A hundred thousand lives. I remember maybe ten.
Some men have one life. I had a business, a wife, a city — then I lost all three on purpose, or maybe by accident. Then I had a hundred others. Here they are, the ones that stuck.
The Moscow Life
The business, the wife, the apartment with the view. Everything a man is supposed to want.
The Fall
It did not happen in one day. It happened over years. Which is worse.
The Bangkok Life
A backpack, four thousand euros, and a plan that was not really a plan.
The Ashram
A guru, a mantra, a lesson. He took my money. I took the lesson.
The Monks of Laos
Monks who did not speak English and did not need to.
The Hong Kong Almost-Fortune
A partner, a plan, and a bottle. Only one of them survived the night.
The Paris Six
Six months in Paris. I did not become French. I did not become anything.
The Oakland Stop
I told myself it was temporary. It stopped being temporary around year three.
The Cork Necklace
Every cork is a bar I left. Some of them I was asked to leave.
Becoming Garry
I did not become Garry. Garry is what was left when Igor stopped pretending to be Igor.
