{"id":149,"date":"2016-05-19T22:35:09","date_gmt":"2016-05-20T02:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/?page_id=149"},"modified":"2024-03-18T17:05:05","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T21:05:05","slug":"patriotic-flamingos","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriotic Flamingos"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"148\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-edit\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1440%2C625&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1440,625\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1024%2C444&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-148\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?resize=1440%2C625&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"patriotic flamingos\" width=\"1440\" height=\"625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?w=1440&amp;ssl=1 1440w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?resize=300%2C130&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?resize=1024%2C444&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?resize=768%2C333&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>a very short story<\/h3>\n<h4>The fading sun on a warm New Hampshire summer day, a man confronts the lay of the land and the condition in which his life lies<\/h4>\n<p>Herm whizzed the weed whacker closer and closer to the edge of the ridge at the front of the lawn. It was the piece that jutted out beyond the croquet set Sylvie insisted on buying at the City Sports in Manchester. A close out. It was the piece of lawn closest to the highway and he always got a little careless in this area, forgetting where the turf gave out to exposed tree roots, with no earth sticking to them at all. Then, just as he got distracted, listening through his earphones to a particularly sultry phrase of Linda Ronstadt singing, &#8220;I&#8217;m a Fool to Want You,&#8221; it happened. The weed whacker was whacking air, in fact it was huffing air, spinning out of his hands as he fell, ass over tea kettle, right into the flock of little red flamingos assembled by the shoulder of Route 25, inches from the asphalt.<\/p>\n<p>Each little bird carried an American flag, or at least at this point most of them did, after weeks of rain in a late spring, and the wind storm last week. It was a miracle he wasn&#8217;t impaled on a bed of pointed flag staffs. But there he lay, nevertheless, surrounded by Old Glory, dazed and sore, and pissed beyond belief. &#8220;Well, fuck me,&#8221; he thought, and &#8220;What the fuck?,&#8221; as his mind re-engaged, thoughts coming one-on-one. &#8220;Time and time again I said I&#8217;d leave you,&#8221; Linda sang inside his head. &#8220;Time and time again I went away.&#8221; And as the music swelled and subsided, Herm took an inventory, moving each limb and appendage. He grimaced in apprehension with each finger and toe as he spread and flexed it.<\/p>\n<p>Then he got to his feet, knocking over a bird or two and felling a flag. They were the cheap kind you could practically see through, printed like a book, not sewn or woven. Probably made in China. Jesus she bought some strange shit. The flamingos, part of an odd lot that got colored wrong\u2014a deep scarlet, instead of the usual Flamingo pink\u2014were really cheap at The Christmas Tree Shop in the Nashua Mall. And these were really tiny, maybe like baby flamingos. She made him drill a hole in each one, where a wing would be, to take the flag shaft. Oh crap, look at this. Streaks of grass and earth on every part of his pants, his new Dockers, damn it, every part he could see. The only part of him that was really sore was his ass. So he walked the long way round, skirting the road, rather then try to climb the embankment. No traffic this time of day, the sun high, and sifting through the branches, dappling the pavement, the lawn, those silly damn flamingos.<\/p>\n<p>As he trudged up the driveway, he brushed at himself, his legs, his torso. working out the shock of the fall. Suddenly he swiped at his head, as if brushing at no-see-&#8217;ems and whipped the two white earbuds out of his ear canals, just as Linda&#8217;s voice dropped half an octave for the final, &#8220;Without you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"likebtn_container\" style=\"\"><!-- LikeBtn.com BEGIN --><span class=\"likebtn-wrapper\"  data-identifier=\"page_149\"  data-site_id=\"65de0987943ec9a27c3a9d5c\"  data-style=\"\"  data-unlike_allowed=\"\"  data-show_copyright=\"\"  data-item_url=\"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/\"  data-item_title=\"Patriotic Flamingos\"  data-item_image=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1024%2C444&amp;ssl=1\"  data-item_date=\"2016-05-19T22:35:09-04:00\"  data-engine=\"WordPress\"  data-plugin_v=\"2.6.59\"  data-prx=\"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?action=likebtn_prx\"  data-event_handler=\"likebtn_eh\" ><\/span><!-- LikeBtn.com END --><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>a very short story The fading sun on a warm New Hampshire summer day, a man confronts the lay of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"likebtn_container\" style=\"\"><!-- LikeBtn.com BEGIN --><span class=\"likebtn-wrapper\"  data-identifier=\"page_149\"  data-site_id=\"65de0987943ec9a27c3a9d5c\"  data-style=\"\"  data-unlike_allowed=\"\"  data-show_copyright=\"\"  data-item_url=\"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/\"  data-item_title=\"Patriotic Flamingos\"  data-item_image=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1024%2C444&amp;ssl=1\"  data-item_date=\"2016-05-19T22:35:09-04:00\"  data-engine=\"WordPress\"  data-plugin_v=\"2.6.59\"  data-prx=\"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?action=likebtn_prx\"  data-event_handler=\"likebtn_eh\" ><\/span><!-- LikeBtn.com END --><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":148,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-149","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.7.1 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Patriotic Flamingos &#8212; bertha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The fading sun on a warm New Hampshire summer day, a man confronts the lay of the land and the condition in which his life lies\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/patriotic-flamingos\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/patriotic-flamingos\\\/\",\"name\":\"Patriotic Flamingos &#8212; bertha\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/patriotic-flamingos\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/patriotic-flamingos\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/05\\\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1440%2C625&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-20T02:35:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-18T21:05:05+00:00\",\"description\":\"The fading sun on a warm New Hampshire summer day, a man confronts the lay of the land and the condition in which his life lies\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/patriotic-flamingos\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/patriotic-flamingos\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/patriotic-flamingos\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/05\\\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1440%2C625&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/05\\\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1440%2C625&ssl=1\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":625,\"caption\":\"patriotic flamingos\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/patriotic-flamingos\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Patriotic Flamingos\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/\",\"name\":\"bertha\",\"description\":\"the online magazine about the passing scene\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"bertha magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Images\\\/cropped-Bertha_Button_72p_9inch-Master-for-Favicon.jpg?fit=648%2C547&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Images\\\/cropped-Bertha_Button_72p_9inch-Master-for-Favicon.jpg?fit=648%2C547&ssl=1\",\"width\":648,\"height\":547,\"caption\":\"bertha magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.berthamagazine.com\\\/frontpage\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/berthamagazine\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Patriotic Flamingos &#8212; bertha","description":"The fading sun on a warm New Hampshire summer day, a man confronts the lay of the land and the condition in which his life lies","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/","url":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/","name":"Patriotic Flamingos &#8212; bertha","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1440%2C625&ssl=1","datePublished":"2016-05-20T02:35:09+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-18T21:05:05+00:00","description":"The fading sun on a warm New Hampshire summer day, a man confronts the lay of the land and the condition in which his life lies","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1440%2C625&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1440%2C625&ssl=1","width":1440,"height":625,"caption":"patriotic flamingos"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/patriotic-flamingos\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Patriotic Flamingos"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/","name":"bertha","description":"the online magazine about the passing scene","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/#organization","name":"bertha magazine","url":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/Images\/cropped-Bertha_Button_72p_9inch-Master-for-Favicon.jpg?fit=648%2C547&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/Images\/cropped-Bertha_Button_72p_9inch-Master-for-Favicon.jpg?fit=648%2C547&ssl=1","width":648,"height":547,"caption":"bertha magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/berthamagazine\/"]}]}},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1440%2C625&ssl=1",1440,625,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=300%2C130&ssl=1",300,130,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=768%2C333&ssl=1",768,333,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1024%2C444&ssl=1",1024,444,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1440%2C625&ssl=1",1440,625,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=1440%2C625&ssl=1",1440,625,true],"menu-24x24":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=24%2C10&ssl=1",24,10,true],"menu-36x36":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=36%2C16&ssl=1",36,16,true],"menu-48x48":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flamingos_shutterstock_9827524-3-Edit-e1463711347929.jpg?fit=48%2C21&ssl=1",48,21,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Howard","author_link":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/author\/howardbertha-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"a very short story The fading sun on a warm New Hampshire summer day, a man confronts the lay of [&hellip;]","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P4ZrXL-2p","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":176,"url":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/bernie-the-cuckoo-woodpecker\/","url_meta":{"origin":149,"position":0},"title":"Bernie the Cuckoo Woodpecker","author":"Howard","date":"2016 May 29","format":false,"excerpt":"'Acanthus and Vine' embroidery, designed by William Morris, 1879. Victoria and Albert Museum. In the public domain, courtesy of the V&A Museum. Contact the museum. Bernie Sanders, if metaphors must be sought, is an amalagam of two colorful, yet successful, species of birds\u2014neither very good as game for humans, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/Images\/morris-acanthus-and-vine-embroidery-courtesy-of-the-victoria-and-albert-museum-e1464559227891.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/Images\/morris-acanthus-and-vine-embroidery-courtesy-of-the-victoria-and-albert-museum-e1464559227891.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/Images\/morris-acanthus-and-vine-embroidery-courtesy-of-the-victoria-and-albert-museum-e1464559227891.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/Images\/morris-acanthus-and-vine-embroidery-courtesy-of-the-victoria-and-albert-museum-e1464559227891.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/Images\/morris-acanthus-and-vine-embroidery-courtesy-of-the-victoria-and-albert-museum-e1464559227891.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/Images\/morris-acanthus-and-vine-embroidery-courtesy-of-the-victoria-and-albert-museum-e1464559227891.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":123,"url":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/skinny-legs-other-attractions\/","url_meta":{"origin":149,"position":1},"title":"Skinny Legs &#038; Other Attractions","author":"Howard","date":"2016 May 13","format":false,"excerpt":"The Inside of Skinny Legs, from east to west, in eight takes Adventures and Musingson the nether end of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands Taken from the travel journals of Howard Dinin, circa 2003-2005 Skinny Legs is a bar and grill at the Coral Bay, the eastward or windward, end\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Caribbean Culture&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Caribbean Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/category\/caribbean-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Interior Skinny's","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/skinnys_2005jan25_pan-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C167&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/skinnys_2005jan25_pan-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C167&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/skinnys_2005jan25_pan-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C167&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/skinnys_2005jan25_pan-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C167&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/skinnys_2005jan25_pan-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C167&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25,"url":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/buying-a-sofa-bed-counting-in-french\/","url_meta":{"origin":149,"position":2},"title":"Buying a Sofa Bed &#038; Counting in French","author":"Howard","date":"2014 April 28","format":false,"excerpt":"[written by me as entries in a journal about part-time ex-pat life in rural France, and dated September 17 and 23, 2007 My late wife, Linda Kennedy, was on full disability medical leave for treatment of multiple recurrent cancers. I was her primary caregiver, and, aside from these duties I\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/20070927_P9270018.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/20070927_P9270018.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/20070927_P9270018.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/20070927_P9270018.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":103,"url":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/the-homeless-of-provence-summer-2004\/","url_meta":{"origin":149,"position":3},"title":"The Homeless of Provence : Summer 2004","author":"Howard","date":"2016 May 9","format":false,"excerpt":"The following story written originally as a journalistic first-person account of the state of the social order in rural France 12 years ago is, naturally, in the present tense and conditions described concurrent with the time. There are hints, here and there, though with no pretense to prescience\u2014I could only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;French Culture&quot;","block_context":{"text":"French Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/category\/french-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/sans-logis_Salernes_CRW_0565-e1462817402664.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/sans-logis_Salernes_CRW_0565-e1462817402664.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/sans-logis_Salernes_CRW_0565-e1462817402664.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/sans-logis_Salernes_CRW_0565-e1462817402664.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/sans-logis_Salernes_CRW_0565-e1462817402664.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36351,"url":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/my-cafe-life-memoir-as-cultural-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":149,"position":4},"title":"My Caf\u00e9 Life: Memoir as Cultural History","author":"Howard","date":"2019 May 4","format":false,"excerpt":"Town Hall Coffee, Merion Station PA photo: \u00a9 Howard Dinin As a boy, I never liked coffee, or thought I didn't. Dark, bitter, mysterious, and forbidden. It was for adults somehow, and the last thing I wanted was to be an adult. Some things don't change. Caf\u00e9 du Grand Cour,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Culture&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/category\/culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Cafe-Life_Americans_Town-Hall-Coffee__November-21-201221Nov2012__MG_0029-Edit-e1557004026211.jpg?fit=1200%2C746&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Cafe-Life_Americans_Town-Hall-Coffee__November-21-201221Nov2012__MG_0029-Edit-e1557004026211.jpg?fit=1200%2C746&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Cafe-Life_Americans_Town-Hall-Coffee__November-21-201221Nov2012__MG_0029-Edit-e1557004026211.jpg?fit=1200%2C746&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Cafe-Life_Americans_Town-Hall-Coffee__November-21-201221Nov2012__MG_0029-Edit-e1557004026211.jpg?fit=1200%2C746&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Cafe-Life_Americans_Town-Hall-Coffee__November-21-201221Nov2012__MG_0029-Edit-e1557004026211.jpg?fit=1200%2C746&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54928,"href":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/149\/revisions\/54928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.berthamagazine.com\/frontpage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}