I'm SO glad I asked Veronica to take this picture of me this morning! It reminds me of another image from Nov. 2009, on Goree Island off the coast of Senegal.I'd shoved the camera at a nearby hapless tourist and asked him to capture me staring down the passageway leading to the "Door of No Return," that dank portal to waiting slave ships where so many African American ancestors began their grueling Atlantic Ocean journeys hundreds of years ago. Ironically, once I saw that picture, all I noticed was how huge my butt looked.
Anyway, this morning I wanted proof that for the first time ever, I think, instead of lying around moaning about how hard jet-lag was hitting me, I actually completed a 3-mile walk with Veronica! In fact, we've been walking on Lake Michigan every morning since I arrived. The first two mornings were cool and overcast, which was a blessing. But today was wicked hot. I mean, sweat was pouring off me like the fountain at Millennium Park. My hips hurt. My ankle's still slowly recovering from my "Vienna Vicissitudes." My lower back is still twinge-ing from the "Central Kenya Matatu Massacre."
In medical terms, I believe my overall condition could be classified as "Tore Up from the Floor Up."
But I did it!!!! I kept up with Veronica, and I came out of this tunnel on the other end with most of my lung capacity intact. And I like how this picture is sort of washed in the rays of the sun..."Light at the End of the Tunnel" metaphor, and all the rot. A perfect bookend for the Goree Island shot--like I made safely it across the Atlantic, and I am HOME.
Oh, and I also like how you can't see my butt in this shot.
No comments:
Post a Comment