Tag: puravida
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Thief of Peace
Jealousy is the thief of peace. I’ve been on both sides of it, and I can’t recommend either. It twists your thinking into the most illogical of pretzels, and makes us behave badly – to ourselves and others. I used to throw tantrums when I caught my (alcoholic, abusive) boyfriend eyeing other women. Man. I…
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Jimmy
Jimmy disappeared when he was ten and I never saw him again. Over the years, he armored up with muscles and gangs, and escaped into drugs. When I returned to our mother’s house for holidays, he avoided me. Wrapped up in my own sorrows – a battering boyfriend, two abortions in a row – I…
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V-Day
It’s 2008. My best friend (yes, canine) had transitioned more than a month ago, and the loss was tremendous. I had to do something to express my continuing love for him. “Would you be interested in a guerrilla poetry action?” I asked a new human friend, Shannon, a talented artist. “Yes!” she said. And so…
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Tedi Sato
I had a big sister for two years. Her name was Tedi Sato. She was my fifteen-year-old babysitter when we lived in Santa Monica, and one day she came to live with us. It was wonderful! I was no longer the responsible elder, caring for my mother and brother. Someone else had joined the family…
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Lost & Found
Plop. Oh my god. The phone dropped in the water. I stare a moment in disbelief, then jump in after it. Straight down, I think. Look straight down. But I don’t see it among the rip-rap rocks below Dock 8, under the tied up kayak. My heart is pounding and my breathing shallow. I can’t stay down long and can’t see…
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Shift
I am biking from Venice to my job in Santa Monica as office manager for an animation studio. I am pedaling fast as usual, intent on the destination, not the journey. It’s an old ten-speed, with lever gearshifts set below the handlebars. After gaining momentum, I shift up, and the lever breaks off. The piece…
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BE
“What do you do all day?” The question comes from an older female paddleboarder while I’m on deck readying the kayak for an excusion to the swimming hole. The question irritates me, just as when a marina-mate asked it in Mazatlán. “I’m a writer,” I reply, tying Audrey’s line to the blue halyard so I…
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Bay Life
What’s all that racket? I close the laptop and get up to look. Are the anchorage neighbors working on boat projects again? Thump. Thump. Thump. The sound reverberates through the hull. I open a hatch and peer out. To the south a whale slaps her giant fin on the surface of the bay. Then her compatriot splashes…
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A New Year
I arrived on Kaua’i January 1, 2020, and rolled my purple carry-on straight to the beach, after catching a hotel shuttle to Kalapaki. The sea! It had been months since I immersed, and longer since I’d surfed. My swimsuit was in the outside pocket, and I changed under my clothes. Boots off, socks off, body…
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A Swell Xmas
A big swell arrived for Xmas, and I had to move to a safer anchorage. I realized this when I found myself looking up at the ocean while securing Audrey on deck. Sweet Jesus! We are outta here! It’s a tricky thing, hauling anchor while the wind and ocean push you toward shore. I don’t recommend it.…
essays by shé 