A long time ago I used to be a DJ, first on the radio and then later at parties. Somewhere along the line I learned the rule of “3 up, 1 down”. You play three upbeat, high energy songs that people like to dance to and then follow it with one slower song. This allows people a chance to sit down, relax slightly and then they get enthusiastic all over again when the next popular, high energy songs gets played.

In the same spirit, I’m going to do something similar on the blog, “3 short, 1 long”. One of my traditional super long and “dense” pieces followed by 3 short ones. The name of this category is in tribute to a comment made by a friend of mine recently. Despite some perhaps literary embellishments, these are all actual true stories.

Not too long ago I met a very nice young Romanian woman who had spent a few years in the United States as an au pair. She and another friend (Romanian) had signed up at around the same time and had both worked as au pairs in the same city, each one taking care of some American’s kid. Then these two friends returned to Romania to visit their families and have a break from working.

The friend came to visit the young lady I spoke with, who was now in Romania and over at her family’s house, where there was a very young niece or cousin playing outside. The two women were inside the house, sipping on a coffee and chatting when all of a sudden the friend exclaimed, “Oh my God, the kid [family member] is around the corner and out of your sight! You have to go get her!” “Relax,” said the first young woman, “we’re back in Romania now. Everything is going to be fine.”

And indeed it was.