I hemmed and hawed this morning over whether I should take a swim and lay out before heading over to New Orleans. There are worse problems, right? Well I shut my brain off and did it anyway. The swim was nice, but I can never stay in for too long. It really is that initial plunge that makes everything better, stops time, quiets the rest of the world. Then it all comes back. But maybe a little bit better. This morning was no different.
I put my bathing suit on, and despite the cloud coverage, I went out. I did the plunge, and yes, it was wonderful. I lay out and the sun appeared … and then went away … and then reappeared … and then. By that time, I was done anyway and decided to get my act together and get a move on. This weekend, I’ll be spending some time in New Orleans. I don’t come here often, but when I do it feels like home. Sort of. I’ll explain more tomorrow or sometime this weekend on my other blog.
I hear a rooster crow outside. It reminds me of my grandmother’s town. It’s not really in the country, but I guess people have roosters in towns these days. And I am today in the 7th Ward of New Orleans. It also reminds me of a conversation I was having with a friend in Turkey last night at around 11pm my time, 6am her time. She’d fallen asleep after a drunken night out with friends and woken up in that same friend’s bed. I was one of the friends she was texting back. One of the other ones she realized was passed out in the living room of the house she was in. She’d decided to take a walk to find a bakkal, or bodega, to buy toilet paper. We talked during her walk. It was quiet there she said. Of course, at 6am. She couldn’t find a bodega, but instead ran into a pack of sweet wild dogs. We talked for a while about her life there, how it was to live in a Muslim country, that it was all political, and not something you really talked about or even noticed in day to day life, despite the shit in the news. She is a late owl, but I am an early-ish riser, so I had to get off the phone and go to bed. Later in the day, she informed me that she had indeed gone skinny dipping, something she warned me she’d do.
I am now comfortably lounging on a magnificent pistachio-green sofa in the very adult dream-worthy home of a friend of a friend. The record playing in the background is the Big Chill. I’m drinking water to balance out the wine I just drank at St. James Cheese Company. And this day, the sun, the clouds, the roosters, the wine, the insane drivers, the cute csr who reminded me of a British rap artist/photographer I once met in Glasgow, and the contradictions in New Orleans scenery that make me love/fear it bring me to reflect on the ups and downs of life. Yesterday, I finally had a few minutes to catch up on my Bloglovin’ articles. On that love/fear note, I’d like to share a few with you.
FEAR
I can’t seem to post the video here, but here’s the link via Good of New Video Shows Why We Need New Gun Laws. It’s not the article I fear, but the subject. And it’s sad that something like this makes so much sense. Maybe we don’t all think alike, but can we at least agree that the antiquated laws need to be changed? I really don’t understand how anyone can justify having assault-style weapons. Yes, there are a million-and-one layers to the violence happening in our country and around the world, and yes, we need to look deeper, but come oooooon.
LOVE (thankfully a few more of these)
Horrible, horrible, horrible that this woman was assaulted! What is wrong with human beings?! But YES to MORE PERFUME, FEWER GUNS!!! Grandmother Defeats Carjacker by Spraying Him with Perfume on Good.
Biscuits + Brioche 