Old friends, artists, and heroes
How to Take a Vacation Without Leaving Your Town
Hanging out in my Narnia
I don’t travel enough. It’s expensive and we moved to a new house this year. We’re still getting used to a higher mortgage and plane travel isn’t as pleasant or inexpensive as it used to be. I’m not paying a thousand bucks to watch a lunatic get Saran Wrapped to a chair.
Finding an affordable vacation means living in the moment and staying local. That’s one of the reasons I jump into the cold lake in November. Mini vacay.
The lake swims were already simulating a vacation vibe when something unexpected made it more so. A sauna showed up. A woodburning 8–10 person sauna parked on the street near where we swim.
It was Narnia — open the door and we entered a blissed-out new world. None of us could believe our luck. We had been freezing our asses off with no reward other than our Badass Medals when suddenly the universe offered us this.
Holy Sauna Bricks, Batman!
The first day I tried the sauna, I saw someone I adored who I hadn’t seen in 25 years. The second time I met an artist who prolongs autumn's beauty by transforming the colorful leaves into vibrant blankets. The third time I met one of my favorite writers. That was two hours ago.
This writer I love has an unusual first name and as soon as she shook my hand and introduced herself, I guessed her last name.
She smiled. That’s me, she said.
I’m a fan, I said, jolted.
Thanks, she answered. Will you be here next week? I nodded.
I experienced that nervous vibration that comes from excitement and self-doubt. Did I say the right thing? Did I say too much? Too little? Should I have kept my mouth shut?
She’s a writer’s writer with language so exacting it makes your bones burn.
Should I have anointed her? How do you anoint someone?
Is it primarily for religious purposes? Or can you do it out of deep abiding admiration?
I had underlined so many of her sentences. I had set her books down on my lap to breathe in their meaning. I wanted to embrace her and squeeze out more of her words. I’m not completely nuts, so I kept my hands to my side — but I was smitten.
This sauna that appeared out of nowhere is filled with so many goodies, I can hardly contain myself. I wonder who I will meet next week. Who else is in Narnia?
