Working on illustrations for a children’s book late into the
evening, I heard a loud chirping noise. My skills of deduction weren’t much
better than those of the dim-witted St. Bernard I was drawing because it took
me some time to realize that my air conditioner was not the culprit. I went
onto my balcony that overlooks the street and I discovered a cricket. With a
broom that had been propped conveniently against the wall, I promptly smashed
it. I returned to my drawing at the dining room table, hoping the cricket I’d
killed hadn’t been named Jiminy. How ironic if he’d been singing the song, “I’m No Fool,” in which he says he wants to live to be 103, just as I delivered the
fatal blow. Well, pretty soon, he
started up again. Apparently, the bristle end of a broom is not a good murder
weapon. I had only stunned him. This time when I stepped onto the balcony, I
noticed he had company. His last desperate attempt at a mating call must have
attracted a lady. I must confess I’m a diehard romantic. I was happy he’d found
someone. However, I cannot abide nocturnal insects chirping away on my balcony,
so I had to kill the romance, literally and figuratively: this time with the
dustpan.
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| This cat has nothing to do with this blog entry, but how often do you see a cat in Istanbul wearing a tie? |
Now, not only do I have my haunting by dead crickets to
worry about, but my relentless jet lag has not been kind to me, either. I have
been back in Istanbul for one week and I feel I should have adjusted to the
ten-hour time difference by now. My back balcony looks out onto a sports
facility, which is not the greatest view, but when I want to use the gym, I’m
glad it’s there. This morning at 5 AM I went running on the treadmill and afterward
was able to crash for six hours of blissful sleep. I think if I time my runs
carefully, I should be able to set my internal clock back to Istanbul time.
The lingering jet lag is probably due to my confusion about
where to hang my hat and call home. Is Istanbul home? Sure, and it’s a lovely
home, although the other day I saw two cars, crushed and full of bullet holes.
I’m guessing these are reminders of the failed military coup, but I’m not sure.
A home by definition doesn’t have to feel familiar. Homes can be confusing.
Portland is not home, but I had fun there this summer. Every time I’m in
Portland I can count on a stranger approaching me and telling me what kind of
energy I’m giving off. One time I was giving off a strong “amethyst vibe.” I
guess I had a light purple aura. Most recently, a woman approached me and said
I exuded so much confidence and that she was certain my name was Chloe. I just
looked like a Chloe, she said. I admitted that my name was not Chloe; it was
Meriwether, and the woman looked so disappointed, I wished I had lied to her.
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| ?????? |
This summer, I also spent some time in Seattle with my mom.
We went to the opera, which I love. Seattle has the most wonderful opera and I
feel fortunate for all the times I’ve been, but Seattle isn’t home either, and
I wouldn’t want it to be, unless I got to live at the opera.
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| At the Opera! |
I left Portland just as I learned of an event calling for
people to jump off the Tillicum Bridge to protest the killing of Harambe, the
gorilla. Only in Portland. The fashion there is stuck in the 90’s and time
stopped even further back. On Facebook, some people were stuck centuries
back, railing against Thomas Jefferson, discrediting all his contributions
because of his ideas of race and his relationship with Sally Hemings. I
suggested that we shouldn’t judge people in history through a lens of our
modern morals because if we’d been alive in the 1700s, I don’t think we would
have had such enlightened ideas about race either. The
response I got from someone I don't know was, “Maybe you would have been a piece of s**t if you’d lived
in the 1700s, but not me!”
On that note, I’m going to sign off and, cricket ghosts
willing, get some much-needed sleep.
