The sea was angry today.  We stepped in the water and I remembered that I’d heard on the news a warning that the currents were extremely strong.  The little children were playing in the water up to their knees where we stood and me and Meira were afraid to go deeper.  And Meira agreed not to go deeper.  But when I turned to go back i discovered I had sunk into the sand, and I could not even turn around.  Meira had to pull me out.

I must admit that even though the afternoon was otherwise perfect, the feeling of being stuck in the mud is basic to my sense of what is happening in this country, this world.  The entire universe is sending wave after wave while we are just unable to move.  We need someone strong like Meira to pull us out before the really big wave comes.