Upside Down Kris

Daily Deed He was poking around the spigot, hoping for a few drops, wishing the faucet was running. And although he was a seagull, I could feel his want. I approached at a slow gait while he gave me the side-eye. When I got too close, he waddled away. I decided to wash my feet then and there, though I had been planning a longer walk through the sand. I would take the short way home instead of de-sanding myself at the next washing station. I jammed in the metal knob that was as hard to press as it was high (how did children manage, I wonder?) It was just in my reach and I kept my eyes on the gull as I lifted one foot under the strong stream of water. "Look, I turned it on, Buddy!" I announced.  He looked at me askance.  "Hey, I finished!" I called out to him when my feet were wet with no grains of sand sticking to them. "And I left the water on!" He wouldn't come near, however, until there was sufficient distance between us. I watched from the railing a...

Into the World  My head's out in the world while my body's inside my world. (That is, my apartment.) I close my eyes and suck in warm moisture, letting it grace my skin. It is my favorite wake-up tool–sticking my head out of the window. Forget about coffee or even tea...all I need is a good whiff of morning air.  I remember establishing this ritual in Northern Italy. During the winter the first inhale of the day was so frozen that it stung my nostrils. Still, I loved it and still do. It creates a connection that helps me land in the world after being in Slumberland. It signals to my brain: Hey! It's another day!  Sometimes the pistons in my head are firing before I'm ready for the day to begin. Thoughts are shooting off in all directions as if sparking even if I don't remember turning the engine on. It's like I am in the middle of an old Western movie shooting my gun in the air, trying to get control over the horses galloping around me. I often have to get up an...