Sea Fever by John Masefield

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

These photos are from my recent DIY writing retreat with a couple of friends (one of whom is lucky enough to have parents who have a beautiful house in Sea Ranch on the coast of California in Sonoma County not too far from the Mendocino County line). NOTE:  I did not take a photo of the actual house, but when you see the picture of the deer, that was taken from the dining room of said house.

Those of you who did not grow up near the ocean may not understand, but for me, returning to the sea every now and again, is rejuvenating.  Not just for my skin (that is getting dried out in the desert air) but for my soul…  there’s something about the salt smell, the sound, and feeling of the ocean, the waves crashing on shore like the heart beat of the earth.  So yeah. I must go down to the sea…   often.

And perhaps worse than hyperventilating is the fact that I can’t find anything. It’s frustrating. My once serene green sanctuary has turned in an endless pile of papers and things that should be put somewhere. The problem is I don’t know where. And I hate to throw things away. I like to think its a sign of a creative mind. That every bit of paper, every magazine, old key, used pen, or doo-dad can be turned into some piece of art. But the boxes are full, and my time is limited.

Today I spent a good part of the day sorting through paper. Generated a small pile for the shredder, and by going through even my school notebooks managed to fill two large bags for the recycler. Do I really need to save class notes that I cannot read? I look at some of them and think to myself, What Was I THINKING?

Example:

it
2 metaphors
Doll making?

or how ’bout this:

Here we go
just another pink pen

okay now

Then there are the ones that have doodles….

Still nonsensical, but perhaps just a tad artisitic?

I mean that mermaid is not bad for doodle, right?

No clue what “getting riddy ritual” means, however.

Metaphor of hunting? Voice of narrator?  I don’t even know if this is notes from a critique of MY writing, or from a discussion of someone else’s.

Then there are the scribbles of story starts and essay ideas that need to be made into something, even if I don’t know what yet, but clearly should not be tossed into the recycle bin. Like this:

The truth. Let me tell you the truth. The truth is I’m not drunk, not really drunk. I mean I never drink when I’m sober….

The truth is hard to hear sometimes.  The truth is heartless like a beauty queen grocery store clerk who marries you for your money and to give her kid a daddy.  The truth is love doesn’t exist.

The truth is somewhere at the bottom of this bottle of tequila… the worm maybe. The truth is a worm. A worm like a fast talking salesman who can talk you outta your money as quick as whore can take off her clothes. Yep. That’s the truth all right.

The truth is a guy  named Johnny who can fix anything for a price.

Let me tell you somethin’ little lady…  the truth is life is cruel. Love is cruel and God ain’t gonna bail you out and there are more sinners in church on a Sunday than you’ll find in this bar all year long.

And the truth is I’m the one guy in this place who you can trust.  All those other guys are just here to get laid. Not me. No siree. I’m here to get drunk and that’s the truth.

Seriously, what do you do with something like that?

Make No Mistake: this kind of harassment can be as frightening and as real as being followed and watched in your neighborhood or in your home. ~Vice President Al Gore

The first comment was rather innocuous, albeit grammatically incorrect: “ACTIONS SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS” It was submitted, in all caps, to my blog anonymously at 1:56 a.m. in response to my post The Power of Words on the 40th anniversary of Robert Kennedy’s death. I had embedded a YouTube video of one of Kennedy’s greatest speeches and I quoted:

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

I quoted it because some things bear repeating.

The second comment came two hours later and included an alleged quote from Buddha and some ramblings about “truth.” Signed, “Anonymous.” I approved both because though strange, they seemed harmless enough.

….CONTINUE READING AT TWC–>

AUTHOR’S NOTE: those of you (all five of my loyal readers) may remember this time, and may notice some differences in my Dear Anonymous letter. I have indeed taken some liberties with my own prose in service of creating a better, more cohesive essay.

Birds!

Oh the temptation.

Oh….

the laziness….

sigh.

The plot under my pergola is in need of tending.

The weather has warmed.

Spanish broom is in bloom.

I want to plant holly hocks.

and vegetables.

Both manifestations have what could be considered an eye. Is this the opening up of the eye?  a reminder to see?  to look at myself.  Perhaps this is my third eye I am drawing.  I wonder if I will get to the point that I can just let it be.

Yes, I know this is only day two. Yes, I know, I am over analyzing.  It’s what I do.  What do you think?

There seems to be something soothing about the Buddah Board; it’s  meditative and fun. But somehow I can’t completely buy into the idea, the purpose, the philosophy:

Buddha Board is based on the Zen concept of living in the moment. You simply paint on the surface with water and your creation will come to life in bold design.  Then, as the water slowly evaporates, your art will magically disappear leaving you with a clean slate and a clear mind– ready to create a whole new masterpiece.

The impermanence unsettles me.  And so, before I was able to touch my brush to the canvas I had to charge up my camera battery so that I could document each morning’s incarnation of art and meditation.

What does this say about me?

I know
that there is only
this
moment.

I know
nothing
lasts
forever.

And yet,
I want
to leave
my mark.

NOW you have to wear shoes that slip off easily–  and no you can’t walk through security with flip flops (lord knows what you could hide in your flip flops).  And then there’s things to consider like belts and sweaters and jackets and such.   And really, call me a conspiracy theorist, but I DON’T believe its about security, I think it’s about control…  but that’s fodder for another post.

Complaint number 43 is the baggage fee. I used to be one of those people who never checked baggage.  If I couldn’t carry it with me, it wouldn’t go…   I prided myself on my ability to pack efficiently, and wear everything I brought with.  Now what’s the point.  With all the restrictions on what can be brought aboard, it’s become a pain in the neck to carry-on.  I mean, what’s a person to do when they can’t bring their meat cleaver aboard?**

Here’s what I recently wrote to US Airways regarding the baggage fee that I had to pay on my recent trip to Hawaii:

First of all let me say that the $20-25 bag check fee is ludicrous. It is, however, a nice way to make your customers feel like you are nickel and dime-ing them to death…. where it would be better in my opinion, to just charge an extra $20 on the ticket.

What with all the restrictions on what you can and cannot carry on board,  it is damn near impossible to fly without checking luggage, so why not just fold that cost into the price of the ticket?

On 12/19 I checked in ONLINE and paid for my bags… I opted to pay for my bags coming and going to save $10 and did it all at the same time so I would not forget… UNFORTUNATELY I did  not realize that with a flight that has a connection / code share arrangement with, say HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, that I would have to pay Hawaiian Airlines when I checked in for my return flight. Apparently codeshare does not mean “bag fee share.” That should be made more clear.

And so, to fly my bags with me, I was in essence charged twice for my return flight.

In the future, trust I will fly Southwest where ever possible…

To USAirways credit, they did reply:

Thank you for contacting US Airways regarding our baggage charges. We regret your displeasure and appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.

Given the issues our industry continues to face in these volatile economic times, all airlines must look at ways to offset our increased operating costs. We continue to center our attention on providing the products and service based on value and our customers’ preferences. Our baggage policy allows customers who need to check baggage the option to do so for a nominal service fee, while allowing the core price of tickets to remain competitive.

A request for a refund has been submitted to our Refund Department on your behalf.

BLA BLA BLA BLA…

I still, however, contend this is NOT good customer service.

**strange that “meat cleaver” is listed as the fourth item on the list of prohibited sharp objects …  who  carries a meat cleaver?