In Rudolph, the Misfit Bird Dies
The other day I sat down with my children who are 5 and 7 to continue the holiday tradition of watching the 1964 “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” My wife, who is from Peru, had never seen this film, and having the chance to watch it without the veil of nostalgia, I realized that there are …
Healthcare in Peru Works Better than in the US – Updated
I updated this article to reflect on a recent experience with the system that further confirms my beliefs about Peruvian healthcare. It’s no secret the US healthcare system is something of a mess. The US is the 3rd highest spender per capita, just behind Norway and Switzerland. But you can find a thousand stories of …
Lima, Peru Author’s Latest Release–Bone Gap Road
Rodney Dodig is an expat and author living in Lima, Peru. I had the pleasure of getting to know Rodney years ago when I was the editor of Living in Peru and Rodney contributed regular articles. In the intervening years, Rodney has published 4 very good novels, most of them set in Lima during various …
Pizza St. Poker With Canadian Bacon and The Kid
It was the last Saturday in Lima, so the plan called for the boys (and one girl) to head down to Los Incas, where many a heroic game of Texas Hold ‘em has been played throughout the years. These days Pizza St. is a lot less shady than it used to be, but it’s still …
The Last Climb by Dan Woll
An excerpt from Further by Dan Woll by Dan Woll “I don’t want to write about climbing; I don’t want talk about it; I don’t want to photograph it; I don’t want to think about it; all I want to do is do it.”… is what Chuck Pratt said. I never met Pratt but he was …
US Health Care Is An Illegal Monopoly
When was the last time you told your doctor, “Your prices are too high, I’m going to your competitor.” What? You’ve NEVER said that? Why not? It seems like every day I’m reminded how the free market is the answer to everything. “Don’t intrude, the free market will automatically correct! Bad businesses will fail, …
Two Months After Release—Tom Barczak’s Mouth of the Dragon.
The months leading up to a book release are filled with tension and excitement. How are people going to react to the work? Will they love it? Will they hate it? Will they be indifferent? Every book is a new experience, and sometimes the work sparks revelations that you never could have predicted. Today, Tom …
Peru in Peril: El Niño Floods the Peruvian Coast
Lima is a bubble where it’s easy to forget about the problems that routinely plague the provinces of Peru. That bubble burst yesterday when the Rimac River overflowed into the historical center of Lima. All classes have been canceled until Monday. This teacher won’t complain. El Ñino is to blame, and the coast is anything …
Peru’s Flooding: A Rumble in the Distance
by Rodney Dodig It starts as a rumble in the distance as large boulders grind against each other in the raging water. There is no time to do anything but run for higher ground as the wall of water, mud, stones, and boulders surges down from the high Andes. Peru takes its turn in …
Five Things Peru has that the US Lacks
When I left the US to go live in Peru, the top question, by far, was “Why?” That monosyllable of confusion was usually followed up by: “What things could Peru have that we don’t here?” I used to say “I guess I’ll find out.” Ask me today, and you’ll have to tell me to shut up. …
Review and Discussion of ‘I, the Sun’ by Janet Morris
Historical Fiction that is Unafraid of History Unlike most historical novels, ‘I, the Sun’ by Janet Morris does not try to impose modern morality upon an ancient civilization. After all, what is the point of claiming to be a work of “historical fiction” if you are bound by the preconceptions of modern times? However, that …
Mouth of the Dragon by Tom Barczak
The Dragon Manifested “Her white gown drew blood from the field along its hem as she walked, like a bandage on a wound. She made her way amongst the corpses and broken spears, unmoved but for her stare fixed upon him, pleading with him.”–Mouth of the Dragon “Mouth of the Dragon” is a novel filled …
