essays by shé

bookshelf

Tag: audio

  • Not Done

    I was climbing the swim ladder on the port side after cleaning the hull. (Not completely, never completely – Jesus, Mary and Joseph — just another section, like painting the Golden Gate Bridge.) Off the starboard stern quarter, beyond the boom and solar panels and cockpit, a whale dives under the boat. Where I was…

  • Get Away

    “Get away from me,” I tell the self-righteous woman in front of me, but she doesn’t. She continues screeching about leashes and laws. It is an early winter morning circa 2005, and Emmett and I are ambling around the ‘hood. We usually have it to ourselves at this hour, but not today. I do understand…

  • Full Moon at The Other Café

    My first night working at The Other Café – coffeehouse by day, comedy club by night – Robin Williams was in the house. I was in the kitchen learning to salt the chili so customers would drink more, when he grabbed me and tango’d me around the crowded floor — crowded with cooks, comedians, waiters,…

  • Stuck

    A neighboring sailboat was having trouble hauling anchor. It seemed to be stuck on something on the ocean floor. Supposedly there are a few shipwrecks in this anchorage. The neighbors tried dropping more chain. No joy. They tried hard reverse. Nope. They tried hauling from a different direction, and, eventually, they got loose and motored…

  • Birthdays

    We celebrated birthdays hard when I was a kid. Breakfast in bed, presents, queen for the day, and favorite foods for dinner (crab, sourdough, artichoke). In México, I garner a slice of banana pudding bread and a card from Maria, the kind server at my favorite eatery. So far I like ageing. Less tolerant of…