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Friday, April 8, 2011

"Bottled"

I woke up this morning thinking about Harold. No, not Harry, the guy who messed with my head from 14-20, Harold was a seemingly random meeting with a guy in the Bahamas.


I was a little afraid to go to the Bahamas because whatever pigment exists in my bloodline, I didn't get any of it. While my peers baked on the beach in the noon sun, I took my floppy sun hat and walked in my long-sleeved dress under a line of trees along the beach. After a couple miles I looked back for signs of civilization and wondered if this was a really stupid thing to do, but I was committed to my stupidity by then, so I kept walking.


I was absorbed in whatever monumental thoughts I might've been having when a miniature crab skittled in front of me. I shrieked and jumped back. My natural agility barely saved me from landing on my ass, and I heard a snicker coming from the trees. I looked around, but saw nothing unusual until a white smile appeared like a Cheshire Cat amongst the shadows. My surprise only made Harold laugh harder.


He stepped forward and his enormously fit, enormously tall body separated itself from the trees like an African god. To say he was black is to say he had color. He was blacker than that. He absorbed light like a black hole, a vacuum of anti-color -- except for his blazing school bus yellow swimsuit. His very, very tiny swimsuit that looked like it was going to burst open with more astonishing blackness. Harold really laughed when he watched the direction of my eyes and expression of shock. He invited me to join him, and I looked helplessly up the beach for some sign of others. No one. Harold could rape and kill me, and nobody would know where to look for my body, which would no doubt be washed away in the ocean anyway. I sat down under the trees at a "safe" distance that only made Harold laugh more. Obviously, Harold laughed a lot.


It turned out to be a perfect, memorable day. He was a chemist taking a day off from work. He proudly told me about the Bahamas, and said not to hang glide because there's too many injuries. He foretold my future. He was kind, funny, intelligent, and so memorable I dreamt of him 20 years later. Maybe there are no "accidental" meetings?


My last trip to New York City was a work trip, and even though my boss was supposed to come, it ended up just my coworker and me. Tina is usually the friendly, talkative one. In NY, we switched roles. I talked to everyone. Everything was an experience. I made pals with everyone in the airport bar. I bonded with the guy who owns Diebold. I got a marriage proposal from a Turkish cab driver. I adopted a girl visiting from Florida and we saw "Spamalot". I got a reading from a gypsy fortune teller at 1 in the morning. Everything was happy. Everything was fun. Oh yeah, I suppose we went to the trade show and did actual work too, but nothing was going to spoil my enthusiasm for everything.


If you've read my previous posts, you'll know I'm a country girl. I like trees and the quiet to hear birds singing. NY sounds like the antithesis of everything that would make me happy, and while I would never live there, the freedom of being one of millions is something I don't often feel. Yeah, here's where we come to the point of "bottled". I feel bottled up. I need trips and new experiences and new people. I need the happy accidental meetings of memorable people like Harold, the Diebold owner, and the Turkish cab driver.


Tina came back from the NY trip and told our coworkers about the "NY Linda". They laughed and couldn't imagine my wedding plans with the cab driver and how I took note about how to impress his Muslim mother. I suppose they wouldn't understand my day with Harold either. Or that English guy at the South Carolina plantation... I know every quality I have and show when I'm away from home are qualities I have all the time if I can just find them in myself. I need to remember the path to my own happinesses. I need another trip! I need to break free!!!


The art is a print from a little linoleum cut I did a while ago. I really felt like painting something different, but this piece just insists on being posted today.

29 comments:

  1. One of the great things about coming home from work on Friday is knowing there will be an interesting Linda Hensley post and a great illustration... and you never let me down :) Thanks! Great story you reckless, devil make care social butterfly!

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  2. I can definitely relate to this one-- I'm mainly an introvert by nature & happily spend my days painting away in solitude, but I also love traveling & meeting interesting people. Of course there are plenty of interesting people at home too, but there's something about travel that heightens the experience-- I suppose because you feel this is your only chance to spend time with the new acquaintances.

    The linocut really expresses the pent-up frustration you feel!

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  3. I love the stories of the accidental meetings and relate to the different perspective while away from home. I like the drama of the linoleum cut print.

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  4. This is the perfect time of the year to break free! Your linoleum print captures this tension, but I have the feeling it won't be long before you're on your way to your next big adventure! :o)

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  5. Great linoleum Linda! Hey that sounds like a nickname....Linoleum Linda, the fastest cutter in the west! You are such a terrific writer. I enjoyed your post immensely! Your vivid descriptions coupled with your sarcastic humor paint an amusing literary picture. Peace :o)

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  6. That linoleum has quite a dark side, it's a vivid as your stories today which I loved. I am sure the "NY" Linda is not bottled up but ready to pop the cork with a day out or a mini break??...it makes us appreciate where our true roots are and you are certainly a country girl.I smiled very broadly at the image of Harold in the sunshine and his vivid yellow trunks..I shall be heading out into the glorious sunshine we are having here in the UK at the moment and shall be wearing a cheshire cat smile but will be minus the yellow swimwear if that's OK by you. You never know I might even bump into Harold...;0) Have a sunny weekend Linda,
    Jane x

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  7. Great post, Linda. The routine of life can push you into doing what you always do, thinking what you always think and liking what you always like. I love sometimes to do something that's totally out of character for me and seeing if it fits. I also love the powerful lino cut and the impressive sounding Harold! Here's to your next 'break-free trip'!

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  8. Thanks everybody! I'm feeling special to be part of your Friday routine Rand! Let's all break loose and go somewhere or talk to someone new -- but I think Jane's got the right idea, minus the yellow swimsuit!!

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  9. Linda - I'm discovering a lot about you! Your experience with Harold..wow. And the NY Linda sounds like she had a ball. I hear you about breaking free, and trips do the same for me, too.
    Your piece here is wonderful..edgy, and well crafted, as per usual!! Glad to have dropped by to visit!

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  10. I'm glad you came for a visit Shirley! If I can't take trips right now, I can still have fun talking with people from around the world :)

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  11. Linda, like everyone above, I smiled reading your story. I spent a year teaching English in Botswana afterward traveled for 6 months through Africa, and though location was different people with the "Herald spirit" were often the same. For some reason, that spirit isn't as apparent at home—I know it's here, but we can't always see it, it's too close and we're guarded I suppose, and breaking out is daunting, and exposing. Thank you for the glimpse of the unguarded! And the wonderful linocut!

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  12. Great post Linda! Beautiful illustration!

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  13. Sounds like a fascinating adventure Penelope! Thanks for the comment, and thanks to Juan too!

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  14. You write as beautifully and as you create art. Both are immediately engaging. Wow, the power packed in that fist looks ready to explode! Not unlike Harold's swimsuit?

    Isn't it great to become unbottled in a new environment? It's like having a fresh start. Which do you think is closer to the "real" you, the bottled or unbottled Linda? :)

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  15. LOL Bella! To answer your question, I think I'm too responsible most of the time. I'm happier as the unbottled Linda :)

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  16. I'm glad the amazing Harold didn't break the bottle. And he kept his yellow cap on. Or maybe there's more to the story...

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  17. Harold definitely kept his yellow suit on. My mother chastised me this morning for even mentioning it, but hey, it was memorable!

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  18. Oh Linda! Wwow you have the gift of tongues, you are a very good writer you know. You draw so many pictures with your words and yet they are theprfect complement to your images.

    I'm just imaging the look on your face when confronted with the huge man !! And "whatever pigment exists in my bloodline, I didn't get any of it." had me laughing out loud.

    Nice contrast.

    Let me tell you about the tahitian girl who 'wobbled' 'shook'? her err 'chest' at me a few years ago while I was riding a bike around Moorea ..... err maybe I shouldn't :)

    :)

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  19. Oh wow! What adventures. I was hoping to read later that you met Harold in New York. Aw shucks. So how often does this happen? Do you notice yourself being more careful as you age or more carefree?

    Your illustration says it all.

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  20. I love blogging! You folks are so nice to me :) Go ahead Andrew, tell us about that woman wobbling at you. I love your stories. You crack me up too!

    Ces, I wish I could say I ran into Harold in NY, but would it be the same? I've been thinking since writing about this. What are the odds of that crab at that moment when I was so far from everyone, but right in front of Harold? We sat there all afternoon, and nobody else showed up all day. Kismet or something?

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  21. You have started my day out beautifully!! Thank you!

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  22. hmmm.. Harold makes me nervous.
    Your illo has a nice juxtaposition of hard bold lines against a soft mushy texture. Perhaps Harold was of this nature as well...
    nice visual message.

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  23. Thanks Richard! Harold obviously made me nervous too, but since everything worked out, it makes for a good memory :)

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  24. Love the lines and textures, so strong:)

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  25. It was fun reading your post and finding your blog! Your writing is quite engaging and your illustration is a unique take on the prompt. It has all the feeling of "bottled" without the bottles!

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  26. Thanks Ann Marie! Maybe I should make another lino cut with the knot untied?

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