How to Move in One
Direction While Flying in Another
by Janice Anderson
Start with an incident most people see as
unfortunate but you perceive as life changing; the skewed perspective will
enhance your experience. The incident should happen while on your Outer Banks
vacation, the highlight of your year. It could be any incident—perhaps a random
massage therapist from an upscale spa presses his penis onto your hand during
your massage as if to silently say, “How ‘bout some of this?” and then, after
you’ve tried, inconspicuously, to move your hand away, “Come on honey, I need
the extra money … you sure?”
Want to read more? Click this link:
Deny to yourself and your god that this has
happened. Forget it like you forget what you had for breakfast. You can do it.
Get dressed. Meet up with your young niece who also had a massage. Smile with
her at the checkout counter. Pay. And by all means, leave a tip.
Finish your vacation as if nothing happened. Make dinner. Play
charades. Sip coffee at sunrise with your partner. Stroll the beach with…
http://www.hippocampusmagazine.com/2012/11/how-to-move-in-one-direction-while-flying-in-another-by-janice-anderson/
Congratulations, Janice! I'm so happy to see that this essay has found a home and received all the accolades it deserves!
ReplyDeletethanks for the comment, Amy. hope you're well. As i suspect you know, writing this piece was quite satisfying: organizing the whole thing into a coherent narrative really helped me, and i wanted to get the information out there--you know, how some of these too-common low-grade traumas can affect people.
ReplyDelete