Steven Hall
Bio
Writer, traveler, linguist
Stories (2/0)
Yoram's Socks
Yoram’s Socks Yoram's Palace was a towering two story Gazebo-like building in the Ganhasos, the Horse Garden, one of countless distinctive gardens situated nearly everywhere in Jerusalem. Since the building was not a gazebo, it could only have been a palace, Yoram’s Palace. It was constructed of thunderous wooden beams and posts with doorways on each of its six sides leading into the divine, irresistible center, where you could look straight up and see the sparkling stars at night, or the clearest crystalline blue skies of Jerusalem, all day long. Staring through the top of the hexagonal hole in its crown from the main floor, or looking up from the inside of the covered balcony, accessible by a footbridge, all six senses of every visitor were stimulated and inspired by the dazzling hues and tones of playful sunlight which shone through the multicolored antique windows, the walls of Yoram’s armon; windows to the soul of the deceased activist artist named Yoram Amir, may he live forever. He had fearlessly collected them all, windows from around the world in ornate or simple frames with colored glass or all colors; they were the sort of windows one sees in a mosque or a typical middle eastern home, each hand picked and preserved for over twenty years as he prepared to make his vision a reality. Once he began to learn about the very special and well loved Israeli artist, it became impossible to ignore the influence that Yoram had on his life. Yoram was everything, he was the reason for all that Susu experienced in Israel, Yoram Amir was nothing short of the genius who crafted Susu and it eventually became patently obvious to all that the purpose that Susu eventually shone brightly with was the result of having been led to the palace by Yoram. It occurred to Susu early on that his experiences in Israel were nothing short of extraordinary; if he did not have the sense to honor Yoram and the others involved in his journey, all that he had suffered and risked might have been for nothing, the beauty that Israel had revealed to him had to be measured carefully against the hardships and because everything began with Yoram, Susu was careful to honor his memory and to continue to craft himself in a manner that he was certain Yoram would be pleased about. It was also clear to Susu by the time he left Israel that nothing he had experienced had merely been the result of traveling. Instead, his experiences had been a connected series of Mitzvahs, although Susu was not Jewish and apart from the respect and admiration that Susu would show to Yoram, he gained a deeper understanding of his relationship with what others often call God, though for Susu acknowledging the universality of things and God were identical roads to peace.
By Steven Hall3 years ago in Wander
Dad's Little Black Book
For three solid weeks I punished myself by eating only cheezies and ice-cream because I had skipped my father’s funeral, although it is true that Maggie and I were expecting our fourth and fifth children and with babies on the way, new Covid restrictions, preparations for a major terraforming project on Mars using a synthetic self replicating bio-organic manure compound I developed, and Doodles, my fifteen year old show Pomeranian’s birthday party, I was swamped. There was a bounty of completely legitimate excuses for not showing up, but there was no escaping the guilt and it nagged at my conscience, briefly convincing me that I would live in eternal misery and shame which only a son who has failed to show up at his father’s funeral can understand. Still, things always seem to work out in the end and thankfully today, I have no regrets or even the tiniest bit of guilt for missing the funeral, since I happened upon a thing far more valuable than bitcoin or gold that day and because in the end I did find a way to pay my final respects to my father, I discovered a little black book and everything in our family changed for the better.
By Steven Hall3 years ago in Families