scuba diving for a mermaid most at home in the monsoon.

in essence, there was something that attracted me to this northern ontario lake.

the continent had been quiet for less than two days. certainly, north america was bursting with people, many encouraged by their invigorating anticipation of summer, but that didn't change the reality that the water, no matter how enticing it looked, was still cold. each morning, awake on the earth, a house full of people, all asleep, except for the maple leaf mama on a hill awake brewing coffee, i would head to the lake in my daisy duke swimming costume, my upper body covered in a towel, and i'd stand at the edge of the dock.

i wanted to go in, but the wind and the knowledge that the drink in front of me was kannada frigid, stopped me in my tracks. there was something about the solitude, by myself, thinking about life, on a dock on the lake, that had me. my thoughts were absorbed by the dream of a beautiful mermaid who loved to swim more than anyone i knew. a mermaid who was equally at home on the cusp of the monsoon but also, an exquisite creature who reveled in the world of porcelain pink piglets and black samurai piggy banks.

i looked towards the clouds and through the crystal clear cold water beneath me. there was no mermaid to be seen here, but merely the whisper of the winds rustling the evergreens behind me.

later, on that same day, i would not see a half woman/half fish, but instead, a dog who loved to swim but who was old. gentle with age, this beautiful brown dog would only bark when its owners went water skiing or swimming. the dog wanted to jump and it did. but it swam with a dog life jacket. it needed it, for perhaps it would have raced after the water skier making cold rounds in the water, hoping to save her owner's life. like the mermaid chasing the monsoon, this dog loved to swim, it was a merdog. snopp would have been proud.

so the afternoon arrived and soon my journey to this lake would be complete. we were three, heading back to the big city, embarking on a three hour journey for three.

the water looked the warmest it had been since my arrival. in my imagination i saw that water is the life force. i am it and it is me. i hoped maybe through summoning the power of this giver of life, i might touch the world of the mermaid and the merdog, if only for a moment, and thus, be at peace before the concrete canadian jungle allows tension to take hold.

so i ran and i dove.

dripping on return, my ride (himself about to swim) remarked - you made that look easy and incredibly, for the first time even warm.

i didn't blink, but smiled.

it's because it was all for the mermaid most at home in the monsoon, i replied.

i breathed deep, oxygen gladly invaded my cells and a warm summer wind began to dry my body.

although the continent was still quiet i was relaxed, and at that instant everything felt just right.

love and health to all...