Hemispheres Dispatch: "Dress Cents" at the Dortmund Opernhaus

I made my debut in the mile high (writers) club this month, with a "Dispatch" in the airline mag Hemispheres.   "Dispatches" is a travel section, a collection of brief wacky vignettes from around the world.  I first made contact with the editor, Chris Wright, pitching a completely different project, a longer "Three Perfect Days" piece on St. Annaberg, Poland.  During our scattered but always interesting correspondence over the month of August, which took place on Polish hilltops, in autobahn fast food parking lots, in Dortmunder wintergardens, and in Krakow liquor-and-coffee shops where I could get wifi, Chris Wright and I discussed saints and relics, KFC, Ireland, and theatre companies while circling the idea of a different piece.  The breakthrough came during my monthlong stay with the wonderful Spruch family in Dortmund, when I caught word of the Dortmund Opernhaus' annual costume auction.The result: "Dress Cents," my first "Dispatch" for Hemispheres.  If you're flying United Airlines this holiday season, look for the December issue in your seatback.  If not, you can read the article here or check out the e-magazine, where you can get an even better look at the accompanying illustration  from Luci Gutiérrez.