tearful and kind.…… Continue reading The Big Book Of Grief
Wings, Whiskers, and Fireflies
A non-believer’s guide to signs After my mom died, maybe three or four months later, my father found a baby pigeon on the sidewalk, barely alive. He took it home and, slowly, patiently, nursed it back to life. He named it Dosoftei and kept it in the kitchen for months. When I visited that fall,…… Continue reading Wings, Whiskers, and Fireflies
The Very Short and Sad Life of The Rodenstock Eyeglasses
When the average monthly salary in Romania was around 2,500 lei, my mother bought me a pair of eyeglasses that cost 475. That was almost a fifth of a monthly income. And yet, without hesitation, she paid every little penny so I could walk out of that optical store wearing a pair of Rodenstocks, German…… Continue reading The Very Short and Sad Life of The Rodenstock Eyeglasses
The Weathermen
Once upon a time, a young family moved to Brooklyn, New York. It was meant to be temporary, just for a year. A school year. A quick detour in the grand plan of life. They had come from Staten Island, uprooting their son from the only school he had ever known and dropping him into…… Continue reading The Weathermen
The Parsley Principle
The Parsley Principle applies when there’s no real need to buy anything. The only “need” is to escape the house. Enter the parsley. “Woman, I’m going to get some parsley!” my father’s voice would boom as he stepped out the door. Or, “Fah, what do I have to buy today?” he’d shout from the hallway,…… Continue reading The Parsley Principle
Nea Fane - Un Biet Român Pripășit în America / A Hapless Romanian Stuck in The US 