The videos prepare you for the worst, the instructor prepares you for the dive, the panic prepares your concentration, the excitement prepares your anticipation, and yet nothing can truly prepare you for the quiet, pulsing energy of breathing underwater. The barnacle crusted line leads downward toward the dark, sandy bottom. Equalizing the pressure against your ears as you swim, the calmness begins to envelop your body. Continue reading
Life
Customs
Customs are the basis of a society. Customs are the routine of a people—the proper etiquette of a shared land. We learn in sociology about these things and how they are not to be compared to or judged by your own customs. We are taught that, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Don’t take your idea of proper behavior farther than your own country. Continue reading
Leaving America: 2011 version
It’s never easy escaping the shores of the land of the free; it’s never easy flying over the home of the brave away to a strange land. My belief that I find myself through being alone, out of my comfort zone, with strangers, forced to figure things out, speaking new languages and eating weird food is what propels me to travel. Continue reading
Do You Have Mail?
There are only a few things more heartbreaking to me than seeing a person of elderly status in their robe and house shoes shuffling out their driveway to look in the mailbox. In no order: abused animals or children; animals covered in oil; young children with terminal illnesses; and finally, severe addicts. All but the latter are innocent and helpless to control the problem, but it also hurts to watch an alcoholic order another drink when he doesn’t need one, or a gambler stumbling to the ATM again. Continue reading
A Day of Love
After the hate of Super Bowl Sunday has faded, and the groundhog has squeezed his plump hindquarters out of his hole, and the winter doldrums reach their dour, gray peak, we find the sunny artifice of Valentine’s Day. The day when you feel bad for being single and having no one special to kiss, or the day when you don’t lavish enough attention on your special someone and either way end up feeling clumsy in your own heart. Continue reading
Roadkill
Leaving the apartment, I saw a dead armadillo, the icon of Texas. Some may argue that Willie Nelson or bluebonnets or the Alamo or the Cowboys are more iconic of the Lone Star State and they may be right, but the armadillo is the Tasmanian Devil of Texas. We know he’s there and he represents hard for Texas, the same way the Tasmanian Devil represents the lonesome island south of Australia. We don’t see either of them all the time, but we know they’re there. Continue reading
William Sabia 