On Not Flying to Hawaii

I could be the waitress
in the airport restaurant
full of tired cigarette smoke and unseeing tourists.
I could turn into the never-noticed landscape
hanging identically in all the booths
or the customer behind the Chronicle
who has been giving advice
about stock portfolios for forty years. I could be his mortal weariness,
his discarded sports section, his smoldering ashtray.

I could be the 70-year-old woman who has never seen Hawaii,
touching her red lipstick and sprayed hair.
I could enter the linen dress
that poofs around her body like a bridesmaid,
or become her gay son
sitting opposite her, stirring another sugar
into his coffee for lack of something true to say.
I could be the reincarnated soul of the composer
of the Muzak that plays relentlessly overhead,
or the factory worker who wove this fake Oriental carpet,
or the hushed shoes of the busboy.

But I don't want to be the life of anything in this pitstop.
I want to go to Hawaii, the wet, hot
impossible place in my heart that knows just what it desires.
I want money, I want candy.
I want sweet ukelele music and birds who drop from the sky.
I want to be the volcano who lavishes
her boiling rock soup love on everyone,
and I want to be the lover
of volcanos, who loves best what burns her as it flows.

Alison Luterman

27.12.09

My favorite Christmas gifts

As always this Christmas, I was spoiled rotten. But it’s always fun to spoil others rotten as well. I can’t wait to have kids some day for that reason. I imagine that it will be so exciting to see my children opening up Christmas presents. I keep finding myself coming up with great ideas on what to buy people for Christmas still, forgetting that Christmas is over. I guess I’ll have to focus on birthdays now.

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas presents this year.

006This is a laundry bag, embroidered with my initial that I received from Alicia. I had never thought about bringing a bag for my dirty clothes on my travels. What a great idea! 008This is a book bag from Cara that she purchased off of etsy.com. I think that etsy might end up being my new guilty pleasure. I am going to start carrying my books everywhere with me. Maybe then I’ll get more read. Cara also gave me this yummy lotion, Sweet Nag Champa Love . The smell of this lotion takes me back to my days in college where Nag Champa was burned in most dorm rooms, trailers, and apartments. It still has that strong memory sense for me whenever I smell it. I love how the girl who makes this lotion describes it, “Great for everyday use, but especially great for date nights or occasions when you want your skin to slip softly through the hands of a lover!”

 The Shack is a book that my mom gave me. It’s one that I have had recommended to me numerous times from several different people. After reading it, my aunt commented to my mom that one of the main characters reminded her of me because of their forgiving nature. It’s kept my curiosity ever since.

010

This is a ridiculously simple baseball cap that I have pined over for about six months now. I saw a girl on the beach with it on this past June and have admired it ever since. Why? I can’t explain. It’s simple, it’s beige, it’s classic.

012This is a Tervis Tumbler that I received from my mom. It keeps your drinks cold or hot, without condensation. That’s a big deal in the heat down here. Ice melts in mere seconds. I love this and have a feeling I will be purchasing more! 

013Finally, and most importantly, there is my new laptop from Daddy/Santa. I didn’t realize how much fun I would have with word processing and the internet at my fingertips. I’ve been using the excuse for not writing anything due to the uncomfortable place that my desktop computer is in my home. The last thing I want to do at night is to perch at the computer desk where my arms go numb from typing. So along with this glorious present, I must begin writing!!

What a Merry Christmas!!

No comments: