I’m deliriously in love with the Pacific Ocean, it fills my heart with joy. You never know with a body of water. I went down to paddle in the lagoon around 6 the other night. The water was like glass, the air was fresh, I stood talking to surfer/fisherman Andrew for 5 minutes, both of us enjoying the moment, the birds, water, sunlight, ridge in background. It’s a bond that surfers, fishermen, and beachcombers share. We’re drawn to the ocean. Tuesday night the cove in Pt. Arena was beautiful at sunset. The wind had dropped, and the waves shimmered with silver as they broke.
When I was around 12, I had my first insight into a deeper level of nature. We used to spend the summer at the Russian River, and one evening around sunset I was walking through a hay field and saw a mouse scurry by. I stopped and held still and soon more mice came out. I stood there for like 20 minutes. It was next to a haystack, which was like a mouse skyscraper, and the mice ran all over the friggin place, carrying stuff, chatting, almost climbing over my shoes. They thought I was a tree. It was this busy little society, seldom seen by humans. I was practically ecstatic.
The room I stay in at Louie’s (see below) is in his shop. His house is on the other side of the river. To get there you ride in a bosun’s chair 500′ across the river on a cable. I went across Wed. night to have dinner. (I shot a video of the ride, which I’ll put on YouTube next week.) We roasted 2 wild ducks, and had them with a salad, Louie’s homemade Syrah wine, and an apple pastry he whipped up for desert. Oh yeah, a few shots of tequila and olives before dinner. Listened to music of the ’40s, then CD of The Harder They Come while we ate … we old guys, like, know how to have a good time.
you guys, like, surely do.
"One who was born by the ocean or has associated with it cannot ever be quite content away from it for very long."
-John Steinbeck
The Sea of Cortez