Write2Unpack

Jean O’Hare, 1944 “Honolulu Harlot”

I’m off to New Orleans in a few days, and in honor of the trip I wanted to write a story about a particular location in New Orleans.  There’s a song about this particular location, and like most things in New Orleans, it’s steeped in mystery.  There is no known author, and many artists have recorded different versions of the song from the 1920’s to today. If you believe Wiki (it has to be true if it’s on the internet, right?) miners were singing the song in the late 1800’s, but The Animals recorded the most popular version in 1964. I saw two singers perform it this week on The Voice. It felt like more than coincidence (I don’t believe in it anyway), so I knew it deserved a blog post.

******

A Cautionary Tale

Pulling the collar of his coat up against the wind, Ethan shifts his weight to the other leg. It hasn’t been the same since the accident. The doctors say it’s as good as it’s going to get, but most days he spends nursing it with whiskey just to get through. The nights are better, easier.  The casinos give you free drinks if you play there, and if you walk around sometimes or play the slots a little slower it doesn’t take as much money to stay.

“My day is coming.” Ethan mutters under his breath. He’s been on a streak lately, and not the winning kind.  But this time Ethan has a plan. Easing himself down to sit on his suitcase he reaches inside his coat and pulls out the bottle.

“That’ll help with the cold.” A bright eyed man to his right says.

“It helps with pretty much everything.” Ethan says and lifts the bottle in salute. “Where are you headed?”

“Down to New Orleans, sir. I’m headed to meet my ship.” His eyes sparkle now, but that’ll change soon, Ethan thinks. This war has dulled the sparkle in a lot of young men, a lot of women too he supposes, and this one will be no different. “Have you served, sir?” Bright Eyes asks.

Ethan takes another sip of whiskey and returns the bottle to its home inside his coat. “No.” He says looking at his hands. “My ma wanted me to. It was her dream for me to get out and see the world, ‘specially after pa ran off. She even sewed me new jeans. She was a tailor, my ma, and a damn good one. Had to work way too hard to feed me and my brother.”

“But, the Navy pays, sir. And it’s a reliable paycheck.” Bright eyes looks a little sad and confused. Clearly the recruiter did a great job plugging the perks of Navy life, it probably helped that this one seems a little dim. Ethan thinks briefly he might be able to talk this boy into betting his train money on a sure thing, but sighs and continues on.

“You’re already enlisted. That’s good. I’d say not to do what I done, but you seem smarter than me. I was on my way to enlist when they found me.”

“Who found you, sir?”
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“Sin and Misery.” Ethan says to the boy. “I thought I could do it, you know, earn some money and help support ma and John Junior, but turns out I take more after pa than I thought.” Ethan shifts his weight on the suitcase as he remembers.

“I think it used to be a house. It was a big building that had a rising sun carved right over the door.” Ethan gestures with his hands, smoothing out the picture in his mind. “Its signs were bright and said I would win, and the girls…  Whoo weeee the girls! They had curled hair and clothes that all but put their breasts in your hands! I thought it couldn’t hurt, you know, stop in for a minute, win some money and just visit with the pretty girls.” Ethan smiles at the memory.

The look of sadness on Bright Eyes’ shrinks into mild disgust.

Leaning over Ethan whispers, “The secret is they let you win a little, to keep you there, but they never let you win a lot.”

Ethan sits back up and clears his throat, stretching his leg out and wincing a little. “The girls are schooled in how to console a man, and I spent what little money I had left on a night with one of them. Not the prettiest one, I couldn’t afford her, but my girl was pretty enough. In the morning I couldn’t bear to go home and fess up to what I’d done. It woulda killed ma, and I couldn’t even tell John Junior not to do it, ‘cause I liked it so much. I knew the next time I had any money I’d be right back there.”

The train whistle blows off in the distance, signaling the time for passengers to stand up and gather their things. Ethan obliges the train whistle but looks over at the war-bound boy. “Ma’s gone now, and rumor has it John Junior is struggling in high school, so I’m heading back. Back to Nawlins and back to the beginning. And boy do I got a good feelin’ about it! This time I’m smarter, wiser, and been around a bit, you know? I know I can do it. This time I’ll win!”

*****

Well? Did you get it?  “House of the Rising Sun” of course! (here’s link to the performance that inspired this post)

No new message for you, my reader, this week.  Just the usual ones. I’m so excited to go to New Orleans I can’t hardly stand myself. I’ve never been, but always wanted to.  I have a Favorite Nephew to watch the house, boys, and dogs.  And thanks to some really great friends I’ll be at the Seahawk’s game IN NEW ORLEANS!!! Watch for me. I will… get… on… TV!!!

Go ‘HAWKS!

My thoughts are my own, but my pictures are generally found on Pinterest (you can find anything there!). If you like what I write, please share with your friends or someone you think would like it! I’d love it if you follow me on Facebook (Melissa Gale), Instagram (write2unpack), or Twitter (@write2unpack). If you have any topics you think I should talk about, reach out to me at write2unpack@gmail.com. Oh, hey, and if you sign up here to follow me you’ll never miss a post!

This week I couldn’t decide what to talk about.  Shocking, right? Me not having anything to talk about.  It was the first time I thought I might not be able to put a blog up on a Wednesday.  Then I thought to myself, “Self. That’s ridiculous! You always have a lot to say.”

Sure, I always have lots to say, but today I couldn’t decide what to talk about in my blog. I want to write stories about voodoo, about magic portals you can only see in your rearview mirror, about the darker, more seductive side of magic. I write mostly uplifting posts, but this week my mind is in a darker place.  Maybe it’s because I just had a birthday and am not where I wanted to be when I turned 44 years old, maybe it’s because it’s October and Halloween is this month, maybe it’s because I’m going to New Orleans at the end of the month and I’m excited to take tours of cemeteries and absorb the energy of the city known for its food, music, cemeteries, and voodoo.

Whatever the cause, lately I’ve been feeling the seduction of things that are darker, more dangerous. I’ve already talked about why danger is attractive (check it out here if you missed it!) and we talked about how the body’s physical response to being scared is similar to the body’s physical response when aroused. But what is it that draws the mind to darker, more dangerous things?.

The Best Husband Ever and I record most of our television shows, and every night there’s a conversation about what show to watch.

TBHE: Let’s watch Orange is the New Black.

Me:      I’d rather watch American Horror Story

(This season was about Roanoke, West Virginia and the lost colony… so cool!).

TBHE: How about Blacklist?

Me:      The Exorcist (the series) is good, and we only have one of those.

(Mel Trivia: I’ve loved horror movies since I was a girl, and The Exorcist was the only one that really truly scared me back then).

TBHE: Ok, how about Blindspot?

Me:      Alright. Sounds good.

We manage to find a middle ground where there’s enough psychological tension that I like it, and enough “normal” for The Best Husband Ever.

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The shows I love have a darkness to them. The more psychologically twisted the better. I love shows that have an intensity that pulls me to the edge of my seat and makes me hold my breath.

Many people, including my 12 year old, are afraid of the dark. I’m drawn to it. I love dark nights (yes, especially a dark and stormy one). I’ve always felt at home in the darkness, comforted, safe. At night in my house I always draw the curtains while the lights are on. Once the lights are out I like them open so I can see outside. I feel like a predator. Like I can see or sense if there’s anyone near me and they can’t see me. It gives me a feeling of power and control.

Of course I don’t just like scary or creepy things.  I love to laugh and see people being kind to each other and to animals. I appreciate it more because I’ve cried and seen people do hateful things with the intention to hurt each other. The seduction for me isn’t just the feeling of power and comfort. Have you ever been in a dim bar or movie theater and then walked outside into the sunshine? Notice how much brighter it seems when you’ve been in the dark for a while?

Maybe that’s why I love the dark. I love the dark because it makes the light that much brighter.

This week, my reader, I want you to think about darkness. Do you love it, loathe it, or feel just “meh” about it – and why? Have you seen so much dark that you don’t want any more? Have you seen just enough to appreciate the light? Does the feeling of not being in the light make you uneasy because there’s so much you can’t see in the dark? When you get up at night to get a glass of water do you tiptoe through the house with the lights off, or turn on every light in every room you walk through?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Feel free to share in a comment, or you can reach me personally at: write2unpack@gmail.com.

My thoughts are my own, but my pictures are generally found on Pinterest (you can find anything there!). If you like what I write, please share with your friends or someone you think would like it! I’d love it if you follow me on Facebook (Melissa Gale), Instagram (write2unpack), or Twitter (@write2unpack). If you have any topics you think I should talk about, reach out to me at write2unpack@gmail.com. Oh, hey, and if you sign up here to follow me you’ll never miss a post!

Last week I met a man who smelled like my childhood.

When I was a girl it wasn’t uncommon for me to get up in the morning, pack a lunch for me and the dog, head out into our 33.3 heavily forested acres that was bordered by a bajillion Weyerhaeuser acres, and spend the entire day in the woods. We spent the days in another world. With nobody, literally no one, around us but the trees and underbrush, we went on quests, built forts out of tree limbs and moss, and had amazing adventures.

One place in all the acreage was my favorite – an old cedar stump that had been hollowed out by years of Western Washington weather. I’m sure if I saw it today it would be much smaller, but to a girl of 8 it seemed like the stump was 15 feet high and about 10 feet across. It had a live giant that had split out of the bottom, so the union between the live cedar and the stump made a nice “V” to help me climb up and then down into the stump. Years of rain and dampness had not only hollowed out the middle, but washed out a spot near the bottom that was just big enough for an 8 year old girl or her 10 year old brother to belly-scoot out.

When I slid down the inside it was just me and the tree. I used to think the cedar tree did that just for me. ½ of it was taken by loggers, and the other ½ grew so I could use it as my favorite spot. I was safe and protected from all the wild animals and nothing could get me – except maybe a little rain.

That’s what he smelled like.  He smelled like clean earth, warm cedar, and fresh, round air.

That’s a Trillium at the bottom of a gigantic red cedar. They were all over in the forest where I grew up.

Everyone who knows me knows I’m a hugger, so when we hugged our hellos I almost held onto him for a moment too long (Don’t worry, it was a very appropriate and “chaste” hug).  I don’t know what kind of soap/cologne/whatever he was wearing, but I was instantly taken back to that memory of the center of the cedar tree. It  caught me by surprise and I wanted to remember it more. (It’s not weird to smell someone you just met, is it?)  The smell of the cedar, the feeling of “ok-ness”, and the reminder to breathe deeply.  And so this week’s blog post was inspired by a smell and a childhood memory.

We’ve already talked about the Intoxication of Scent (check it out here if you missed it!), and it’s no secret that smells can affect mood or even work performance.  Smells can also bring back a long forgotten memory.  Science tells us that the part of the brain that processes smells (olfactory bulb) is so closely associated with the system that processes memories and feelings that it’s sometimes referred to as the “emotional brain.” That system wouldn’t work unless we had already associated a memory with a smell, which we typically do the first time we smell a new smell – and also why a lot of smells remind us of childhood.

My reminder this week was to breathe, so I thought I’d share some ways to help de-stress:

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1. Breathe. That’s right. I’m starting with this one because that’s what my lesson was this week.  Any yogi will tell you that breath (pranayama) is the life force of a person, and Western medicine doesn’t disagree.  Deep breaths release tension, reduce blood pressure, and make your body feel like it does when it’s already relaxed.
2. Visualize. A quick visualization is an easy way to help you get centered. Do you have a favorite place (like the bottom of a hollowed out cedar tree) that makes you happy? Somewhere you discovered on vacation? A sunny beach? Take a few minutes and picture yourself there and feel your body instantly relax.
3. Practice yoga. I’m not saying to break out into a sun salute sequence when you’re stressed out, but certain poses are designed to help alleviate stress. Take Eagle Pose, for example: just the arm positioning is great for relieving neck and shoulder tightness. (Learn to do it here) Definitely a plus for someone like me who sits at a computer all day and holds stress in her shoulders.  Try it out!
4. Turn off your phone. Especially if it’s a smart phone.  Put your phone down and don’t look at social media, don’t text, unplug from the world and all outside stresses. Try it for 10 minutes (she says to her daughter with a wink) and see if you can work up to 30.
5. Kiss your lover. Science shows that kissing releases endorphins, and endorphins make us feel good. Feeling good helps us feel less stress. Besides, it’s kissing… take a moment and give a little love to your lover and make them feel good too!

After meeting my new friend, visiting for a bit, then hugging our good-byes, I drove out to Lake Wenatchee where my family was camping.  His smell lingered on my scarf, and as I drove through the amazing fall colors of the Chumstick, my mind was still back in my hometown – at my childhood home, out in the woods, at the bottom of a cedar tree.  The smell is long-gone, but that memory is still in the front of my brain, and it’s an important reminder.

This week, my reader, I challenge you to breathe.  Take 10 minutes and re-center and de-stress.  Find your “happy place” and visit it for a few minutes, kiss your sweetheart, breathe deeply, know that everything is “ok” and will work out.

I’d love to hear about any favorite childhood memories that are associated with a certain smell.  Grandma’s “old rose” perfume that was always in her sewing room, mom’s cooking, what sparks your memories?

My thoughts are my own, but my pictures are generally found on Pinterest (you can find anything there!). If you like what I write, please share with your friends or someone you think would like it! I’d love it if you follow me on Facebook (Melissa Gale), Instagram (write2unpack), or Twitter (@write2unpack). If you have any topics you think I should talk about, reach out to me at write2unpack@gmail.com. Oh, hey, and if you sign up here to follow me you’ll never miss a post!