End of Summer Days

I walked to the ocean's edge and took in the salt air on a cloudy, surreal afternoon. Afterward we went to a nice restaurant, The Plaza Grill, and chose our dinner carefully. I had tomato basil soup with one raw oyster. He had clam chowder with yam fries. While looking over the drink menu (yes my drinking days are basically over, I know) a menu item shocked me to attention: Absinthe. Ambrose had a $200 dollar bottle once, bought from the Internet. Susan Sarandon smuggled it from Europe in a green listernine bottle and presented it to a young lover in a recent movie saying, "Tonight is an absinthe night." The exotic Italian actress Asia Argento was in a car accident causing a fatality and absinthe was found in her possession; a fact that made her country dislike her even more. And of course Vincent Van Gogh was famous for his love of absinthe, which was believed to have influenced his paintings, including the psychedelic swirls in "Starry Night". I thought it was contraband in the United States.

For ten dollars a shot, from an absinthe brand called, "Lucid" you get a crystal goblet, a single sugar cube, and a tin cup of water to pour on the sugar, one drop at a time, to allow the sweetness to cloud up the green hue of the liquor. I took a sip. Going down my throat warm and fuzzy I swear the punch of the drink hit me immediately. Daryl's eyes turned a deeper green, the noise in the room became a distant static, and I felt...content.

Afterward we checked out four DVDs, gathered pillows and blankets for our fold out sofa, and vegged out to the rantings of Timothy Leroy (usually I would NEVER rent a documentary on him) while cuddling.

I document this day here because it's one of the last 'free' days I have this summer, 2008. Soon responsibilities will constrict both my time, and Daryl's time. Hustle mode comes early this Autumn. So here is a record of our lazy and adventurous Friday. In one day it seems nothing is accomplished, but does it need to be? I don't need to cross off a list to be happy and know that I'm alive. There will be time for stormy weather. For now, I can spend a day inhaling the smell of the Northern Pacific Ocean, taking photographs, and hearing Daryl's beautiful guitar strumming. I am trying to be present in every moment. That's my secret to happiness.