Posted tagged ‘desert’

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“…mirages are things that aren’t really there that you can see very clearly.” “How do you see something that isn’t there?”… “sometimes it’s much simpler than seeing things that are”…”

May 6, 2016

I think I’m going crazy, the kind of crazy you get when you see ocean waves in the desert after you’ve crawled through the sand for days without water. This morning I swear I saw a bit of blue sky and a round bright orb hiding behind clouds. They’ve gone now so I’m questioning my sanity. Were they really there?

With all the rain this past week, I’m imagining plots to science fiction movies, bad science fiction movies. I see plants crawling up my legs or vines trying to grab me as I run to the car. Water creatures rise out of the front lawn and none of them are friendly. There better be sun soon or it will be too late.

At least the rain has stopped. Maybe my deck will dry so it can be sealed then readied for warmer weather. To say it is spring is a heart wrenching misnomer.

I have never been prissy. I had a couple of college friends who were prissy. One was the real life epitome of Mrs. Cleaver. My friend wore the exact same sort of sweaters and she wore pearls. I saw her at my class reunion, and she is still wearing sweaters and pearls. Even her glasses are a throw-back to the 50’s. She’s not making a statement or being a parody. It’s all real.

When I was younger, I used to dismiss the wardrobes of old ladies simply because they were old ladies. I figured they earned the right to wear anything they wanted. I am probably an old lady to the kids on my street. I can imagine them giving directions to my house, “The old lady lives in the green house with the garden in front.”I, however, have a wardrobe very different from the old ladies of my childhood. None of my clothes scream old lady. I have been dressing in the same way for years.

My Ghana fund goal has been met, and I still have a few months to save more. I’m thinking the more will be seed money for my next trip wherever. It has to be somewhere I’ve never been, and it can’t be continental Europe. I’m actually leaning toward Madagascar or Malta, but I think I’d do better with my money in Madagascar so Malta may be beyond my financial status.

I may not have time to post tomorrow as it is the multicultural fair day, and I usually help man the Peace Corps table so don’t worry if I’m missing!

Categories: Musings
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“To lovers of adventure and novelty, Africa displays a most ample field.”

July 31, 2015

And the heat goes on! Today is just a bit better than yesterday, and tonight is supposed to be cool. We did have some rain last night around 11:30. I don’t know how long it lasted. I know it was small rain as I was outside on the deck watching Gracie and barely got wet.

A large fly was inside the house yesterday. I hate flies. I suspect this one was logy from the cold because when it landed I was able to sneak attack and whack it with my hand. No more fly!

I wish I could describe the excitement I had when I was flying over the Sahara on my way to Ghana. It was like seeing my geography book come alive. I almost couldn’t believe it was the Sahara below the plane. It seemed more like a dream. Seeing it got me even more excited because it meant we were getting closer to Ghana. I had no idea what to expect from Ghana. The books I read had described the country, but then it was my imagination, my mind’s eye, which conjured the way I thought it might look. Exotic came to mind. A place different in every way from the familiar was the overwhelming thought. In many ways I wasn’t wrong.

The first few days were filled with eye-opening sights. The compounds, not houses but compounds, had tin roofs rusted by the rain. My whiteness was an attraction. Everywhere I went a parade followed. I met a chief, a real African chief. All the sights, sounds and smells overwhelmed me. I couldn’t process fast enough. I almost needed to pinch myself. I was really in Africa.

One of the first lessons I learned in Ghana was not to have expectations but rather to take everything as it came. I didn’t grouse about what I didn’t have. That was the key to living happily. I didn’t like the flies and I wasn’t thrilled about peeing in a hole, but they were part of life for me. I swatted the flies and aimed well at the hole. I came to love Ghanaian food and wore dresses of Ghanaian cloth. My sandals had soles made of tire rubber by the man in the market, sort of an outdoor cobbler. I rode in crowded lorries and buses and ate food sold along the roadside. I never gave any of it a second thought. I was home.

Sometimes even now I am amazed I went to Africa. I can’t remember what made me at twenty-one willing to go, to leave everyone and everything behind me. Whatever it was, I am forever thankful.

Categories: Musings
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“Summertime is always the best of what might be.”

July 24, 2015

I hear insects buzzing, the sound of a summer day for me ever since I was little.

When I was a kid, I walked everywhere. In the summer the roads shimmered when I walked on a really hot day. I knew it was a mirage caused by the heat, but I still found it a bit mystifying. The shimmer always stayed the same distance away from me in front of where I was walking. It made me think of the desert and of water which wasn’t there.

Sidewalks were so hot they’d burn my bare feet. I’d do that silly dance every one does of quickly raising one foot then the other ahing out loud in pain the whole time. The grass was immediate relief, cool and lush.

Drinking water from the gushing hose was an easy way to feel a bit cooler. The water ran fast and hard. The front of my blouse always got wet. It didn’t matter because the sun dried it quickly.

My mother always yelled when we looked into the fridge for what she thought was too long a time. “Close the door. Do you want everything to melt?” She never understood that looking was the best way to find what you didn’t know you craved on a hot day until you saw it. Always in the fridge was the aluminum pitcher filled with Zarex, usually orange. Everyone liked orange. My favorite was cherry, but I bowed to the orange contingent.

My mother had aluminum glasses to match the blue aluminum pitcher. They were the best for cold drinks because you could feel the coolness through the aluminum to your hand. Ice cubes were too difficult to get from the trays. You had to pull a lever to release the cubes and most times the lever had also frozen. Waiting for the water to get hot then putting the tray under the faucet was the only way to loosen the lever. All of it was far too much work for a few ice cubes.

Today is a wonderful summer day with a breeze and a sunny blue sky.

Categories: Music
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“Everybody’s a dreamer.”

February 23, 2012

Yesterday was a perfect day. It was warm and sunny and the morning was filled with the sounds of bird songs the way spring mornings are. I did all the outside chores I’d been holding off until the weather got warmer. My new palm tree was assembled, put on the deck and lit up last night. My neighbors phoned and said they were thrilled to see it. They called it iconic and likened the tree to the Citco sign at Fenway. This new palm tree is taller than the old. Some of my friends used to have to duck under the old fronds. This one is a foot taller. I also figured out why the ground lights had been off for so long, and they too were bright last night except for the two strands which had lit their last. I bought two new ones, and I’ll put them up today. I have missed all my night lights.

Today is cloudy but warm. A while back the sun tried to break through the clouds but just didn’t have enough oomph yet but it keeps trying. I’m rooting for the sun. Every now and then the leaves move but the day is calm. It rained last night, the second night in a row, and it’s still damp.

The sun just reappeared and the sky has touches of blue. I think it will be a lovely day.

When I was a kid, some things just seemed exotic to me. Palm trees were on that list. I pictured a white sandy beach, water so clear you could see the fish and a line of palm trees along the sand. I imagined drinking from a coconut just knocked from the tree. I think it was Swiss Family Robinson which conjured my imaginings. When I saw my first palm tree, I wasn’t disappointed.

The desert was also among my exotic imaginings. I saw myself dressed like a Bedouin and riding a camel. My clothes were bright reds and greens and blues, and I wore a cloth across part of my face to keep out the sand. I could see myself sitting on the saddle as the camel slowly walked across the desert. It must have been a movie which had me imagining the Sahara as I don’t think any of my books did.

New England is the least exotic place I know, but I figure for some people New England and all it offers might be part of their imaginings. Sledding down a big hill in winter, collecting shells along the shore, swimming in the ocean and eating freshly caught fish might just be part of someone’s dreaming.

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Comments: 14 Comments

“Everybody’s a dreamer.”

February 23, 2012

Yesterday was a perfect day. It was warm and sunny and the morning was filled with the sounds of bird songs the way spring mornings are. I did all the outside chores I’d been holding off until the weather got warmer. My new palm tree was assembled, put on the deck and lit up last night. My neighbors phoned and said they were thrilled to see it. They called it iconic and likened the tree to the Citco sign at Fenway. This new palm tree is taller than the old. Some of my friends used to have to duck under the old fronds. This one is a foot taller. I also figured out why the ground lights had been off for so long, and they too were bright last night except for the two strands which had lit their last. I bought two new ones, and I’ll put them up today. I have missed all my night lights.

Today is cloudy but warm. A while back the sun tried to break through the clouds but just didn’t have enough oomph yet but it keeps trying. I’m rooting for the sun. Every now and then the leaves move but the day is calm. It rained last night, the second night in a row, and it’s still damp.

The sun just reappeared and the sky has touches of blue. I think it will be a lovely day.

When I was a kid, some things just seemed exotic to me. Palm trees were on that list. I pictured a white sandy beach, water so clear you could see the fish and a line of palm trees along the sand. I imagined drinking from a coconut just knocked from the tree. I think it was Swiss Family Robinson which conjured my imaginings. When I saw my first palm tree, I wasn’t disappointed.

The desert was also among my exotic imaginings. I saw myself dressed like a Bedouin and riding a camel. My clothes were bright reds and greens and blues, and I wore a cloth across part of my face to keep out the sand. I could see myself sitting on the saddle as the camel slowly walked across the desert. It must have been a movie which had me imagining the Sahara as I don’t think any of my books did.

New England is the least exotic place I know, but I figure for some people New England and all it offers might be part of their imaginings. Sledding down a big hill in winter, collecting shells along the shore, swimming in the ocean and eating freshly caught fish might just be part of someone’s dreaming.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Comments: 14 Comments