Tuesday, November 15, 2011

swinging death


I barely knew it.  This new hammock.


Or, at least, new to me. 


When my last hammock died, my landlady graciously donated this one from a house she had just purchased.


We never quite bonded.  The hammock and me, that is.  It was smaller than the previous hammock and the mosquitoes kept driving me away from its more sybaritic pleasures.


It is now no more.  One morning I discovered that six of its ropes had snapped.  Theories abound.  At least my corpulence was not the major contributing cause.


The hammock is easily replaceable.  Vendors ply the playa as thick as fallen women in The Bowery.  And I will buy another.


Its unraveling death is just another symbol of how life changes.  When I moved to Melaque, I spent a good portion of my life in a hammock.  Watching the ocean.  Reading.  Sleeping.  Even learning the skills of dining while swinging.


When the new hammock arrives, I will most likely not use it very much.  I suspect my retirement has marched on past the hammock stage.


Before I get bored with life, I need to seek out something new.  I am on the prowl for a new hammock, but for something far less sedentary, as well.

20 comments:

Islagringo said...

Your writing always refreshes my mind.

Steve Cotton said...

What an incredibly kind compliment.  I am looking forward to seeing you again.

Norm Kwallek said...

"Used" to use a hammock when camping, a tarp overhead and I was good. 2AM and I heard a little "pop" then something like popcorn popping and I hit the ground with a thud. I have a nice air mattress now-closer to the ground and no strings attached.

Steve Cotton said...

I thought the same thing was going to happen with my old hammock. It would lose a rope now and then while I was in it. I suspect this hammock is just waiting for me to take the bait.

Dzarnot said...

I just bought a new hammock in mexico cannot wait for spring to put it up. Dave z

tancho said...

Dining and Swinging........I always knew you were a little odd...or maybe odd is not the right word.. casual would be better.

Steve Cotton said...

Casual.  Nice word.

The hammock has become my hot tub substitute.

Steve Cotton said...

When were you in Mexico, Dave?

Hammocks are one of those joys we do not experience enough.

Rainie said...

What a beautiful metaphor for life transitions.
Rainie

Steve Cotton said...

Thank you so much.

Kim G said...

So you're planning to buy another fallen woman?

Saludos,

Kim G
Boston, MA
Where I'm not sure we've ever seen a hammock. Not a very Bostonian kind of thing, really.

Steve Cotton said...

And I could have been a fallen man.

I find it hard to imagine a hammock in Boston.  Those straight-backed chairs manufactured by ancestors seem far more appropriate to the land of Cotton Mather.

Don Cuevas said...

When I dine, I want to sit upright in a chair, giving the food my fullest attention.

Saludos,Don Cuevas 

Merida Mikey said...

If you want to buy a great hammock, come to Merida.  Many folks say the best ones in Mexico come from this area.

Steve Cotton said...

And that would have been another reason to drive over to the bloggers' conference.

Steve Cotton said...

Usually I agree. But there are days when all pleasures should be experienced in a horizontal position.

NWexican said...

May I suggest the, "two birds with one..."? Make it yourself!!
http://hammocks.backyardutopia.com/hammock-articles/hammock-pattern-crochet-or-macrame-make-it-yourself-29/
Isnt that what everyone does in the retirement years?

Steve Cotton said...

Make a hammock?  I have trouble making water.

NWexican said...

HAAAA!, you made me laugh harder than I have in a while. Sorry for my stupid thinking, I'm in recovery and working on that.

Kim G said...

Even at the symphony, the padding is quite minimal. Surely for acoustic reasons, but telling nonetheless, I think.

Kim G