Wednesday, June 17, 2009

revisiting June 16th

June 16th, 1983
I was five years old.
We were either in Jesenik, Czech Republic or made our first journey across the communist border to vacation in Italy-
in which case I was camping with my family at a beach.
I remember the squatting toilets.
the roller coaster that ran throughout the night which we payed for with plastic tokens,
the drawing of the roller coaster was in metallic red on the token.
I picked seashells and did not recognize a crab until it pinched me.
There were rocks out at sea that we would wade to.
I was scared of going out that far.
My father teased me.
My sister was pulled under by an undertow at which point my mother either made dad go save her or went to her herself.

June 16, 2009
I am thirty one years old.
I am at Idylwood Park in Redmond WA,
wading on a sandy beach by the lake.
The water is warmer than I had anticipated.
I argue with my daughter who wants to swim without her bathing suit.
She fights, as she is right there and does not understand this social construction.
(She does not want to swim in underwear.)
She surrenders to not swimming.
Soon after, our friends happen to bring an extra suit with them.
She wears it, is content but does not swim.

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