Ten.One Thousand, Five Hundred & Twenty-Three

1. Flashes of lighting. I check to see what time it is.

2. Loud thunder and then the sound of rain. Rain! I smile and try to go back to sleep.

3. Everything is wet. That is a very good thing.

4. It’s kind of like survivor guilt and I don’t really like this feeling.

5. Everything is changing. Nothing stays the same. What can I do to make it easier on myself?

6. Just enough time to shower before we go. I am still sweating. She is on the floor of my hallway helping the repairman fix the washing machine. When will I have time to clean the house the weekend? There will not be any time.

7. I can’t remember the last time I was in Oakland. I watch the landscape change. We cross over a bridge, the name of which I do not know. Below us water. Out across the horizon, shadow mountains and haze. Everything looks grey-blue, like an old black-and-white photo.

8. “I thought the tickets said no tailgating?”

9. Where did I go wrong?

10. Surrender to your truth.